Second Wind by thetroll

Chapter 1

Sesshomaru stared at the missive in his hand, surprised in more ways than one.

First, that it was from his half-brother's mate. Few yokai females bothered writing, even if they knew how, and amongst humans, it was practically unheard of. He hadn't even suspected the priestess knew how to write, yet not only had she written him, but she'd painted so many kanji she might as well have sent him a novel.

Second was that it involved Rin, who he was remised to note, was old enough now to marry, a fact he'd somehow missed. Not that it would have mattered much, as he felt no need to interfere in her decision for a mate. He had vowed to allow her a normal human life and, per her wishes, he still visited her, but there was no longer any blending of their lives. Her life was her own and now that she wished to wed, he would consider increasing their distance to allow her to grow in her new role.

However, apparently his half-brother's priestess felt differently.

Evidently, she didn't approve of the boy and she sought aid from him to interfere—and she'd taken great pains to explain why Rin would listen to him when she sought no other counsel.

The boy, it seemed, was nothing remarkable—though Sesshomaru was sure there had to be something remarkable or his ward wouldn't have bothered agreeing to the marriage—and in fact, was so remarkably unremarkable that Sesshomaru was bored simply reading about him.

Hiroji wasn't a lord's son. He wasn't even the son of an affluent merchant or respectable monk. The boy was a farmer's son, and not even the first-born at that. Hiroji was the fourth son, which meant that he had nothing but his name and the priestess was dismissive of even that. Hiroji, it seemed, had the habit of dallying with many a village woman, according to the priestess's missive. There were rumors he sometimes beat them. Perhaps, the priestess had dared pen, he even took them unwillingly. All in all, Hiroji was simply very bad news. 

He snorted. As though Rin were foolish enough to choose such a male.

Sesshomaru decided to ignore the missive and casually tossed it into the fire. His interference was not needed, nor, he was sure, was it desired by Rin. Therefore, he would do nothing.

.

Ignoring his brother's priestess, however, was easier said than done.

When he did not respond nor acknowledge the missive, the infernal woman sent more, each becoming more and more threatening when he elected not to reply.

Over the course of three months, he received two dozen letters, all of which had the same spiel, though the priestess had chosen different ways to present the message in each letter. When her first half-dozen or so letters failed to elicit a response, she had escalated, attempting to appeal to his care of Rin. When that failed, she had become violent, threatening to hunt him down and dismember him if he failed to appear and 'take charge of Rin and not foist his obligations on others.'

Unfortunately for her, it had an unintended side effect: Sesshomaru enjoyed deadly things. The more she threatened him, the more his own amusement increased. Instead of infuriating or badgering him into replying, as she'd no doubt intended, he found himself chuckling darkly each time a messenger delivered a new one.

Regrettably, the messenger happened to be Jaken, and he hadn't taken well to Sesshomaru's amusement. The first time Sesshomaru had chuckled aloud, Jaken had fainted dead awake in horrified shock.

Over the next few weeks, the letters increased in tone until she finally threatened to remove a certain part of his anatomy and shove it up his rear—a threat, he was sure, she'd learned from his half-brother's foul mouth.

It was then that Sesshomaru resolved to go visit the priestess, partially for his own amusement, and partially because he was tired of burning letters. He wasn't fond of the smell the ink made when it burned, and the whole situation was becoming rather tiresome.

Yet what Sesshomaru found when he arrived was not at all what he anticipated.

.

Kagome paced through the village, anxiously awaiting Sesshomaru's arrival. When he got here, she was positive he'd see what she saw and put a firm stop to Rin's fantasies of marriage and happily ever after. 

Rin had once again snuck away to spend time with that boy, and when Sesshomaru found them swapping spit, she figured his rage alone would change Rin's mind about marrying, let alone marrying a farm boy like Hiroji who, Kagome was convinced, couldn't count to ten using his own fingers, let alone anything else.

Yet what she pictured happening didn't quite happen. Sesshomaru found her pacing not far from where Rin and Hiroji thought they were hiding as they kissed. He'd called out a greeting and though both had flushed at being caught, they'd greeted him politely. Hiroji had invited them over for lunch—to the house Rin shared with Kagome and InuYasha, no less, rather than his own—and Rin had waited on both men with all the respect a feudal woman could give. It was enough to make Kagome’s futuristic mindset shudder.

But when Hiroji pulled Sesshomaru aside to take a walk and talk, Kagome thought that was it. Sesshomaru would see how unsuitable Hiroji was and chase him off.

Except... He didn't. Both men returned, and... Nothing happened. Rin cleaned up the meal, turning down Kagome's offer to help, and some time later, both teens snuck out...again.

Kagome insisted Sesshomaru take a walk not long after, knowing what they would find, and hoping to prompt Sesshomaru into more immediate action.

"You said Hiroji was entirely unsuitable. Yet I do not find anything unsuitable about him," Sesshomaru said as they eyed the happy couple.

Kagome eyed them mutinously. "Well, he is," she insisted. "You're just not looking hard enough."

Sesshomaru tilted his head slightly, looking as though he hadn't a care in the world, like he wasn't at all bothered to see Rin smooching some teenage boy. "Ah. And 'looking harder' is what led you to state that he is a rapist?"

"Hey!" Kagome glared at Sesshomaru. "I did not say that!"

"You insisted Hiroji was taking women without their consent," Sesshomaru pointed out and Kagome instantly felt contrite.

Kagome flushed. "Okay, so that might have been a bit of an exaggeration."

Sesshomaru raised a brow. 

"Okay, maybe more than a little," she grudgingly admitted. When he remained silent, she caved. "Fine! More than a little! A lot! More than a lot! You caught me, okay? He's not that bad! He just..." She hesitated for a moment and then the dam burst and all the words just rushed out of her. "She's fifteen! She's too young, Sesshomaru, and she's making a huge mistake by rushing into everything, and—"

"This one was under the impression her engagement period was to last a least a year before they'd be allowed to wed," Sesshomaru smoothly interrupted as Kagome's blush deepened.

"Well, yes," Kagome replied hesitantly before regaining her wind and adding, "but she'd only be sixteen, Sesshomaru! She's still practically a child!"

"This one recalls that you were the same age when you wed the hanyo." Sesshomaru's lip twitched and she just knew the bastard was laughing at her.

"Hey! We weren't married at sixteen," Kagome retorted, putting her hands on her hips.

"Yet you informed this one you were." He idly ran a hand through his silvery hair and she was, for a moment, distracted by how enticing the movement was—and how much she wanted to be the one touching his hair.

"Well..." Kagome licked her lips. "We were going to get married then." When he raised a brow again, she added indignantly, "We were! But then a lot of stuff happened, and—"

"And you were sixteen." He nodded, looking for the world as though he were indulging her. "You made a mistake, so you think Rin is also."

"Yes—no—that's not the point here, Sesshomaru!" She stomped her foot, forgetting for a moment that grown women in their twenties generally didn't go around stomping their feet like toddlers. "This isn't about me, it's about Rin!"

Sesshomaru's hand moved to touch his fluffy mokomoko. "Ah. So when you insinuated that he was unable to protect a wife, it was for Rin. When you insisted he was ill-educated and unable to provide for a wife, that was also for Rin. When you stated that he could not be trusted to remain faithful, this was also for Rin."

His tone dared her to say otherwise.

Kagome grasped for a reply. "Okay, so I exaggerated a bit," she finally admitted mulishly, "but I really did have her best interest at heart, Sesshomaru. She's just too young."

She ignored that voice in the back of her head that reminded her that marriage at that age was not at all uncommon for the feudal era. She remembered Rin being a child, and she wasn't ready to see Rin as an adult when in her time, Rin would still have been attending high school. She wasn't even old enough for college yet, for heaven's sake, and yet she wanted to get married?!

"Hers?" He raised his brows. "Or yours, priestess? This one has noticed that your arguments for his unsuitability have uncanny parallels to a certain hanyo."

Kagome winced.

Sesshomaru seemed to recognize her weakness and pressed, "This one has noticed the hanyo is not here to protect you. From the stale odor, it appears he has not resided with you in some time. This one has also noticed that he does not provide for you, nor is he as educated as you are. The land here bears your scent alone, and it appears you alone stock the supplies in your home. He has also noticed that you make no mention of the hanyo, but the single women in the village mention his visits and his scent is stronger in their homes. Perhaps it is you, not Rin, who is regretting the idea of marriage so young. Perhaps you accuse others of taking women against their will because you cannot accept that your own husband is welcomed by other women and enjoy his attentions while you do not."

Kagome staggered, each word a heavy blow to her heart. Kagome said they weren't married because she didn't feelmarried, and hadn't for some time. They'd married and all had been well for a few months. Better than well, actually. It had been bliss. But over time, InuYasha had begun to have trouble staying home with her. He'd been restless, so she'd suggested he return to yokai hunting. 

At first, he'd been gone a day or two, no more, and returned to her side. But eventually, days had turned into weeks and then months, and when he did return, she noticed that he'd slip out to visit other women, all widows, in the village.

It was a small village. People gossiped. It hadn't taken long for word to come around to Kagome, but by then, she'd already known. She simply couldn't admit it aloud.

Her marriage had ended a long time ago, and she'd known for awhile InuYasha wanted out, but lacked the ability to express it himself. Or perhaps simply had difficultly letting her go as he once had Kikyo. He didn't love her, not romantically, but maybe he felt guilty she'd given up everything in her future to be here with him.

It didn't matter, in the end. She was alone; her marriage dying years ago. Only her stubbornness had kept her from admitting it to anyone else.

And she didn't want that for Rin.

"Rin is not you," Sesshomaru added as though he could hear her thoughts. "She will not make the mistakes you have."

Sesshomaru's form blurred beneath her tears. He was right, the bastard, but she hadn't been ready to admit it.

She looked down, unable to meet his pointed gaze.

"You made your point," she said quietly, wiping away her tears as best as she could, "so just leave now, okay?"

Sesshomaru rose and made his way to the door and then stopped, as though hesitating. "You are wasted on the hanyo," he said quietly.

Her head jerked up to see a surprisingly empathetic look on his face. "What?" she whispered, stunned.

"You are wasted on him," he repeated. "Find someone more worthy, as Rin has."

Her lip twitched at the reminder as he once again turned to leave. "Yeah, sure," she scoffed. "Like who? You?"

He paused again. "Are you offering?" he asked quietly.

Some wild streak in Kagome, one she thought she'd left behind as she matured, dared to say, "What if I am?"

"A serious question begets a serious answer," was all he replied.

She straightened and let her wounded ego do the talking, figuring she might as well throw in the rest of her dignity. "And if I am serious? If I think you're more worthy than he is?"

He scoffed then, but it was so much in character that it hardly disturbed the mood. "There is no think to it, priestess. This one is more worthy in every way."

She raised a brow, daring him to answer her. Daring him to throw her away as his hanyo brother had. If he did, she'd cry the rest of her tears out, the ones stuck in the back of her throat that she couldn't quite bring herself to let free.

If he didn't... She didn't know what she'd do. Agree? It certainly would be a final hurrah to InuYasha's pride, to leave him for his half-brother of all people.

He walked back over to her, towering over her, but didn't reply right away, and Kagome's irritation surged free.

"Say something, dammit," she hissed. "Say something before I try to beat it out of you."

He raised a brow as if daring her to try. There was a smirk on his lips as he pulled her to him, wrapping an arm around her waist. "He would keep you."

And when she opened her mouth to blast him for daring to speak like she was his property, he took advantage and leaned down to kiss her. She bit his lip for daring, digging her nails into his back, and that only seemed to spur him on further. His kiss depend, igniting a fire in her she hadn't felt in a long time.

It was the last thought she had for quite a while.

.

Later, lying on the futons even Kagome had to admit weren't especially comfortable when you shared them with a daiyokai who was determined to hog most of the padding, Kagome brought the subject back up with a stubbornness that seemed to delight her partner.

"I still say she's too young." She folded her arms across her naked chest, shielding them from his view.

"And this one still thinks you are too mouthy after such a passionate exchange. Allow him to remedy that..." He promptly removed her arms and began devouring her all over again. 

Sooner or later, Sesshomaru was sure, she'd forget the argument to begin with, but he'd find something else to argue about. It likely wouldn't be hard, given her combative nature, and he looked forward to many a fight in his foreseeable future—and the passionate, excited loving that followed.

After all, his mate was the most attractive when she was picking a fight with him...