It's a Dog's World by Kanna37

The True Measure of a Man

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Inuyasha.

~oOo~

With an agonized moan Kagome returned to the land of the living; within minutes her memory had returned and she almost wished she hadn't.

Everything hurt. Every part of her body and mind, but the worst hurt was in her soul.

A gentle arm came around her shoulders and lifted her up slightly, offering her cool water to soothe her parched throat, and Kagome's eyes took in her surroundings for the first time – a beautiful, light, airy room done in pale woods and greens and pinks – spring colors in a Lord's home.

“Drink slowly, priestess,” a rich, baritone voice murmured; Sesshoumaru. Kagome was stunned.

 She took a sip, followed by another. “What happened to me?” she rasped, the pain in her soul slipping into her voice. Her true question: Why am I here?

There was a pause as Sesshoumaru allowed her to take another sip, and then oh, so gently laid her back against the soft bedding, smoothing the blankets back over her bruised and broken form. After a moment he spoke, his voice softer than she had ever heard it.

“What do you remember?”

Fire, blood, pain. Male youkai, oh so many of them. Too many for me and Kirara alone to fight.

Inuyasha had decided after long consideration that he could not break his vow to Kikyou. He'd have felt far too much guilt to ever have lived happily if he'd broken his word to her, and so after they'd all defeated Naraku he'd gone with her, unhappily, true, but still nonetheless gone with her to hell.

Kagome couldn't find it in herself to be angry at him, but oh, she hated Kikyou for it – in her mind the former miko was simply selfish, especially as she really wasn't even in hell – she'd condemned the hanyou to a lonely death, because her soul was already in use again. Inuyasha had been gipped. His only real crime had been foolishness.

But there was nothing Kagome could do about it.

Miroku, Sango, and Shippo had all died in the final battle, and Inuyasha's last wish had been for Kagome to return home after he went to hell with Kikyou.

One problem. After he'd left and Kirara took her for the final time to the well, she'd discovered that it was closed... stranding her, leaving her with her only companions remaining being Kirara and Kaede.

That was eight years ago – and she hadn't aged since, which had branded her a dark witch in the primitive mindsets of the people of that time period. Kaede had managed to keep the villagers from doing anything hasty – but she'd finally died a year past, and without her calming influence the villagers had quickly gotten out of hand and cast her out.

Left to wander around in the wilderness with only Kirara for company, it hadn't been long before she'd drawn the attention of a rather large group of adolescent youkai males... she was, after all, a very attractive, powerful female.

“Kirara?” she asked slowly, frightened of the answer.

“Your firecat is injured but she will eventually heal, Kagome,” he replied after a moment, “much like you, yourself.” He looked down at her. “You did not answer my question.”

She didn't respond for a moment, then she moaned, the sound agonized. “I remember everything,” she whispered, and he could hear the anguish in her soul permeate her voice; he knew in that moment that she did, indeed, remember everything.

The elegant, long-fingered hand that lay against his side slowly clenched into a fist, the deadly claws tipping them drawing blood; his eyes flashed crimson to match the sanguine liquid beginning to stain the pale wood of the floor.

Those who had hurt her that had not already been destroyed when she'd fought them would soon pay dearly for what they had done to her...

He would make sure of it.

~oOo~

For the next two months Kagome did little more than focus on healing her body enough to be able to move around freely once more. Sesshoumaru encouraged this silently by instructing the servants in opening the shoji in her rooms into the gardens for most of every day; the beauty of those gardens drew her sad, weary little soul and she pushed herself to get up and go outside.

About three weeks after waking up Kirara joined her in her rooms; Kagome was pretty overwhelmed – the firecat was the last of her original companions and she was for that very reason deeply attached to her.

Besides one small scar along her underside from a very deep puncture Kirara had escaped with no other scars, for which Kagome was grateful; a guilty priestess actually begged a tiny kitten to stay with Sesshoumaru rather than travel with her any longer so that she wouldn't be hurt again.

Needless to say, Kirara was just a bit upset with her for that until a dejected Kagome apologized. The firecat forgave her quickly enough though, once she did, understanding that she simply wanted her friend to be kept safe.

Kagome tried very hard to avoid Sesshoumaru out of shame for what had befallen her; she felt she was no longer worthy of a male's affections and she was quickly falling in love with the beautiful youkai lord that was proving himself so gentle to one in need of a caring hand. The daiyoukai would have none of it, however, firmly stomping all over her attempts at avoidance and deliberately seeking her out.

Frustration and shame finally came to a head. “I don't understand why you would want to see me, Sesshoumaru-sama!” she shouted, refusing to look at him. “You didn't try to see me in any way in all the years following Naraku's defeat, but now that I've been shamed you seek out my company? The company of one of those worthless humans? Do you enjoy seeing the levels of degradation that the human filth has descended to? Does it please you to see how low I've been brought?” Her hands came up to hide her face as she sobbed brokenly into them, anguish literally dripping from her words as her memories began to overwhelm her.

“Wench! You should be down on your knees thanking Sesshoumaru-sama for even helping your worthless hide, not berating him!” came Jaken's screechy voice. Kagome was shocked out of her grief at the low, vicious snarl that ripped from the daiyoukai's throat as he attacked the gami, sending him flying across the room.

“You will never speak to Kagome that way again, toad!” he hissed warningly, his eyes flashing crimson as Jaken and every servant in the room cowered in fear. “If any one of you ever show her any sort of disrespect you will face my wrath, is that understood? You will treat her as though she were me!” he rasped, then gestured sharply for everyone to leave.

That declaration stunned everyone in the room, not the least of which was Kagome herself. She silently watched the room empty as everyone fled obediently, her mind blank as she tried to take in what had just happened, tears still falling silently down her cheeks.

Finally, when the silence had stretched her strained and broken nerves too far, she whispered, “Why?” while staring at her hands, unable to bring herself to look at him – afraid of what she would see.

Jaw clenched tight Sesshoumaru stared at the walls for a moment, trying to bring his anger under control – control that had been tested, strained and pushed by the circumstances of the past couple of years almost more than he could bear.

The daiyoukai had admired this priestess for many years and had been watching her in the lead up to the battle with Naraku for some time, weighing whether to court her or not. He had finally decided to do so – and then the battle with Naraku had happened, and he had not been there.

He hadn't found out that Naraku had been defeated until Kagura had come to him and attempted to court him – he'd been quite taken aback when he'd found out that Naraku had been destroyed, Kagome's friends had died, and that she'd gone home through the well.

That last piece of information from Kagura had greatly disgruntled him – it meant that he would have to wait for five hundred years until her time to court her.

Yes, he knew of her time and he was very willing to wait, though it was not a happy thought.

Kagura had been quite angry when she found out that he was not open to her suit.

Imagine his shock and rage when he'd been in the middle of a routine, rather boring sweep of his lands and had felt the shockwaves of a huge battle that had been fought... he'd immediately recognized Kagome's reiki and the jyaki of a large amount of youkai...

She'd been attacked by a large group of honorless, houseless males. She'd fought a magnificent battle, there was no doubt of that, with no one by her side but the firecat, and she'd destroyed almost all of her attackers... still, a few had managed to survive and beaten and almost unable to even move she'd eventually been raped by the last remaining few.

His rage had been endless and unbound... and it still was.

He didn't think it would ever be calmed.

Most of the bastards were dead, but those that weren't... he would take great pleasure in hunting them down and slowly torturing them to their deaths.

And someday he would eventually die, himself. Then he would hunt down those who were dead, too, and torture them, as well.

Oh, yes... one day, all who had harmed her would know his wrath, of that he was determined.

A feral grin touched his mouth. I am sure that Inuyasha is also busy teaching those that are dead the error of their ways right now...

Hell is probably a most horrible place for them.

The thought was quite satisfying.

There was also Kagura to deal with.

She had deliberately lied to him about Kagome going back through the well hoping that he would court her, instead.

He was no fool – he knew that she had desired him, but he had no interest in a construct of that disgusting hanyou. She was a mere created youkai.

A fake.

If not for her lies Kagome would have been his mate long ago and that attack would never have occurred. So in his eyes Kagura held fault for that, as well.

She would pay dearly for it.

He unclenched his jaw and looked over at the woman he had first had an interest in, then had tender feelings for, and then flat out fallen head over heels in love with.

Even now, with everything that had happened to her she was strong, she was trying so hard to claw her way back from a broken heart and spirit and he was going to help her do it whether she knew it or not, no matter what it took.

“You wish to know why I have brought you here, why I have helped you, why I have placed you in the rooms of the Lady of the West?” he asked, looking straight at her as he asked that, knowing the last part of his question would startle her and cause her to look up at him.

Sure enough, it did.

Eyes wide, she asked, “W-what?”

“I have seen you eyeing the extra door in the bathing spring, wondering where it goes – it connects to my rooms. The rooms you are in are those of the Western Lady.”

“It's not appropriate for me to be in those rooms, Sesshoumaru-sama!” she squeaked, shocked, once his words had sunk in. “Why would you do such a horribly inappropriate thing?”

“You will very quickly learn, Kagome, that I do what I want in these lands and that I decide what is appropriate and what is not. Get used to being in those rooms, priestess, because you will be spending a great deal of time in them,” he said silkily.

Kagome cast around in her own mind for something that would explain his words in an acceptable – to her – manner. What she came up with... “Oh. I get it. You are too kind, Sesshoumaru-sama,” she said dully after a moment. “But there is no need,” she said softly, “and eventually I will have to be on my way, I know that. I'm quite thankful for your hospitality so far, my lord, when it wasn't expected.”

He tilted his head and looked at her, wondering what stupid idea she'd gotten into her head. Whatever it was, he was about to disabuse her of it quite soundly and with absolutely no regret.

“I've no interest in what your inane thoughts are, Kagome, but you will not be leaving my home again – at least not without me. You are now mine to protect, and these rooms are yours for the duration of both our lives.” He eyed her frozen, astonished expression. “I am well aware that you will need much more time to heal; once you have, however, you will be this one's mate and Lady of the West, that is not up for debate.”

Kagome, shocked speechless, could only stare at him as he lay down the law.

Eventually, of course, the shock would wear off.

And then the true fight for the heart and soul of Kagome would begin.

Sesshoumaru was more than up for the challenge.

By the time it was all over, Kagome would know the true measure of a man.