Windows on the West by Kanna37

Not Quite the Last Part I

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Inuyasha.

~oOo~

The morning after Sesshoumaru presented Kagome with her courting gift, a surprise visit from his mother set their entire world on end.

She no sooner landed before her son than she began speaking, and Kagome was quite surprised to see the sudden consternation in Sesshoumaru's eyes at his mother's words.

“Where did that inuyoukai bitch and her pup that Kagome came upon come from, Sesshoumaru? I thought we were the last... but if there are more...” she trailed off, and her son's youki suddenly began to rise in anger as his eyes narrowed.

“It does not matter, mother – I will not forsake Kagome to court another, inuyoukai or not,” he said warningly, his power swelling outward, heavy and presuming, whipping the meadow grasses around, though not a single part of his clothing or hair moved an inch.

Satori narrowed her eyes on him just as warningly. “I meant no such thing, Sesshoumaru. But if there are more of our kind out there, that means there is hope for our race not being dependent on just you. Perhaps a mating with one of your children, to diversify the bloodline.”

Kagome blinked in confusion at the discussion taking place right in front of her by the two that weren't even looking in her direction – like she didn't even exist. But what they were saying... Our... children? Isn't she getting a little ahead of herself? That would be several years away yet!

Still confused though she was beginning to get the gist of the conversation, she stepped forward, clearing her throat. “Uhm,” she said tentatively, “Satori-sama... are you saying that you thought all inuyoukai but you, Sesshoumaru, and Inuyasha, were dead?”

The female turned to look at her, then nodded. “Hai. At least, here. I do not know if some might still exist on the mainland.”

Kagome thought for a moment, a tantalizing bit of memory picking at her. “What about on one of the other islands?” she asked. “Do you know if any live on one of them?”

Satori looked thoughtful at that question, answering slowly. “On the Northernmost island, there are not. But... I do not know about the Southern Islands. It is possible... still, how are we to find out? Even my mirror can only see so far,” she mused.

Not understanding that allusion, Kagome glossed over it, something occurring to her, then, as a flashback of the poor woman and her pup crossed her mind. “Well,” she said, “their clothing wasn't of Chinese origin. They looked just like our traditional dress, with slight variations. My guess would be one of the Southern Islands, then, since you say there are none living in Hokkaido... Kyushu, I'd bet.”

Both Satori and Sesshoumaru looked impressed at that.

“Why would you say Kyushu, rather than Shikoku?” Sesshoumaru asked, intrigued, as his mother looked on.

Her brow furrowed and she searched through her memories of Japanese legends learned in school, that memory still poking at her. “In my time, when I was in school, we had to learn about Japanese legends. I did well in that class,” she said, smiling deprecatingly, “with living so much in this era, and actually living so many of those legends. But... I vaguely remember one of the smaller known legends from Kyushu.” She frowned, trying to draw every bit of memory forward. “There was a small, hidden village of inuyoukai in the southernmost portions of the island. They had, however, mortal enemies in a group of powerful and rather large hawk youkai, and the small village was eventually overrun. Some few made it out, escaping to other places. But not many. I can't remember anything more...” she trailed off apologetically.

Satori shook her head. “It is enough. It gives us a place to begin looking... the bitch and pup you found may well have been some of those fleeing the hawks, then. And it would seem that their enemies are willing to hunt them down even here.” She turned to her son. “You know we cannot ignore this, Sesshoumaru. We must travel to Kyushu and see if we can save any that may still be living.”

Kagome's eyes narrowed immediately on Sesshoumaru. “If you go, I go. Don't even think about leaving me behind,” she said firmly, her tone daring him to even try.

Brow cocked, he eyed her determined stance. “I have no intention of leaving you behind,” he replied easily. “You fought Naraku – you are no weak female to hide in fear from strife.”

She beamed at him, then looked at Satori. “So... when do we leave?”

When Inuyasha found out what was going on, his attention was caught – and he demanded to also go. Surprisingly, or maybe not, Sesshoumaru had no problem with that, and even Satori saw the wisdom in his presence – he was, after all, quite powerful in his own right, and the more power they could bring to bear against the hawks, the better.

Kimi agreed, along with Sango and Miroku, to watch over Rin and Shippo, and with that, the group was ready to leave – Inuyasha would ride Ah-Uhn, and Sesshoumaru would carry Kagome with him.

Within an hour of Satori's appearance, the group was off, and by the time that night fell and they made camp, they were already near the southern shores of Honshu...

Tomorrow, they would reach Kyushu.

And then they would see what they would see.

~oOo~

A/N: And here is the first part explaining the mysterious Inu female and her pup that died so tragically.

Part two will come later!

Amber