Chapter Twelve: Father Knows Best
o1.o4.o8
11,025 words
Warning: slight spoiler for the Naruto manga 367
Holy cow an update! Can you believe it? I'm on the verge of giving up on this story. XD I can't believe I finished a chapter. ;;
Thanks to Sadist Sai, who never fails to give me a kick to the butt when I feel like stopping, and Beautiful Phantom who drew a Family fanart! Link is on my profile, please check it out! ♥

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"I'm sorry―" Kagome started to apologize once again, but got distracted when her summon suddenly disappeared from view.

In one swift move Sesshoumaru gripped Kagome's hand and shook her so hard that the charms on her bracelet knocked together. "What is the meaning of this!?" he thundered, scaring both genins.

"I― I summoned you so you can help us," Kagome replied as much as her scrambled brains could muster, attempting to escape from his grip. She winced as his grip tightened, claws digging into her wrist. If he squeezed any harder he'd be drawing blood.

"Who gave this to you?" he demanded, shaking her again.

"Gave what!" she snapped back, almost biting her tongue in the process.

"This!" he glared hatefully at the bracelet as if it were poison.

"My bestfriend did, for my birthday, years ago." Why was he so interested in it?

"Remove it at once," he commanded. A striped hand hovered in just a hair's breath over the said thing, but he retracted the clawed appendage and made a fist before he could touch it, opting to glare angrily at it instead.

"You know, we still have a purple ogre hunting us down and that huge raccoon destroying the landscape . . ." Sasuke tried to remind Kagome's summon of their priorities.

Sesshoumaru ignored him as he continued to glare at Kagome's bracelet, "Take it off."

"What does it matter if she's wearing it or not?!" Sasuke was tired of feeling like he didn't exist. Kagome just wanted her hand back.

The genins startled when he suddenly moved, shoving Kagome behind his back and producing a glowing green whip out of thin air in a blink of an eye. A moment later, Sasuke fell into a defensive position as the trees rustled and the very thing they were fleeing from stepped into view. He moved closer to his teammate as a precaution. Unnecessary, since the ogre only had eyes for one person.

"Goshinki," Sesshoumaru sneered as a dangerous acidic smell permeated the air. Poison oozed from his hand and flowed through the whip he was holding.

"Sesshoumaru!" The ogre's eyes widened and a hint of fear was almost evident in his voice. "How can this be? What are you doing here?" Red eyes flickered to the miko hiding behind the demon lord and pieced it together. "You were summoned, weren't you? By her!?" Never in his wildest imagination did he think the girl was capable of doing the unthinkable, but then he knew he should've listened to his own master. Instead of playing with his prey, he should've eliminated them instantly.

He took a step back unconsciously, instincts torn between fight or flight. On one hand, he was bound by his summoner's bidding, but on the other hand, this was Sesshoumaru he was about to take on. Pride and overconfidence in his abilities eventually won though, so he squared his shoulders and concentrated.

There were only a handful of opponents that would make him think twice before fighting, and the reason why Sesshoumaru was one of those handfuls was his uncanny ability to keep his thoughts shielded. While everyone else's minds were open books, Sesshoumaru's had always been tightly locked and harder to break through than shrine grounds guarded by a thousand priestesses.

Sesshoumaru struck first, whip cutting the ground and trees mere centimeters from where he just stood. Goshinki barely managed to duck, still unsuccessful at reading the demon lord's mind. While the two genins' minds emitted fear, apprehension, a shred of hope and were busy thinking of strategies to help their allies out, Sesshoumaru's mind was . . . a complete blank.

He had nothing.

Throwing himself forward, claws extended and body thrown forward to buy him more speed, Goshinki decided a frontal assault was his only option at the moment. Shuriken thrown by Sasuke whizzed through the air, barely missing him, but he was a second too slow to avoid the green whip that grazed his cheek.

Oh how he hated that perpetual smirk on Sesshoumaru's face!

Kagome might as well have turned into stone. The instant Goshinki appeared in front of them her legs became stiff and remained rooted to the ground. Memories of the beating they got from him earlier surfaced and the psychological imprint would've sent her to her knees if they weren't frozen in fear. The nightmare further worsened when the ogre attacked again and if it weren't for Sesshoumaru, she was certain she'd be dead meat by now.

Goshinki growled as another one of his attempts at cutting the girl down failed, foiled by Sesshoumaru's superior speed and poison whip. He ducked at the last second, receiving another gash to the legs, fueling his frustration. Uprooting a tree with his massive arms, he jumped high into the air and tossed it back down with him riding on the edge. At the last second, he kicked it to the direction of the gaping miko just as he accelerated towards his main opponent, but Sesshoumaru anticipated the movement and avoided his swipe. The tree trunk exploded a few feet above the air where Kagome was standing, but none of the shattered wood had a chance to rain down on her to deal damage due to Sesshoumaru's efforts.

"We have to get out of here," Sasuke's voice pulled her out of the fearful haze she was in, and it took her a few moments to grasp what he just said. Careful not to aggravate any injuries the still unconscious man might still be suffering despite the treatment Kagome gave him earlier, Sasuke draped him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. When his teammate remained fixated at the high speed battle between the ogre and the summon, he tugged at her hand to get her going.

Though her eyes were still unable turn away from the damage Sesshoumaru and Goshinki were making, her legs moved on their own and allowed Sasuke to steer them clear out of harm's way. Goshinki was fighting dirty, unconcerned about anything but his survival. Craters formed and the ground shook, whole trees were shoved out of the way. Those that were lucky enough not to be uprooted slowly burned from green poison. Desperation and need for self-preservation aided the ogre where his mind-reading skills failed, allowing him to barely hold his own against the stoic demon lord.

Goshinki caught a lucky break and delivered a low kick but it was easily blocked and he received a backhand in return. He fled to the left, but Sesshoumaru easily followed, giving him several cuts with the green whip.

"Why are you doing this, Sesshoumaru? You're supposed to hate humans, not protect them!" He growled, hoping for a distraction or any kind of opening.

Sesshoumaru gave him a small reprieve and allowed him to scamper away, scoffing "Not all humans, weakling," before he appeared right in front of Goshinki in the next instant. "I tire of this game," were the last words the ogre heard. A series of quick flicks of the wrists sliced him to bits.

"Gross!" Kagome looked away, turning green as various ogre parts and guts splattered on the ground, on the trees, but somehow managing to avoid the summon who single-handedly saved all their lives. Her knees went weak with relief, "That was great, Sesshoumaru-san!" thankful that their ordeal was finally over. "I can't believe you defeated him so easily. Even papa had a hard time fighting him, right Sasuke?"

Sasuke avoided answering the question by laying the Yondaime back on the ground carefully, as if he were a piece of glass.

"Did you know him, Sesshoumaru-san? He said your name when he saw you and he looked afraid . . . I wonder if he read your mind, too?" Kagome continued, careful not to include the splattered guts in her line of vision. Was that a head next to a pile of intestines? Forget that, she didn't even want to know. Talking was a nice distraction from the rollercoaster of emotions that she just experienced. "If he could, you were too fast for him. I couldn't even keep up with your speed! I've never seen anyone fight that fast before! Wow! That was impressive, wasn't it Sasuke?"

Sasuke didn't reply, but Kagome wasn't really waiting for one.

"That green whip was cool, too. I like how you made it appear and disappear out of thin air. I could do barriers, but whips are out of my league. Was your whip laced with poison?"

Sesshoumaru didn't answer, too busy listening to the distant sounds of battle. Shukaku seemed like he had the upper hand for the moment, with his vessel in deep sleep and the tandem between the kit and the frog boss on shaky ground. It should be over soon. He turned to the miko still awaiting his reply. "I will take you back to the village and see that you get there safely." It was more of an order, if anything.

"What about my brother?" Kagome asked, slightly taken aback at the abrupt change of topics.

Sesshoumaru looked unconcerned even as Gamabunta and Naruto transformed into a giant nine-tailed fox and rushed towards Shukaku. "The kit can handle him. He is in no need of my assistance."

"Can you please go help him?" Kagome flinched and closed her eyes when their giant-sized attacks produced a heavy downpour and strong winds, devastating the area.

The action was unnecessary, Sasuke noted with distaste, since Sesshoumaru shielded her from it. "We can't leave our team mate behind." Then he said a little snappily, "Why don't you go help him like she asked you to? Isn't that what summoned beings are supposed to do?"

Sesshoumaru mentally weighed the benefits of squeezing the life out of the boy against getting sat by the miko.

"Please?" Kagome added hopefully. Were her other summons ever this uncooperative? Her frown deepened when he refused to budge. "You know, my other summons were always very helpful. None of them ever complained or thought twice after I asked something of them or gave me a hard time. Ah, oh wait," a sudden thought occurred to her, "well, maybe Jaken, but that was back in the early days. Kakashi-sensei probably had it coming to him. He did throw Jaken's stick away . . ." she rambled off, going into details Sesshoumaru already knew.

"Jaken is my servant," he supplied, interrupting her long-winded musings.

Kagome's eyes rounded perceptively. "Oh. Well, that's very interesting. I didn't know you knew each other before. Do you know Jinenji-san, too? I summoned him before you and he was injured badly. Do you know what happened to him? Is he okay?"

"He is fine as far as I'm concerned," Sesshoumaru replied. She looked very hopeful so he felt compelled to add, "He talked to Jaken a few days ago and they recounted their tales of their summons." There was no need to share that the two demons carried on like simpering little girls, bubbling over with their excitement and happiness so much that his boot 'accidentally' collided with Jaken's head to stop the disgusting noises they were making.

The young girl breathed a great sigh of relief. "That's great. I was worried about him but couldn't repeat the summon even if my life depended on it," she joked, referring to the earlier incident. "I'm really glad you came to help us though," she beamed at him, searching his face for signs that he acknowledged her statement. He reminded her of Itachi so much, not in looks but in demeanor. Even after being in his company so far, she felt connected to him more than she had with the previous summoned beings. How weird was that? "Ah! But anyway, stop making me forget!" Blue eyes narrowed, irritated. "Please go help my brother. Please!" she continued to beg.

A minute must have passed, though it felt like forever, before Sesshoumaru's head tilted ever so slightly; she would've missed it if she wasn't watching him so intently. "The fight is over," he said, just as Shukaku reverted back to being just Gaara. A few seconds later Gamabunta poofed out as well, saying something about replenishing his chakra. How he guessed so accurately she would never know, and Kagome felt herself getting carried away on top of Sesshoumaru's shoulder, face down and butt in the air, before she even got a word out towards the general area where Naruto had fallen. Sasuke followed right behind the demon lord, carrying the Yondaime.

They found Naruto trying to make his way towards a freaked out Gaara one painful inch at a time. Both boys' foreheads were coated with blood, as if they'd had a head on collision with each other. Gaara looked more battered than Naruto, who was still able to move. The sand-nin lay on the ground, screaming at Naruto to stop, get away from him. The blond Konoha genin wasn't paying attention, determined to get to the redhead even if it killed him.

"That's enough Naruto," Sasuke interrupted Naruto's excruciating wormlike journey towards Gaara. "Your dad is fine, your sister is safe, the ogre is gone, Gaara's down for the count, everything's fine now. You don't have to continue fighting anymore."

Naruto's face scraped the dirt as he turned to look at his teammate. It was true, he noted happily. Sasuke was laying his dad on the ground, probably unconscious; Kagome was bloodied, bruised and dirty as hell but she looked happy despite the tears in her eyes; but who was the stranger whose arm she was holding on to and why did he feel so familiar? "Who are you?" he managed to ask before passing out.

"Naruto!" Kagome rushed to his side, just as two blur passed by.

"Gaara!" Temari suddenly appeared, Kankuro beside her with his battered puppets poised to attack.

"Stay back!" Sasuke instructed, placing himself in between his teammates and the three Sand siblings, kunai drawn. The tension escalated even as Kagome started healing Naruto at his feet. While Sasuke and Kankuro eyed each other warily with their weapons drawn, Temari took the time to carefully support Gaara upright, ready to flee in the next instant, and leave Kankuro to cover their back. Sesshoumaru looked unimpressed by the non-threat they all posed.

"That's enough," Gaara rasped, eyes flicked apprehensively on the stranger with the overwhelming presence and then settled on the blond getting first aid from his sister. "Don't fight them anymore Kankuro, Temari." Speech was a challenge; talking alone needed a lot of effort because of the broken ribs and pained jaw. But he learned his lesson today, and much, much more. He needed to clear his head to think. The two older siblings exchanged glances on top of their little brother's head before nodding. They took to the trees in a flash, leaving the Konoha party behind.

Sasuke relaxed only when their chakras were too far away for him to sense, turning to his female teammate who was still pouring healing chakra on her unconscious brother.

"That's enough, Kagome. Let's take him back to the city and get the medics to do it. You haven't rested since your match with Kanna and you don't look very good right now."

Kagome looked up and frowned. "Well thanks for the compliment, Sasuke. You don't look like your normal self right now either. If any of your fangirls ever see you they might just rethink of getting a refund on their membership fees."

"That's not what I meant," Sasuke rolled his eyes. Trust a girl to take it the wrong way. Even Kagome, who was the poster child for perfection in most people in their village's eyes, could be vain and sensitive about her look, too. "I was talking about your stamina. I don't even know where you're still awake and conscious right now. Your reserves probably ran out quite some time ago. You should rest. Let's take your father and Naruto back and have the medics take care of them."

"I'm pleased to know you have so much faith in me, Sasuke."

"You keep missing my point, Kagome."

The two continued to bicker for several moments before Sesshoumaru stepped in. "The half-breed is right, miko. You should rest now. Do not worry about anything else except regaining your chakra back. Your ki is also in a state of severe disarray. I'll take you back to the village, safe and sound."

"Stop calling me a half-breed! I have a name. It's Sasuke. Use it instead of calling me other names!" the irritated Uchiha snapped.

"Not without my family and Sasuke," Kagome argued, ignoring Sasuke's outburst, hands fisting on her lap as she halted her first aid on Naruto. There was so much truth in their words; she was really tired and she even felt a little lightheaded, but she wasn't about to admit she felt like passing out to either of them. What if she let her guard down and another Goshinki-like surprise was dropped on them? She'd had enough bad surprises for today, thank you very much. She was determined not to lose conciousness until she was a hundred and fifty percent sure they were in the clear.

"If that is your wish," Sesshoumaru acquiesced, eager to get back to their village and get to the root of the main issue in his mind.

A breeze blew through the clearing, ruffling leaves on the broken branches around him. He listened to the genins argue on how to get back home with the two unconscious members in their party as the wind ruffled the fur on his shoulder. Kagome didn't want Sasuke to strain himself, saying that he was just as exhausted as she was. He couldn't possibly carry both her brother and her father while making chakra powered jumps. Did he even have any chakra left?

Sasuke countered that he didn't fight his scheduled match, unlike her, and reminded her that he had more stamina. He conveniently forgot to mention that he had to fight Temari to get to Gaara and left out the gory details of his defeat in Goshinki's hands.

Kagome retaliated by punching him in the arm, to which he retorted that it didn't even hurt him, proving that she really was tired and had to rest. He added that he was the one who had been carrying the Yondaime around all this time anyway, and it wasn't a big deal for him to give Naruto a lift to the hospital as well.

When Kagome started saying that he'd only overexert himself, Sesshoumaru decided to put a stop to their incessant bickering and told them thathe would give them all a lift to the village.

"Even Sasuke, Naruto and Papa?" Kagome asked warily.

Sesshoumaru grudgingly agreed but not before making his dislike for the Uchiha very clear. When asked how he was supposed to carry them all back to town he decided to show them instead of going into another drawn out discussion.

The two genins couldn't help but gape in awe as he transformed into a giant white dog.

Sasuke tried not to do it with his mouth open while Kagome squealed. "You're so cute!" then rushed to pet the only part she could reach ― the giant dog's paw.

Cute? With its freaky red eyes and ugly crescent shape on the forehead? Sasuke eyed the creature distrustfully. "Are we supposed to ride him back to the village like a huge monster pony?"

"As much as I would prefer to have no physical contact between you and me aside from connecting my fist to your face, human, I think the answer to that question is fairly obvious," the dog spoke.

He would've snapped something back at it if Kagome hadn't already taken advantage of that offer and instructed him to carry her brother and dad over gently.

When all four were safely on top, Sesshoumaru took to the air easily, surprising his passengers with his flight capabilities. They reached the high walls of Konoha in no time, causing massive panic to the people below.

"It's okay, he's with us!" Kagome shouted at the frightened masses. Her words weren't very reassuring to the shinobi who prepared to attack. "Stop! Don't do it!!!" Sesshoumaru's tail swatted away those who didn't hear or thought she wasn't serious. They dropped like flies.

Arashi woke up just as they reached the hospital grounds, disoriented. The last thing he remembered was fighting a losing battle with the ogre before everything went black; now he was laying on something furry and comfortable, wind blowing around him and his daughter giving someone directions on where to land. The fur and everything else beneath him disappeared a moment later, barely giving him time to gather his wits enough to land on shaky feet.

"You could've at least warned us you were doing that!" Sasuke complained at the rude dog that only bothered to catch the twins when he shifted back to his human form. He glared hatefully at Sesshoumaru, who carefully set Kagome down, but found that he no longer had the undivided contempt he received earlier.

Sesshoumaru's silent disdain was now fully directed at the oblivious Yondaime. Sasuke could've probably kicked him on the head and Sesshoumaru wouldn't have paid him the slightest attention.

"You're awake!" Kagome cried in relief, happy tears misting her eyes as she hugged her father.

"What happened after I passed out?" Arashi returned the hug and refused to let go even as medics rushed out of the building to meet them. Despite shaky legs and feeling a little faint, he didn't fail to notice the stranger who carefully handed the still sleeping Naruto to the hospital staff ― and was his eyes playing on him or did he detect a healthy dose of dislike in those golden eyes when they looked at him? "What'd I miss?"

Kagome willingly filled him in on the events that transpired, detailing their heroic rescue courtesy of the now named former stranger who, he further noticed, always hovered protectively behind his daughter. She talked from the entrance to the medical ward, refusing to leave his side even for a minute, holding his hand, giving him a pat on the head when he tried to escape the medic holding the needle, and all the way to the private room the hospital staff insisted on keeping him in even when he assured them that his injuries were minor. His suggestion for resting at home and giving the room to other injured people instead was overruled by the medical staff.

What would the village do if their only remaining leader suddenly suffered complications? Konoha couldn't suffer losing their current Hokage especially after they just lost the Sandaime. Thus they continued to poke and prod, regularly sending in the best medical staff to check on his condition.

"Don't be such a baby and just let them do their job." Jiraiya chided, snatching an apple from one of the many fruit baskets in the room. Unlike his student, he came away from all his fights without a single scratch. No injuries equaled to zero fruit baskets and he was stuck babysitting because his former student was being a very difficult patient.

"I'm not being a baby." Arashi insisted. "All I'm saying is that I could just go and rest in the comfort of my own home. I don't need to ― ow! Good god man, that freaking hurts! Can't you treat me a little more delicately?!!"

The medic poking at his ribs gave his Hokage a very tolerant look. "This is why we keep telling you that you need to stay here for observation, Yondaime-sama. You broke quite a few ribs and even punctured a lung. Even though the first aid treatment you received saved your life and spared you a great deal of pain, you still need to be supervised while you recover."

Arashi rubbed his bruised ribs and glared like an offended little boy at the medic, grumbling under his breath about stupid doctors and their stupid cold hands and the stupid hospital and its stupid white walls that were even more stupid and depressing.

Jiraiya could only roll his eyes as he chewed on his stolen apple.

Hours later, even as Kagome went home to get some clothes with Haku ― that white shadow not far behind ― and after Naruto was transferred to the extra bunk in the room, the news of Sarutobi's passing still hit Arashi hard. List of casualties, restoration plans, funeral services and status reports were only a few of the things that he had to deal with.

Lots of buildings were damaged, not to mention the landscape changed by the battle between the giant summons; many teams lost members, some were even decimated; and the injured were thankfully taken care of. The current situation was still bleak, but their village survived. Despite the huge sacrifices they had to make, Konoha was still standing.

Two clans he wasn't at all surprised that received the least amount of casualties and injuries were the Hyuugas and Uchihas. When Fugaku and Hiashi dropped by to visit him and give him updates, he was pleased to find out that only a handful of their elite clan members were caught unaware. Even if Arashi had to suffer through Hiashi's boasts of how his clansmen played a huge part in Konoha's internal defense and Fugaku countering with how the Uchihas did a better job at external defense, he was still thankful the two clans were still standing strong.

Yes, he had to repeat that mantra to himself as he let the two clan heads discuss their clans' respective accomplishments in the thwarted invasion. Naruto, bless his heart, slept through the heated debate and Arashi didn't think anybody noticed how happy he was to receive the injection the nurse gave him after; the one that interrupted Fugaku's and Hiashi's showdown.

Kagome came back a few minutes later, leaving her silver-haired shadow behind after telling them she was going to see if Sasuke was well enough to get discharged. Sesshoumaru didn't look pleased with this, but conceded to let her go for a short amount of time when threatened with a sitting. She had to promise not to venture outside of the hospital though, but that was good enough for her; ever since she summoned him he stuck to her like glue, silently scaring any perceived threats away with his intimidating presence and threatening glares.

Why just this morning she caught him having a non-verbal pissing contest with Itachi! What was that all about?

"So, your name is Sesshoumaru." Arashi attempted to make polite conversation when the medics finally left the room.

"Sesshoumaru-sama," was the tart reply.

"O-kay," Arashi blinked, not used to anyone giving him attitude ever since he became Hokage. "Thank you for helping us, Sesshoumaru-sama. My children mean the world to me and I can't express my gratitude enough for what you've done for them and the village."

Sesshoumaru's only response was cold indifference; Arashi didn't know what else to say except thank you. Awkwardness grew heavy in the room so it was a blessed relief to the Hokage, who felt like he just got pelted with his own Humble Pie in the face, when the door suddenly opened and a stream of visitors poured in.

The cold demeanor still didn't improve as days went by, even after the public memorial service held for those who passed away.

"Why is your summon still here?" Kakashi asked one afternoon while they were gathered in the Uzumaki home. The renovations around town were going at a steady pace; Konoha's forces were dealt a heavy blow, but everything was slowly getting back to normal somehow. Why, with almost the entire party of clowns present ― Jiraiya lounging by the window, Uchihas brooding in separate corners, a Hyuuga pretending said Uchihas were invisible, Naruto proving he was fully recovered (or at least his mouth was), Haku patiently listening to whatever new scheme Miroku was cooking up, Arashi mirroring Haku's patient expression as he listened to Mushin, and Hinata sticking to Kagome like glue while casting apprehensive glances Sesshoumaru's way ― even their lives were gaining a sense of normalcy.

Yes . . . he glanced at the stoic new addition to their brood who was making most of them feel uncomfortable . . . well, almost normal anyway.

Kagome could only shrug and say, "He doesn't want to leave. I've already dismissed him, but he tells me he doesn't have to go back if he doesn't want to. Apparently he's the type who's strong enough to do that, unlike most summons who can't resist forced dismissals." Then leaned in to whisper, unaware of the dog demon's exceptional hearing, "I think he's still worried for my safety. He won't even let Itachi near me and he made Hinata cry the other day."

Kakashi smiled under his mask, noting his student's frown. "How come?"

Her shoulders lifted in a shrug, "Your guess is as good as mine, really. He got mad when he found out she gave me my bracelet and his eyes turned red. It was really scary. I swear I saw his fangs grow! Poor Hinata, she's still wary of him. And," her frown deepened, "he keeps calling Sasuke and Itachi half-breeds. Fugaku-san couldn't stand to be in the same room with him for more than a minute. I can't even introduce him to their mama because of it!"

Kakashi didn't laugh, he was trying to be polite. "I wonder why he calls them that."

Mushin cast a surreptitious glance at the demon under discussion. He wasn't very thrilled when he found out about his student's silver-haired friend, especially when his demonic background was made clear to him. Immediately instructing Kagome to send him back, his intention was to never allow her to perform such a summoning act anymore, but the idea didn't sit well with the dog demon. An armed and very dangerous dog demon, he learned, when his neck became very familiar with the sharp end of the aforementioned demon's sword.

One of them at least, since he had two in his possession. That single sword display was enough for him to keep his mouth shut though, at least for now, or until he and his grandson could figure out a way to out-speed the opponent. The demon would cut him faster than he or Miroku could reach for a sutra.

Arashi didn't bother to hide his amusement at what he overheard. "It looks to me like he doesn't like you very much, Itachi-kun."

Itachi didn't respond to his teasing. Instead it was Sesshoumaru who said, "Don't act so happy about it, human. I don't like you either."

"What? How come? Why? What'd I do?" Arashi asked, totally perplexed. He thought they were getting along fine?

Sesshoumaru eyes narrowed at him for several seconds before he finally responded, "You killed Rin."

Naruto stopped in mid-sentence to stare at him because of the statement he just made. In fact, everyone in the room suddenly turned or stopped to listen, interested.

"Rin as in my student?" the Yondaime blinked owlishly at him. "I didn't know you were so concerned about her, or that you knew her for that matter, but just to clarify things, I didn't kill her!"

The great demon lord gave a whole new meaning to the phrase 'if looks could kill' as his eyes further narrowed. "No, I meant Rin, your deceased wife."

"My wife's name wasn't Rin," Arashi protested.

"Yeah, you have the wrong person. Mom's name was Kushina, not Rin," Naruto recovered and rolled his eyes.

"It matters not what her name was to you. I knew her as Rin," Sesshoumaru repeated for the children's sakes, "and your father killed her."

"Papa killed mama? You lie!" Kagome frowned at the summon who was slandering her father. Demon or not, nobody could spread lies about her dad and get away with it. "Take that back!"

"I didn't kill my wife!" Arashi exclaimed, horrified at the thought. What a horrible, horrible accusation to make!

"She died at childbirth and you're the lowlife who got her pregnant," Sesshoumaru stated matter-of-factly. "You killed her." The flash of red in his eyes appeared only for a moment, unnoticed by Arashi who was choking on his own indignation.

"That doesn't mean dad wanted her to die!" Naruto answered in behalf of his sputtering father, matching his sister's fierce frown directed towards the demon lord. "It's not like he could see the future and did it on purpose, idiot!"

"Yeah!" Kagome agreed. "What's it to you anyway?" He acted like he despised humans like they were festering, contagious boils yet why was he making a fuss about a human female's death?

Everyone present waited for the demon lord to answer the genin's question. His silence was marred only by Arashi trying to defend himself in the background, aided by hands flailing in the air. Sesshoumaru looked like he didn't care for any of the Fourth's half-assed explanations, if his cold countenance was any indication. He either had a thing for theatrics or the topic affected him more than he led on.

"Rin was . . ." pursed lips indicated he didn't like talking about the subject, "Rin is my ward."

"Say what?" was Miroku's very articulate way of showing his surprise. Everyone else couldn't help but hear the conversation even though they weren't included in it, but he alone had the bad manners to jump into the middle of it.

"She was supposed to give birth to Kagome without any complications but several things went wrong, so Shippou had to foolishly interfere and was dragged into the mess. Then your village idiot sealed him inside the boy and threw a wrench into our status quo."

"What mess?" questioned Mushin. "What status quo?"

"Shippou who?" asked Miroku at the same time.

"Did he just call me the village idiot?" Arashi frowned. Jiraiya swiped at his head, but he ducked in time.

"Focus!" the sannin ordered, snapping his fingers.

"Focus!" Arashi mimicked with exaggerated hand and head movements, knowing very well how to push his former sensei's buttons. Jiraiya didn't aim for his head this time, landing a punch on his idiot student's side instead, hard enough to earn a wince.

Sesshoumaru ignored them all, instead turning to Kagome. "If you summon Jaken, he will explain everything."

"Jaken?" Arashi's head tilted to one side, a trait inherited by his daughter, a sign of confusion. "Why does that name sound so familiar?"

Kakashi couldn't keep the distaste out of his voice, "He's one of thosethings that helped the brats during the genin qualification test."

Arashi's bright blues widened in realization. "Ooh! He's the one who burned you," a fist pounded on an open palm. "I remember now!"

Kakashi's one visible eye narrowed at his former sensei's obvious amusement and Naruto's annoying laughter.

"Let's see this Jaken then," Jiraiya encouraged impatiently. Everyone turned to look expectantly at the miko.

Kagome heaved a hefty sigh, shaking her shoulders and arms to relax her muscles. You can do this, Kagome, she silently cheered herself on. Bolstering her courage, she stepped into the middle of the room and began her summoning act, a little nervous with the audience. After the display of runes and lights, a toad-like creature with green skin, carrying a staff with two heads appeared. Beady yellow eyes glittered happily before it squeaked in joy.

"Sesshoumaru-sama!" The imp cried out, throwing himself at his master's feet, hugging it. Sesshoumaru kicked him away, but he recovered quickly. "Kagome-sama! You summoned my lord! I knew it was you, I just knew it! I told all those stupid demons it was you but they didn't believe me! Thank Inu no Taisho you've reunited with my master!"

"Jaken."

"I never thought this day would come but I knew we can count on you! I'm so happy!" Hinata tried not to shudder as he came within an arm's length, gushing at how wonderful it was to see Kagome again.

"Jaken!" Sesshoumaru thundered.

He promptly shut up, shaking in his boots a little. "Yes my lord?"

"The miko wishes to know about Rin, Shippou," the toad's eyes widened with each name mentioned, "and the half-breeds. You will tell them what you know."

Suspicious eyes flicked towards Itachi and then Sasuke. "Are you sure, my lord?" He bit his tongue at the last word, realized his mistake in questioning his lord's motives and then bowed low in apology. "O-of course, as you say, my lord."

Not wasting another second begging for his lord's forgiveness for daring to question an order, Jaken picked a spot in the middle of the room. Staff in hand and head held straight, he cleared his throat. Silence fell among the room's occupants as they gave the toad their undivided attention.

"Long ago," Jaken began, "there was a time when demons and humans alike lived on this earth. Humans," he said distastefully, "were obviously inferior to us demons who possess superior skills and powers that no mortal man could even dream of. It was a time of prosperity for many youkai clans, and there were demons of all imaginable races ― bat demons, horse demons, cat demons, bird demons. Among these clans, there were four who ruled on top, the most powerful: The dragon demons of the east, the fox demons of the south, the wolf demons of the north, and the dog demons of the west. The four clans ruled their own territories, not interfering with the other. For a long time they did not get along well with each other but dared not to intrude on the others' territories."

"They held no allegiances to each other, but there were distinct relationships between the four. The foxes of the south were neutral with the dragons of the east, didn't like the wolves of the north and held great respect for the dogs of the west. The wolves of the north were neutral with the dogs of the west and didn't care about the other two clans. And up until the last leader of the dragon clan succeeded, there were a lot of animosity between the dog clan and the dragon clan. It wasn't until the last of the east dragon clan's head took over that the actual violence started."

"Violence?" Jiraiya asked, recalling his younger years. "You mean war?"

Jaken nodded, "Yes. It eventually led to that. At first there were the occasional raids on each other's lands. Back then border disputes would sometimes escalate into torching of villages. Humans were the most vulnerable because they were weak, so the east would sometimes obliterate the humans living near the border they shared with the west in their rampage. There were more humans in the west you see, because the east only kept humans as pets or slaves while they were allowed to flourish in the west and south. Humans were also allowed to live on eastern soil, but at a high price. Their life expectancies were low and they were the filthiest humans in all the four areas; they were always sweatier, more disgusting, less tolerable and downright sickening than normal humans."

All the 'normal humans' listening to Jaken's story frowned at him.

"The dragon clan cared for the humans the least. While the south and west lived in harmony with the humans sharing their territories, humans were the lowest pieces of currency in the east. And that was only when they were allowed to survive. Oh sure there were a few whom the ruling clan amused themselves greatly with, but they were all bandits and robbers; they were only allowed to live as long as they killed their own kind when ordered and created dispute among other villages. The fox clan and the dog clan were tolerant of humans, and the dragons took advantage of this weakness."

"What about the humans in the north?" Miroku interjected. "There were humans living in the north, weren't there? Or was the northern clan human-haters too?"

Jaken's grinned from ear to ear. "The wolves of the north loved humans." Miroku returned the smile. "They loved them so much because they were considered food," the toad continued, wiping Miroku's smile off of his face. "Sometimes the wolves would go on a hunting spree and gorge on an entire village or two, leaving no survivors. I heard they liked to eat women and children best because the meat is juicier and the bones are softer than ―"

"Stop! That's disgusting!" Kagome shuddered. "You don't need to tell us all the gory details, yuck!" All the younger kids looked a little green, except for Haku, who looked paler than usual.

Jaken's head drooped as he mumbled an apology.

"Is Sesshoumaru―"

"Sesshoumaru-sama!" Jaken's head snapped back up as he glared at the offender.

"I apologize," Miroku tried not to roll his eyes. "Is Sesshoumaru-sama from the dog demons of the west?"

"That's correct!" Jaken seemed pleased that Miroku realized this. "Sesshoumaru-sama's father is the great and powerful dog general who ruled the Western Lands."

"Ruled?" Naruto asked.

Jaken's shoulders slumped. "He is gone. Sesshoumaru-sama succeeded after his father died from the wounds he received in his battle with Ryukotsusei, the leader of the dragon clan back then."

"What happened?" Kagome glanced sympathetically at the demon lord who showed no emotion to his retainer's stories.

"Well," Jaken replied, "there had always been a rivalry between the dragon and the dog clans. Out of all the four ruling clans, it was rumored that the strongest demons were the white dogs of the west. The dragon clan didn't like this and the tension between the two clans escalated. Unlike the dragons who liked to flaunt their powers over the puny humans and weaker demons, the dog clan ruled through admiration and respect. Tales of their countless victories were enough to put fear into the hearts of their enemies and those who were foolish enough to challenge them were swiftly dealt with. Inu no Taisho brought peace and prosperity to his lands, attracting demons and humans alike to live in his lands."

"He was a great leader and also the very first to forge a friendship with a miko some say was one of the greatest ones to have ever lived. The dragons were very envious of this. After some time, the humans finally found a way to fight back without using only the weak weapons. Some select few even developed spiritual powers that allowed them to purify demons. They eventually grew in number and were now able to defend themselves efficiently and sometimes even turn the tables on the demons. Demon exterminators also became popular, further evening out the odds between the wars with the humans versus the demons."

"Demon Slayer legends are still popular to this day," Mushin shared, "but they are just that ― legends. Slayer clans were very secretive and didn't like sharing the tricks of their trades with outsiders. When the clan dies out, their traditions die with them. What little documentation they have are also lost."

"That sucks," Miroku responded. "I would've loved to meet a lady exterminator or two."

Jaken gave him the weirdest look and he was quiet for a long minute. "Yes," the toad finally said when he recovered. Was that look amusement? Miroku couldn't tell. It vanished in an instant as he continued with his story. "A lot of demon exterminator clans flourished during the reign of Inu no Taisho, but only one survived through the onset of Sesshoumaru-sama's time. Most of them weren't that successful in defending themselves against mass attacks of demons who realized banding together gave them more advantage against the humans who made a living out of exterminating them. Only the best clans survived. Near the end of Inu no Taisho's reign, there were only a handful left; by the time Sesshoumaru-sama officially ruled, there were none."

Sesshoumaru's loyal servant had a lot to tell them, going through what felt like hours and hours of recounting the greatness of the dog demon clan. Some of them found the toad's stories fascinating; Mushin and Miroku were so engaged in their conversations with the imp that they hardly noticed the passage of time.

Arashi could barely keep his eyes open when the toad went on and on and on about the merits of his precious master's dog clan. His blond head was nodding off by the time Jaken finally finished with Inu no Taisho's accomplishments and started with Sesshoumaru's. He droned on and freaking on about the time Inu no Taisho's successor saved him from certain death and described in great detail the deeds Sesshoumaru did in his reign over the Western Lands.

Boooring!

His sleepy haze was interrupted when the monks suddenly launched into excited chatter at what the imp just said; Mushin and Miroku looking like kids in a candy store. He discreetly straightened his from his slumped position on the couch and forced himself to at least pay some attention to the conversation, which now even had his former sensei and student interested in. Something about a jewel, its priestess and a hanyou with baboon pelt fetish . . .

He stifled a yawn that threatened to escape, glancing around to see if anyone was as bored as he was. His brow quirked in surprise to find that even his son was paying close attention, and more surprisingly, the Uchiha brothers as well. As hard as they tried to conceal their expressions, even the Uchihas looked interested when Jaken got to the part of the demon named Sojobo. Apparently, some half-demon named Naraku had the ability to create full demons from his own body and Sojobo was one of those demons spawned by the hanyou, who was a full-fledged demon crow.

When asked what this hanyou and his tengu offspring had to do with the current conversation, Jaken looked directly at where Sasuke and Itachi were brooding and said, "Sojobo is father to the one named Madara."

The sound of Jiraiya's jaw hitting the floor was lost in the sea of confused faces, most of them except for three people didn't know who exactly Jaken was talking about. "You mean that Madara?" The old sannin was quick to recover, pointing out clearly, "You're talking about Uchiha Madara, right?"

There was a time delay of three seconds before pandemonium broke loose.

"Wait, wait," Naruto's loud voice could be heard above the ―

"No way!"

"Do you know him, Itachi? Sasuke? He sounds familiar, wait, isn't he that―"

"Uchiha? As in the Uchiha clan?"

"Are you serious!?!"

― exchanges in the enclosed space.

"Who is Uchiha Madara? Is he related to Sasuke?"

The noise level suddenly went down as all the adults and most of the teens stared at him in disbelief. Even Haku, who wasn't a native of Konoha, turned to gape at him. "You mean you don't know who the founder of the Uchiha clan is, Naruto-kun? That legend is famous even in my country. Everyone knows about the battle of the Valley of the End where Konoha's Shodai dueled with and defeated him."

Naruto blinked at his friend and they could almost see the exact moment when it hit him ― "You mean teme's some kind of part-demon . . ." He left the thought unfinished, turning to Sasuke with a new one and a wide grin on his face as he pointed, "I always knew you were a demon spawn, teme! Haha, now this just proves that I was right all along! Bastard demon Sasuke!"

"Thank you," Sasuke directed towards Kagome when she reached over to smack her brother at the side of his head.

The older blond in his family had a revelation of his own. "That's why your master doesn't like the Uchihas, isn't it? That's why he keeps calling Itachi-kun and Sasuke-kun half-breeds."

"You're not as stupid as we initially thought you were, human." Jaken complimented.

Arashi frowned at the toad that was one step away from being road kill.

"So does that mean the legend of a tengu seducing a Hyuuga girl to produce the Sharingan is true?" Miroku questioned.

"That story is more or less accurate," Jaken replied. "The curse that Naraku carried has passed down from generation to generation although the mark has disappeared from their backs. It is now in their eyes."

Jiraiya and Arashi exchanged a loaded glance. Neither said a word but they seemed to know what the other was thinking. Mushin didn't miss the exchange. "What is it?"

The Hokage and his mentor looked at each other again, silently communicating with their eyes before the older one nodded. "Arashi and I have a suspicion that Madara might have been involved in summoning the Kyuubi all those years ago when he attacked the village."

"Impossible!" Sesshoumaru thundered, annoyed at the pitiful humans who jumped in surprise. Fearful yet curious eyes turned to the demon lord who was silent until now. "Shippou went to the human world to check on Rin and oversee Kagome's rebirth. He went berserk because the spell he performed to get Kagome took too much chakra and he stayed here too long without a contract. Like me, he doesn't answer to random calls. He is not one to be summoned so easily. What you are saying cannot be true."

Everyone but Jaken looked utterly confused. "Shippou?" Kagome blinked. Why did that name sound so familiar?

His voice lost its hardened edge when he turned to the girl. "He is the one you recognize as the Nine-tailed fox. We know him by his name, Shippou."

"He never told me he had a name," Naruto said more to himself than anyone else in the room. "I guess he forgot to mention it to me, or something."

"You talked to the Kyuubi before?" the Yondaime boggled, unable to wrap his mind around the thought of his precious son conversing with the dangerous demon sealed inside him.

"Yeah," Naruto answered, absentmindedly patting his belly where the seal was. "When Ero Sennin was teaching me how to summon properly he tossed me over a slippery cliff. I couldn't get a solid foothold even with my chakra so I had to rely on summoning something big and I had this weird conversation with the fox. He loaned me some of his chakra and I was able to summon Gamabunta."

"He did what!?" Arashi exclaimed, throwing a half-horrified, half-angry look of disbelief at his former sensei.

Jiraiya shrugged like it was no big deal. "Hey, it worked, didn't it?"

"He could have died!"

"But he didn't," the old man argued, ignoring the angry sputtering. "And that's what counts."

"When Shippou was sealed he wasn't in his right mind," Jaken jumped in before a full-blown fight could break out. "He had lost control of his humanoid form and had allowed his baser instinct to take over."

"Well if he has a human form that night, I never saw it when I tangled with him. He was in full giant fox mode, sinister chakra ablaze and all nine tails thrashing." Arashi said, recalling unwanted memories.

Jaken had more to tell them and the monks plied him with countless questions which he tried to answer them to the best of his knowledge. He talked until he was hoarse. To an extent, Kagome was just as fascinated as Mushin and Miroku, but Naruto's constant yawning and restless movements distracted her from giving the green demon as much enthusiasm as her male counterparts did. As interesting as the topics were, he was still someone who couldn't sit still for very long, and this little meeting of theirs had stretched into more than two hours already.

Noticing her brother's restlessness, Kagome excused herself and went to the kitchen, preparing meals for everyone. Surely they were a little famished by now. Only Hinata got up and offered to help, the men continued on with their discussion. Many minutes later when they were done and the food was brought to where they were gathered, they were still at it. After lunch, Haku offered to help the girls with the dishes.

At this point the knowledgeable toad was nearing the end of his insanely long list of stories and it was Arashi who showed the most interest when Jaken went on to explain the legend of the shikon no tama and its relationship to Kagome. He found it hard to believe that his daughter was the supposed guardian of the jewel and that his dearly departed wife was so deeply connected with these demons. Kushina's former incarnation was allegedly the first and only human that Sesshoumaru took under his wing, adopting her as his own. They were all supposed to believe that the demon lord who looked at them (with the exception of Kagome and Naruto) like they were bugs to be crushed under his boot had a soft spot for his deceased wife.

Riiight.

He was fully aware of Kushina's attributes. One of the main characteristics that attracted him to her was her ability to make friends, a trait that their children seemed to have inherited ― but befriending a demon? Reincarnation of what? Baby Kagome teleporting from the womb because the Kyuubi made some kind of weird jutsu to take her due to complications during the pregnancy . . . huh?

ღ

"They think we're stupid," he voiced out loud to Kakashi, Mushin and Jiraiya. It was the middle of the afternoon and the kids were out doing errands to help fix the village, taking the toad and the dog with them, which left the older ones to discuss the things shared earlier. "I've heard some fantastic tales before but this takes the cake." Part of him didn't want to believe all of the things said today but a bigger part of him, the more rational side, knew that all of it was true.

Judging from the looks the others were giving him, they believed Jaken's tales as well.

It was hard not to believe anything the self-proclaimed Demon Lord and his green assistant said, especially when none of them were willing to risk death by outright calling them liars, and after a series of more questions answered, Arashi was finally willing to accept what Sesshoumaru and his toad said as truth. That didn't mean he couldn't poke holes at the one fact that bothered him the most though ― because if that were true, then wouldn't that make the intimidating demon was almost his father in law in a really messed up way? A chill ran up his spine. Oh hell no.

A demon sealed inside his son and a legendary jewel supposedly under the care of his daughter he could believe . . . but Kushina? His beautiful, precious, fun-loving, perfect Kushina was also involved in this whole mess, conspiracy ― whatever it was ― and didn't tell him? It was unbelievable. He didn't even want to consider it!

Ow, it made his brain hurt just thinking about it.

"I don't know about that, sensei." Kakashi was the first to reply, nudging him out of his thoughts. "I've seen and heard a fair share during my time and I admit I've never even heard, much less imagined half of what they told us. My gut feeling tells me that they were telling the truth."

It seemed like the leader of Team Seven's sentiments were unanimous among all them, and after several minutes of posturing, Arashi finally admitted to his true opinions as well. That didn't make the next couple of weeks easier for any of them, however, especially when Sesshoumaru thought that giving them all the information he did gave him permission to treat Kagome like she was his own daughter. . . or granddaughter, Jiraiya annoyingly pointed out for the Yondaime. Two angry fathers, one blond and one silver-haired, got into numerous fights after that, most of them involving a lot of glaring, some shouting (but only on Arashi's part since Sesshoumaru didn't need to raise his voice to sound threatening), and two incidents where weapons were drawn.

Triggers for the first few smaller fights were innocent enough. A comment made by Sesshoumaru didn't sit well with Arashi ― "You are unfit to take care of the children" ― sparking a glaring match. And Arashi didn't like the way Sesshoumaru was treating Kagome's friends, especially sweet Hinata who couldn't even hurt a fly ― "Is it really necessary to scare the poor kid out of her wits every time she visits?"

The shouting only started when the demon lord made a comment about taking over Kagome's education and taking her with him when he left. Unaware of the fury building within the enraged father, Sesshoumaru continued to explain and got to the part of allowing them a few days to say goodbye before the Hokage exploded ―"You're not taking my daughter anywhere!!! Don't you dare take her out of the village without my permission, do you hear me!?"

Yeah. Half the village heard him.

And who could forget the first time they came to blows? Kagome surely couldn't, and neither could the proprietor of the oden shop who was now a reluctant owner of a half-outdoor restaurant. The other half that didn't have a skylight was currently under construction and thankfully, no innocent bystanders were harmed when Arashi's chakra-laced kunai blocked Sesshoumaru's poison whip, demolishing the portion that was now under repair. The kitchen miraculously remained intact so the business survived, attracting even more costumers who were strangely drawn to the site of the now legendary argument their Hokage and his daughter's summon got into.

ღ

"What are they arguing about now?" Kakashi asked more than three weeks after the failed invasion as he stood beside his startled student.

Kagome blinked at his sudden appearance. Where did he come from? Too dismayed at the conflict that was once again brewing between her father and her summon, she didn't even notice his and Itachi's arrival. Did all ANBU, former and present, never make a sound when they walked? Was that part of their training or was it just these two?

She shrugged, giving Itachi a small smile and turning a deaf ear to the heated match in their backyard. "Sesshoumaru-san reminded papa that he's not happy about how I've been trained and made a comment about my 'destiny'," she rolled her eyes, "while he was training me today. He blames papa for messing it up and allowing me to learn how to be more like a shinobi instead of being a miko. Papa pointed out that nobody forced me to join the academy and I wouldn't have made a good kunoichi if I didn't train to fight and learn how to defend myself, but I don't think Sesshoumaru-san listened. An untrained kunoichi is a dead shinobi," she intoned in her best Yondaime imitation. "And it all went downhill from there."

That was more or less what they said, only with harsher words and angrier tones but Itachi and Kakashi didn't need to know that, did they?

"They were getting really annoyed with each other so Kagome-chan told them to stop it or take it outside," Haku added helpfully.

"They fight like cats and dogs," Kakashi remarked, laughing at his own joke. The laughter died in his throat when he turned to see that Itachi and Haku weren't laughing with him. "Don't you get it? Cats and dogs ― Arashi-sama would be the cat because Sesshoumaru-sama's a dog demon and it's supposed to be funny," he frowned at their blank looks.

"Yes, that was very funny, Kakashi-san," Itachi humored him without a drop of emotion on his face. Haku nodded beside the Uchiha, forcing a smile.

Kakashi knew when someone was patronizing him. "Why are you here anyway? I thought you weren't due back for another two days?" He asked Itachi.

"The mission was accomplished earlier than predicted and father told me to come here as soon as I could." In all his years as an ANBU captain, most of his missions always wrapped up earlier than expected regardless of the danger involved.

"What could ―" Kakashi's visible eye lit up in understanding, "Oh!" as did his student's.

"Papa! Sesshoumaru-san! Itachi's here to take his charm off. If you want to watch you'd better stop fighting and get here right now because we're not waiting for you!" Kagome demonstrated how good her lungs were.

Sesshoumaru, with a few leaves and twigs in his hair, and a disheveled Arashi, who had dirt all over his clothes and smudges in his face, appeared in front of them several seconds later even as a dust cloud in the distance still hasn't settled down from their earlier tousle.

"Do it," Sesshoumaru ordered.

Itachi mentally shrugged and reached for the charm he gave Kagome on her bracelet. There were only three left ― his, her father's and her brother's. From what he'd heard so far, the bracelet was the catalyst for the Yondaime and the dog demon's second huge confrontation. The details he got were a little sketchy, but he learned enough to know that Sesshoumaru was very displeased with Mushin's intentions, however good they were, enough to draw his sword against him when it was revealed that the old monk was behind it.

Behind what exactly? He had still yet to ask Kagome for the full story, but as far as he knew and if his informants were to be believed (namely, his brother and his father), Mushin cast a spell on it to limit Kagome's power. From the time she put it on and each time a new charm was added, the more fortified the spell became, gathering energy from each person who gave her a trinket to add to the bracelet she hasn't taken off since she put it on all those years ago. For that same reason, it took everyone who ever gave her a charm on the bracelet to remove their respective gifts individually, since no one else could dislodge a charm they didn't bestow themselves.

Kagome just thought the craftsmanship was impressive and therefore made her precious arm accessory virtually indestructible, but Mushin confessed that its indestructibility was a part of his spell, too.

It was a precaution, the monk defended himself. After the bizarre incident several seasons ago when Kagome was admitted to the hospital for spiritual ki exhaustion and discharged a whole lot of negative waves, Mushin took it upon himself to ensure that it never happened again.

He was fortunate that Arashi was known as the Yellow Flash or else Sesshoumaru's sword would've chopped his head right off of his shoulders.

Kagome was furious enough to consider her own subjugation spell at him, but Naruto found it extremely funny that his sister was the recipient of the very spell that she was so fond of threatening him. He stopped laughing a moment later when he received a bruising kick to his shins.

The removal process of each piece was tedious, delayed by the conflicting schedules that each charm-giver genin and up had. They also had to track down Tsunade, a task that took Naruto and Jiraiya almost two weeks to accomplish ― a forced errand given to him by Arashi for his earlier callousness.

Frowning at the minute jolt that the removal of the small Uchiha fan caused, Itachi handed the charm back to its owner for safekeeping. Now there were only two left. Kagome ruefully sighed, feeling the familiar depression that came with each reduction. According to Mushin, it was an effect of a spell he cast that influenced her not to take off the charm bracelet, and she hated it.

"We'll take off the last charms after dinner," Arashi decided. Naruto was out with Jiraiya for their daily training but the duo always made it in time for dinner, the gluttons. He was still unsure of the outcome and couldn't shake the feeling of impending doom somehow, but he knew for sure that he didn't want his daughter's potential to be left untapped. Maybe the impending doom is brought by our unwanted house guest who couldn't tell that his welcome has been worn out already.

"And then the miko can start her true training," Sesshoumaru added, then suddenly stopped and turned to stare a fast approaching whirlwind. The Konoha shinobi wondered what was going on in his mind, but wisely kept their mouths shut and quizzically looked at the odd phenomenon that was quickly heading towards them, too.

"Sesshoumaru, you bastard!" The whirlwind revealed an attractive, barefooted, raven haired, blue-eyed stranger who looked angry enough to kill the demon lord. Was that a real tail sticking out from behind him? "You left in the middle of our argument! I know you're just trying to avoid me, but let me tell you that it won't work, buddy! I'll follow you to the ends of the earth, across barriers, even if you cross the border to the human world, until you tell me what you know about―" he stopped, nose twitching as he suddenly realized they had company.

The shinobi assumed the stranger knew their resident demon lord, but they didn't know if he was going to be friendly or hostile towards them. Arashi tensed when the stranger's gaze landed on him, specifically, and his body readied for a fight. Wait, no. The stranger wasn't looking at him, he was looking at ―

"Kagome!" Kouga shouted in glee, shocking everyone but Sesshoumaru by his actions as he blurred out of view, picked her up, twirled her happily in his arms and tenderly hugged her. Kagome remained as stiff as a statue, at a loss on how to deal with the affectionate stranger who was holding her too close. If his actions didn't anger or shock most of the shinobi gathered, his next words would surely have done it.

"I knew you'd come back to me someday! Sesshoumaru, why didn't you tell me you were meeting with my woman when you left? I wanted to welcome her return, too!"

● ● ●

I'll keep the Yondaime's name as it is now because I don't have the patience to go back 100,000+ words and correct it. ;; It won't really matter since this is an AU and I wrote it before Kishimoto-sensei named him, ne? Thanks to everyone who review and place this story in their C2s, favorites and alerts.