Chapter 27: The Gift of Friendship

When Sesshoumaru, Kagome, Igrit, and the dragon came upon Inuyasha, he was angrily waving Tessaiga, throwing destructive blasts around the castle.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" he screamed, waving another blast at a pillar. Behind it, Lord Asobibi was cowering. Some of the imps that had a smidgen of power had formed a wall around him and was keeping up a teetering shield of youki to defend him from the blast. However, their power wasn't going to last long, and some imps had already fallen over in exhaustion as others came in to keep up the shield.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried out, and it momentarily caught catching him off-guard.

"Kagome?" He met her eyes and ran to her. "Kagome!"

She embraced Inuyasha with relief, and when he pulled away from her, he glared in the direction of Lord Asobibi.

"I have the asshole cornered, but those damn imps keep blocking my shots," Inuyasha said with a huff.

"I will take care of this scum," Sesshoumaru said. "Please stand aside, brother, and cool your temper."

Inuyasha snarled a barrage of obscenities at him, but Kagome put a light hand on her husband's shoulder to still him. Sesshoumaru stepped toward Asobibi who looked out from behind his pillar with terror and exhaustion. The imps began to disperse as Sesshoumaru walked closer.

Soon they had all abandoned Lord Asobibi and went running off to disappear into the darkness of the vast corridors. "You imbeciles, come back here! I paid for you!"

"Is this what you do? You pay for these youkai as slaves?" Sesshoumaru said. "Same as the miko. She was your slave, and she was bound to you by demonic contract."

"She was my best artifact. I rescued her from spending the rest of her life as a stone statue. A hanyou girl named Shiori had used the miko's magic against her to protect her village. The miko turned to stone and ended up in my collection. When I freed her, she was in my debt." Asobibi sighed. "And you killed her."

"No one who crosses this Sesshoumaru remains alive," he said.

"I see. Then you have come to take care of me as well," Asobibi said, annoyed with his defeat.

"No. My mother gave me specific instructions. I have the dragon back. Now, Lord Asobibi, you are in her debt. I strongly recommend that when my mother calls for her favor, you do not hesitate to serve her," Sesshoumaru warned him.

The youkai shuddered under his golden gaze. "I would rather be dead than be indebted to your mother," he said in a strangled whisper.

"It is out of my hands, Asobibi," he said. "I do take pleasure in your fear of her, however." Kagome saw Sesshoumaru indulge in a small, satisfied smile. "We are leaving. You will release any creature in captivity before we go."

"What?!" Asobibi said, and Sesshoumaru shot him a glare. "Fine. I get to keep the things that are not alive, though."

"Not Midoriko's weapons," Kagome chimed in. "Those are my payment for your deeds. Sesshoumaru may not want to kill you, but do not think I won't. You're lucky I will honor his mother's stipulation."

Asobibi looked at her wide-eyed. "Fine, fine."

He turned to Sesshoumaru and then fell to his knees, pleading. "Let the miko kill me, please, please! I cannot be indebted to your mother. You can tell her it was an accident. You can say that the miko killed me as a casualty of war."

"Stop your sniveling at once," Sesshoumaru said coldly. "We are done." He turned around and the rest followed him out the corridor and to the entrance. They waited as other creatures began exiting the castle in haste once they realized they had been freed. Asobibi had at least kept his word on that.

Kagome inspected the arrows that had once been Midoriko's. She had four left after that battle with the miko.

When they were sure all of Asobibi's prisoners were freed, they made their way to the exit. In the background, echoing on the castle's walls, they could hear the lord screaming for Sesshoumaru and Kagome to come back, begging them to kill him.

Many of Lord Asobibi's former prisoners were waiting outside the castle, looking rather confused and relieved. Kagome could tell that they were happy to be free, but they felt rather lost on what to do next and where to go. Those who had not stayed, however, had already dashed off, and ready to put as much distance between them and the castle as they possibly could.

The confused ones looked to Kagome and Sesshoumaru expectantly.

Some came up to them and thanked them. Sesshoumaru was became annoyed when some of them started to hover.

"We need to get this dragon on a transport. She needs rest to lay her egg," Sesshoumaru told Kagome. Inuyasha huffed and was off to look for a cart or something as the fairy Igrit followed him. She chirped at him and he barked back at her as they disappeared around the other side of the castle.

Kagome looked helplessly at all the stragglers. "I suppose if some of them have nowhere to go, they can come to our village. We're very open to peaceful youkai and other kinds of creatures. We could always use the help, especially since we're still getting humans and youkai alike attacking us and trying to take us over." Some of them looked her way when they heard her. Sesshoumaru said nothing, and when they realized that Kagome was the source of the generosity, many approached her and asked if they could follow them back.

Reluctantly, Kagome nodded and agreed to help some of them back to their village, as long as none of them caused trouble. Soon, Igrit and Inuyasha were back with a cart, and some imps that Inuyasha had bullied into towing the cart for them. They were forced to oblige, and when Kagome recognized one imp as the same who had initially taunted her on their trip here, she didn't feel bad about him serving them, for a change.

Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha helped the dragon onto the cart and they patted down in some prepared linens and hay. The dragon was all too happy to take some rest as they continued the labor in laying the egg.

Some of the new refugees were happy to pull the cart toward the village, and Inuyasha was happy to give them orders. Sesshoumaru flew into the skies ahead of them, and Kagome sat next to Inuyasha on the driver's seat.

"I hope you learned your lesson with this whole trip, woman," Inuyasha finally said to her.

"What lesson was that? That helping Sesshoumaru not only saved the life of a pregnant dragon, but also the lives of all these people? I'm happy to have come," she said.

"Keh," he said. "I meant the lesson of interfering with his business, which is usually the same business as his mother's, and never good." Kagome saw her husband visibly shudder.

She sighed. "Just admit it already, you just don't want me to be friends with him. I get it. He's treated you terribly before, and why should you change your mind about him? I would never ask you or force you to do that knowing your history. Still, I think it's important that you try to keep the only family you have."

"Family doesn't have to be about blood. You, Sango, Miroku and the old woman are my family. Hell, even that damned fox counts, whenever he's around. I didn't need my brother as family then, and I doubt I need him now," Inuyasha grumbled.

Kagome nodded. She leaned in and took her husband's arm, snuggling into him, suddenly missing his touch. "I get it, Inuyasha, and I shouldn't have forced this on you. Still, maybe it's not you who needs the family." They both looked up to the sky to see Sesshoumaru still flying ahead of them. He faced onward and made no motion to meet their eyes.

They knew that he'd been listening, though.

When they reached their home village, Kaede, Miroku, Sango, and other villagers came out to welcome them. Kaede took great pains to meet every single one of the ex-prisoners who had no home to go to, and who would look at this village as a new starting point. Sango and her children helped them all settle in, with food and provisions if they needed them.

Inuyasha helped Sesshoumaru get the dragon off the cart again and into an abandoned hut near Kaede's. Rin came over with Jaken, celebrating at seeing their lord again. Sesshoumaru asked them both to look after the dragon until they laid the egg, a task Rin was more than happy to undertake. Jaken, on the other hand, did not seem pleased to be a baby-sitter again.

Kagome even asked Rin is she would help her with the egg when it hatched, as the dragon was to become hers. Rin was elated, and Kagome was more than happy to share the dragon baby with Sesshoumaru's ward.

When the excitement of all the new people and dragon's egg died down, Sesshoumaru turned to Kagome and pulled her away from her husband.

"Miko, I must talk to you in private," he said, and Kagome nodded with awe as she followed him into the forest to a more secluded location. Kagome had been to this part of the forest a couple of times before, with thick trees forming around a cool, peaceful lake, into which a local river had drained.

She looked around the scenery, letting the sounds of the babbling river, the song of the birds, and the chatter of insects encompass her. Dusk was coming, and the forest almost glowed an ethereal orange and pink as the sunset reflected off the waxy tree leaves. Fireflies were just starting to peek out and make themselves known.

Sesshoumaru turned to face her. She had never been this close to the Inu Youkai before.

His expression seemed impassive as ever, but it softened slightly when he met her eyes. He held out her sash. "It appears that it is more powerful than ever, and the dark miko's poison did not diminish it."

"Hrmm, oh yes, when I shot the arrow at it, the sash infused with Midoriko's power too. I'm sure it's much more powerful; however, I'm not sure how predictable its behavior is. She was a very powerful miko, and she did not suffer youkai lightly."

"This Sesshoumaru cannot complain. I am grateful for the sash and your assistance in retrieving the dragon. When they lay the egg, I must take them back to my mother. I will not be back on this earth for some time. This Sesshoumaru had to at least convey my feelings before I left."

Kagome felt the blood rush in her cheeks. "Oh! Well, of course."

"This Sesshoumaru considers the miko Kagome not just an ally, but a worthy friend and sister. You must not tell my brother this," he said, "or I will rescind all affections. He must not know… as I do not want to hear his annoying voice and taunting."

Kagome stared at him blankly, and then she laughed heartily. Unshed tears formed in her eyes. "Oh, oh, that is hilarious. No, no, I won't tell him. It'll be our secret!"

"Good," Sesshoumaru said, flicking a strand of his long silver hair over his shoulder.

"I feel the same way about you. You make me happy, as I miss my own brother," she said, smiling warmly at him. "And you can count on me for any more adventures like that. Well, not exactly like that, but maybe ones a little safer."

"Indeed I would, little sister, but I'm afraid you will not be able to accompany on missions for a while," he said.

Kagome looked puzzled. "Is it because you will be gone so long?"

"Not only that, but you will have another adventure to look forward to. Please give my brother my congratulations," he said, and he looked down at her midsection. Her face felt even hotter, and she was sure she was red.

"Oh, oh, I didn't...I just thought I was late," Kagome said, burying her head in her hands. "Ugh, this is embarrassing. Why didn't he tell me?"

"He does not have the attuned senses that I have," he said. "But he will know soon."

Kagome felt frozen as the news washed over her, and Sesshoumaru was already heading back to village. "Come. The dragon is about to give birth. You can learn a little about it for your own day, little sister."

She looked at him from the back and watched with awe, before she followed him. His hair was blowing in the cool breeze, and she couldn't believe what had transpired between them - all because she had one day decided to interfere in his life and become his friend. She had to admit, the idea of being a friend to Sesshoumaru had seemed like a stretch.

Now he considered her a sister, and he had believed in her against the all odds. She may not get her brother back, but Inuyasha was right:, they had family here, and now it was expanding. Kagome was more than happy to include Sesshoumaru in that family too.

And she knew that maybe Inuyasha would come around and make peace with his brother, too.

Someday.

THE END