Fidelity by Luna

Chapter 1

Standard disclaimer applies. I do not own Inuyasha.

All four chapters were originally posted to Live Journal on January 3, 2012.

1st place winner in the One-shot Contest on Dokuga(underscore)Contest on Live Journal – One-shot #086, Bravado!

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Fidelity

Chapter One

By: Luna

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"Histories are more full of examples of the fidelity of dogs than of friends."

- Alexander Pope

It all started with a dog.

A not-really-normal-dog-but-an-insanely-super-strong dog, but a dog all the same. At first she didn't really notice it following her around. She saw it every now and then around town, but she just assumed that the dog was a very well-travelled stray, and left it at that. It was only until she left the shrine one early morning on her way to work, that she noticed him sitting at the top of the steps like a shrine dog did she finally get fed up.

She stopped beside him and glared down, then propped her hands on her hips when the giant silver dog merely turned its regal head to consider her with a serene expression. That irritated her even more, since she felt the dog was looking at her as if she was a child.

"Listen you," she started through gritted teeth. She felt a prickly along her senses; she knew this was no ordinary dog. "Stop following me around! What are you, some sort of guard dog?"

"Something like that." A deep voice answered, its tone as cool as an icy river in the middle of winter.

Kagome froze, staring down at the dog with a paralyzed expression. The lips didn't move. Her senses barely even fizzed. How could a dog with so little power talk to her? And something about the voice just pissed her off, but she couldn't figure out why. Pushing aside her shock, she focused on the situation at hand. She's dealt with weirder things in the past anyways.

"Something like that," she quoted in an irritated manner, acting like the child he seemed to think she was anyways. "Is there a reason why? Or are you just some abandoned mutt looking for free food?"

He was silent for so long that Kagome felt guilty, and she groaned in defeat before giving his head a careless pat as she ran down the stairs. "You better not talk to me in public!" She called over her shoulder as she ran. "I'll be seen as the crazy lady!"

She didn't know what his expression would have been, if dogs managed to even have expressions, but she didn't stop to look, and instead continued to run, eyes straight forward to her destination. Kagome worked as a PE teacher at her old high school, since her return from the past ten years ago made her into a fitness junky. At first, physical exertion took her mind off her suffering; it made her so tired she couldn't think. After a while, she genuinely started to love working out, and went to university to get her teaching certification.

The shrine had been taken over by a distant cousin who was actually into the religion and cherished the responsibility; Kagome pretty much stayed there as an honorary houseguest, since she was still classified as a powerful miko. Her cousin seemed to actually possess a spark of spiritual energy, and had seemed daunted at the power in Kagome. After that, she insisted Kagome stay at the shrine instead of moving out like she had originally planned. Since that was cheaper and the house was familiar to her, Kagome readily agreed.

After her grandfather passed away and Souta moved to America to pursue an international degree in business (which surprised the hell out of her, since he had always been the athletic one) Kagome's mother ended up remarrying a very nice gentleman and moved to live quietly with him in the country. Kagome wasn't able to let go of Tokyo, or the shrine that housed all of her memories. Staying wasn't a chore, she thought cheerfully as she drilled her students into exercise. Her cousin Himeko was actually quite fun when she wasn't taking her chores as the shrine maiden too seriously.

Kagome fiddled with the whistle around her neck, cheerfully thinking about what she needed to cook for dinner that night. She might as well pick up some steak for her canine companion as well…

"Kagome-sensei!"

Kagome turned sharply, glaring in reproach at two of her female students. "That's Higurashi-sensei to you two! When did I give you permission to use my first name?"

The girls blushed, but they were smiling. "Higurashi-sensei, did something good happen today?"

Kagome blinked, tilting her head to the side quizzically. "What do you mean?"

"Well, it's just that Higurashi-sensei seems so much happier today! We didn't know if something good happened."

Kagome smiled and ruffled their hair, waving to them over her shoulder as the rest of her dismissed students starting making their way to the locker room to change. "I just got a new pet, that's all!"

She was still humming as she left the school later that day, and blinked in surprise when she noticed the silver dog sitting outside the school gates calmly. "What are you doing here?" She asked, running an absent hand over his head as she passed him, knowing he'd start to follow her. "You didn't have to wait for me."

He didn't say anything, and when she looked down to frown at him, he met her eyes serenely. "Well?" She demanded. "Aren't you going to say anything?"

"You told me not to talk to you in public. I am merely abiding by your wishes." He replied calmly, his huge paws walking slowly in measured steps. There really was something familiar about this dog, she thought, puzzled.

"Hmph. I change my mind. Talk to me as much as you want." Kagome shot him another look, wondering why she wasn't more intimidated by a dog that was the size of a malamute, with the beauty of an exotic predator. "Why are you following me, anyways? I don't need protection."

"You're hiding something very precious, aren't you?" He asked her, still in that cool, unaffected voice. Though it was strange to her that his lips didn't move, since Shippo definitely had a fox's muzzle, and he had spoken out of it very clearly, she didn't really mind too much. She stopped questioning mythical things a long time ago, and was determined to merely go with the flow.

His words, however, settled a nagging worry, and she felt curiously calm and in icy command. "Indeed I am. Are you perhaps after it as well?" She asked calmly, reaching in her pocket for a pack of cigarettes. She quit years ago, but the habit to tap the pack against her palm never quite went away, and in this moment it soothed her.

She heard a very canine snort, and looked down to see the dog curl its lip up in a sneer, revealing a flash of razor sharp teeth. "I do not seek power in objects. I am powerful enough in my own right; I do not need what you carry. If I want more power, I will seek it myself, through myself."

"So says the four legged dog." She commented, but her anxiety was curiously vanished. "Come on," she said suddenly, flashing him a quick grin. "Race ya to the grocery store!"

She took off in a flash. When she realized he was hot on her heels, she let loose a peal of laughter, unintentionally drawing interested eyes. The dog at her side snarled. "Those men are staring at you. Stop running, you are looking far too vivacious."

"Vivacious?" She asked breathlessly, slowing down to a jog as they neared the convenient store close to the shrine. "I've never had a demon call me that before."

She looked down when she sensed shock in her companion. She blinked at its frozen expression. "What?"

"How do you know I am a demon? What if I had been a spirit?"

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Puh-lease. I may not use my powers, but that doesn't mean I don't have them. I was able to tell you were a demon the first moment I saw you."

The dog looked over at her contemplatively as she slowed to a walk, annoyingly calm and showing no signs of exertion. "Perhaps you have grown after all."

Kagome frowned at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

The dog looked away. "Nothing. Go buy your groceries and let's go."

Rolling her eyes, Kagome did just that.

Later that night, Kagome sealed away the remains of her dinner, wondering where her cousin was at. It was unusual to leave the shrine unattended, and not like her diligent cousin at all. Looking out the kitchen window, she smiled when she stared up into the clear night sky. She turned to her new companion, who had settled himself near the doorway off the kitchen, and gestured for him to follow her. "C'mon, let's go outside. We might actually be able to see the stars."

Kagome settled with him on the back porch, swinging her legs out lazily over the side of the veranda. The dog settled beside her, sitting as straight and as proud as a prince. Kagome smiled, leaning up against his massive frame and looping her arm around him companionably. "You know," she started. "I finally realized who you remind me of the most. I think I've finally got a name for you."

"Which is?" His voice was lazy, as if he didn't particularly care for her answer.

"Sesshoumaru." She said, pulling her knees up to her chest as she burrowed further into the warmth of his coat. "I think I'm going to call you Sesshoumaru."

Sesshoumaru froze, but since she was too busy making herself comfortable she didn't really notice. She knew that the dog beside her was a demon, but she already felt so comfortable in his presence that she didn't care about being particularly safe at the moment. Besides, he said he was there to protect her, and he didn't really seem to mind her close proximity.

"Who is the person that you are naming me after?" He asked carefully, going rigid in surprise when her nose started nuzzling the underside of his chin in an inu sign of submission, and an askance for affection.

Kagome was unaware of the nuances of her actions as she tried to warm her nose up. "Sesshoumaru," she started, her voice muffled by his fur. "Was a very proud dog."

A beat of silence, and then a wry voice, "That's all?"

Kagome gurgled with laughter. "If I didn't know any better, I would think you were searching for compliments."

"Hnn."

Kagome's eyes popped open, a wave of déjà vu assaulting her. She pushed her feelings aside, then smiled a little wistfully. "No, that's not all." She told him softly. "He's also someone I used to be in love with."

"Used to?"

Sighing, she leaned against him fully, this time seeking comfort. "It's been a very long time. I have seen him in over five hundred years."

"Five hundred years?" His voice was disbelieving. "You are but a human."

Kagome smiled, a bit more genuinely this time. "That I am. But I'm not lying. At first I thought I was in love with his younger brother, Inuyasha. But…"

"But…?"

"Puppy love," she said with a little laugh. "You come into it quickly, and grow out of it just as fast. He was a friend, a dear one, but no more than that. His brother Sesshoumaru, on the other hand… Ah, now that one stuck a little longer."

Kagome remembered the first time he kissed her, as if desperate for her, conveying feelings that he would never express out loud. Words had meaning, but actions did too, and for a demon who said very little, she had paid close attention to what actions he expressed. "He was perfect," she ended up whispering. "But he was very dark, and very terrifying. He ended up leaving a miko like me."

"Why?"

"Because I was me, and he was him. He knew I would be sent back, and didn't want to wait." Kagome's eyes closed, sleep flowing through her body like a drug. "You remind me a lot like him."

"I have no intention of leaving you." His voice was a deep promise, and she smiled again in spite of the topic of conversation.

"Of course you're not. Because you're a dog, not a man." She said sleepily. "And dogs are always faithful."

She fell asleep without a second thought, and didn't hear what might have been a whine escape from Sesshoumaru's throat.