ALAM Chapter 13: Family...

Shippou gulped as he followed his okaa-san and Rin to his oji-sama's home.  They had received special permission from the Reikai to create a  family reunion of sorts on Sesshoumaru's territory on the outskirts of the Makai.  He began panicking as soon as he realized he was going to be  seeing Sesshoumaru immediately.  Telling Sesshoumaru that he wanted to take his only, well-beloved daughter as his wife and mate was  something that he wanted at least three months to prepare for, so that he could compose a carefully reasoned argument and make an involved  plan of action that could easily morph into battle plans if Sesshoumaru decided he was not too fond of the idea.  Thus it was with a feeling of  absolute terror that Shippou went to the Makai with his mother, quietly hoping that the Tetsuaiga would be able to protect him against  Sesshoumaru if things got to physical combat.  Rin walked next to him, her hand in his, offering Shippou silent comfor, hiding he own  undercurrents of nerves at the thought of Shippou talking to her father about marrying her.  She, like Shippou did not want to think about her  father's reaction to the news that she and Shippou wanted to be together.  

Kagome's first thoughts upon seeing Sesshoumaru's abode in the Makai was that Sesshoumaru still liked to intimidate.  The place was huge, and  screamed 'big, powerful taiyoukai lives here.  Do not mess with him if you want to live.'  Kagome sighed and shook her head.  Typical.  Even 465  odd years had not taught Sesshoumaru that intimidation did not have to be so, so obvious!  The group, which consisted of Kagome, Hikari,  Shippou, Rin, Kurama, Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Hiei, approached the gates of the fortress where Sesshoumaru lived, Rin in the lead.  As soon as  they were close, Rin's back went ramrod straight, and an icy light filled her eyes.  Kagome glanced sideways at her and shuddered.  

"I can see that Sesshoumaru has been training you in facial expressions."  Rin smiled a smirk of pure ice and evil that Kagome was fairly certain she had seen on Sesshoumaru's face, before he had stopped trying to kill InuYasha at every opportunity.  Shippou snickered.

"Yeah, Sesshoumaru-oji-sama is very influential.  I can do the look of ultimate 'I'm going to kill you now' as well.  Of course, I'm not as good as  Sesshoumaru, and Rin here…."  He grinned at his love, who was glaring icily at him.  "Well, Rin is much too happy to hold it for more than half an  hour.  As such, we should probably get inside so that Rin can smile like she usually does without losing face."  Rin glared at him, and murmured.
"If it wasn't for the fact that we are right in front of the guards, I would so stick my tongue out at you."  Shippou grinned at her.

"You know you love me."  He said cockily.  Rin rolled her eyes.

"God only knows why." She muttered darkly, but the icy look in her eyes warmed considerably as she looked at the kitsune youkai.

Kagome looked smug as she watched Rin and her son together.

"Looks like Sesshoumaru will have to pay up." She murmured. Kurama glanced at her.

"What?" He asked.   Kagome smiled sweetly.  

"You'll see." she said.  Something told Kurama that Kagome was not going to explain herself.

"You, there!  What business have you--"  A guard started with a snarl when Rin came to stand in front of the group, a look even more icy than before.  Very calmly, she took out her fan, and flicked it open.

"What was that?"  She asked in the dead emotionless voice in which her father had trained her extensively.  The guard blanched, and sweat began pouring down his face.

"Ri-Rin-sama!  I was unaware that you had left…"  He trailed off as Rin's eyes flashed.

"Open.  The.  Gate.  Guard."  She hissed.  The guard gulped.

"Ah, yes, of course, Rin-sama!  Straight away!"  He ran to do as Rin commanded.  

Rin successfully maintained her icy composure until the guard opened the gates, and they entered the fortress.  Then she cracked, and burst out laughing.  Shippou also lost any trace of composure.  

"Did you see the look on his face?"  Rin choked out around her giggles.  Shippou grinned at her.

"Brilliant work, Rin-chan!"  Rin beamed at him.  Suddenly, a sour voice cut into their reverie.

"Foolish girl!  You are making trouble again!  Why your noble father puts up with you…"  Shippou and Kagome hid smiles as Rin hung her head, and accepted the small green imp's scolding.  The Reikai Tantei stared in awe as they watched a little green guy, less than half of Rin's height, tear into her, without meeting her fury.  As soon as the imp paused to take a breath, Rin bent down, hugged the imp, and kissed his forehead.

"Hai, Jaken-sama.  Gomen nasai."  Her eyes filled with tears, and went even wider than usual, and she continued onward, making herself sound like the little girl Sesshoumaru had found during the Sengoku Jidai. "Rin-chan did not mean to cause so much trouble to Jaken-sama and Sesshoumaru-sama…."  a tear slid down her cheek, and Jaken suddenly looked frantic.  The Reikai Tantei's attention was caught by the fact that Kagome and Shippou were very  determinedly not looking at Rin.  One of Kagome's hands was pressed firmly over her mouth, and the miko shook with suppressed laughter.

"Rin.  Stop these antics."  A cold, chilling voice said flatly from the other side of the room.  Rin stopped immediately, and looked genuinely contrite.

"Gomen, Otou-sama."  Rin said, softly.  She looked up and her father, her head hung to the side.  The tantei stared in shock as the regal youkai nodded his head slightly.  Rin's face lit up, and she pelted towards him, throwing herself into his arms.  "Otou-sama!  Rin is so glad to see you!"  She squealed, sounding absolutely delighted.  Yusuke blinked.

"Why is she talking weird?"  He asked.  Jaken, Kagome, and Shippou looked at him, confused.

"What do you mean?"   Shippou asked, confused.

"I believe that Yusuke is referring to how Rin-sama is speaking in the third person."  Kurama clarified.  

"Oh.  That."  Shippou shrugged.  "Bad habit that she never fully broke.  Most of us don't even notice it anymore."   

"How long has she been doing that?"  Kurama asked out of curiosity.  Shippou's brow furrowed, then he turned to Kagome.

"Okaa-san, Sesshoumaru-oji-sama revived Rin-chan with the tensaiga the same year you unsealed InuYasha, right?" Kagome nodded.  

"Yes, she tried to help Sesshoumaru-sama after our second confrontation."  Shippou turned back to Kurama.

"Right then.  At least 465 years.  Possibly longer.  She comes by it honestly, though."  He jerked his head at Sesshoumaru.  The tantei looked confused until Seshoumaru spoke to Kagome.

"This Sesshoumaru is glad to see that you have come to no harm, miko."  Shippou's meaning immediately clicked as Kagome sighed and shook her head, smiling.

"465 years, Sesshoumaru-sama, and you still can't say my name.  I'm not 'miko', it's Kagome.  You know, Ka-go-me.  Say it.  I know you can."   Sesshoumaru smirked at her.

"Kagome.  It is good to see you again."  Kagome smiled, and reached out to hug him.

"It's good to see you too, Sesshoumaru."  

"Sesshoumaru?"  A new voice made the tantei and Kagome whirl around.  A tall young woman with long floods of black hair and amethyst eyes stood at the other end of the room, watching the procedures with more than a little confusion.  Shippou grinned, and walked over to ruffle the woman's hair.

"Hey Kagome-chan.  How have you been?"  The woman smiled.

"I'm fine, Shippou-oji-san.  It's good to see you again.  Who are these people with you."  Kurama glanced at the Kagome next to him, who had her eyes locked on the other woman, almost as though she had seen a ghost.  Shippou grinned.

"Well, the boys are the Reikai Tantei.  They're here to escort my okaa-san.  Okaa-san, this is Kagome.  I told you about her, remember?"  Kagome stepped forward to look at the older woman, who was now looking at her in the same, stunned manner.  Shippou's mother smiled, and spoke quietly.

"You look just like Sango.  Except for the eyes.  Those are Miroku's."  The other Kagome laughed.

"That's what everyone tells me.  I'm glad to finally meet my namesake,"  Her eyes glinted wickedly, "Kagome-oba-san."  Kagome grinned.

"The scary thing is that I think you are my namesake, if you go all the way down our family tree.  So, I'm my own namesake.  How weird is that?"  both Kagome's laughed.  The tantei just looked confused.  Shippou caught sight of their expressions.

"You don't want to know."  He said dryly.  Rin nodded fervently.

"Unless you can read minds, I wouldn't suggest trying to figure it out."  Kurama could tell that Hiei had started to use his jagan to asses the situation.  

Hey, Shorty, tell us what you figure out! </b>  Youko yelled at Hiei.

I'll think about it.   The hybrid youkai answered flatly.  Youko recognized that this was the most he was going to get out of Hiei.  Suddenly, information came in through their link.   It seems that the miko knew this other Kagome’s parents, who named her after the miko.  The miko is descended from another one of their children, and her name is a traditional family name.  Most likely, her name came from this Kagome.  Kurama and Youko mulled this over for a minute.

So, in a way, Kagome-san is named after… herself?  Kurama asked for clarification.

Mm.   Hiei agreed firmly.  Kurama's head hurt.

"Time travel does that to you."  Shippou murmured next to him.  Kurama nearly jumped.  He glanced at the other kitsune, who had a look of amusement on his face.  "Really.  Do you have any idea how disconcerting it is to be the same age physically as your okaa-san?"  He shuddered.  "It's creepy!"  Kurama resisted the urge to laugh.  Kagome had apparently heard him.  She smiled sweetly.

"Shippou, dear, don't you have something to tell Sesshoumaru-sama?"  She asked and in a voice so sugary that it promised death and damnation.  Shippou gulped, and Rin blanched, and edged forward to take Shippou's hand again.  Sesshoumaru watched the proceedings before him with cold eyes, looking from his daughter to his nephew.  Kurama blinked.  For a moment, he thought he had seen a flicker of worry in Sesshoumaru's eyes, but a second later, Kurama decided he must have been mistaken.  Sesshoumaru looked as icy as ever.

"What do you need to tell me, kitsune?"  He asked in a flat, deadly voice.  Shippou closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"We found tetsuaiga."  He told Sesshoumaru.  The taiyoukai's eyes widened slightly.

"You found my otou-sama and otouto-san's sword?"  He asked sharply.

"Hai.  Reikai agents were the thieves, as I suspected, which is why I could not find it.  However, the Reikai called Okaa-san and the other tanei in to see if anyone could wield it.  It brought up old memories, so Okaa-san came home in tears.  I, naturally, forced my way into the Reikai, and demanded to know what Koenma had done.  Rin-chan was there already.  Then word of an attack came in, and Rin-chan and I decided to help the tantei, so that they wouldn't make Okaa-san fight today.  And during the fight…."  Shippou took another deep breath, and drew tetsuaiga from its sheath.  The blade transformed before everyone's eyes.  Sesshoumaru's eyebrows raised.

"Congratulations, kitsune.  And who did it transform to protect?"  Shippou winced.

"Rin-chan, Sesshoumaru-sama."  Sesshoumaru growled low in his throat.  Shippou gulped.  "I love your daughter, Sesshoumaru-oji-sama."  He said very quietly.  Sesshoumaru growled again, and turned to Rin.

"How do you feel about this?"  He nearly snarled.  Rin blushed.

"I-I'm happy that tetsuaiga changed to protect me."  She mumbled.  Sesshoumaru glared at Shippou, and shot out a clawed hand that was dripping poison to grasp Shippou's throat, and hold him up off the floor.

"If you hurt her," he snarled  "This Sesshoumaru will use you to practice with his poison whip.  Then this Sesshoumaru will use tensaiga to revive you, and practice with you again.  This Sesshoumaru will continue to revive you and use you as a target until I feel that you have met as much pain as you bestowed upon my daughter.  Understand, kitsune?"  Shippou nodded fervently.  Sesshoumaru released him, and Shippou fell to the floor in a heap.  Rin rushed to help him up.  As she did, Shippou murmured to her.

"Well, that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be…."  Rin giggled, but nodded her head in agreement.  Sesshoumaru eyed the pair with an icy glare.

"Understand that this Sesshoumaru is not happy about this."  He growled at them.  Kagome's rang out from where she was speaking with Sesshoumaru's wife.  Everyone turned to stare at her.  Kurama noticed that the look of fear he had seen earlier flicked across Sesshoumaru's face.

"Don't worry, Shippou-kun.  Sesshoumaru-sama isn't mad at you so much as he is at himself.  He's remembering a bet he made to a certain miko about 465 years ago, one that you just lost for him."  Kagome explained, to her slightly panicked son.  Sesshoumaru growled softly.  Shippou looked confused.

"What did he bet?"  Kagome's smile widened.

"I bet Sesshoumaru-sama that the two of you would end up together one day.  Sesshoumaru accepted, and the price he has to pay is pretty steep.  I think he was hoping that I had forgotten."  Sesshoumaru growled.

"You would be correct, miko."  Kagome's eyebrows raised.

"I wouldn't call me that.  Remember what happened to InuYasha when he got annoying.  It could happen to you too."  She warned.  "Besides,"  She smiled sweetly.  "It's time for me to collect!"

Sesshoumaru blanched.