Should've Stayed Dead [Inuyasha]

Should've Stayed Dead

"This one told her."

The voice was cold, elegant, emotionless, and one they all knew. Toga whipped around only to see his eldest son standing a few yards away. Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes, "And I would advise you, Chichiue, to step away from my mate- otherwise she may cause you greater damage than you would ever dream."

"M-mate?!!!" Toga screeched, his gaze flickering back and forth between Kagome and Sesshomaru like a game of ping-pong. "You mean this ill-tempered, ill-spoken little thing is your mate?!!! I didn't think you'd have one!!"

And mates they were, despite the shock of their friends and comrades... In a sense, mates were the soul's perfect match. Humans found theirs in the aspect of true love, while youkai... they knew from instincts. And somehow, Kagome and Sesshomaru were mates.

They met once outside of their respective groups and found neither was as off-putting as originally perceived. After Naraku was defeated when Kagome was 16, Sesshomaru sent Rin to live in the human village and the miko found herself taking the girl into her care as she raised Shippo.

Kagome had the option to go through the well and did so once a month like clockwork, but decided to stay in the feudal era permanently instead. She no longer belonged in that world after the things she had witnessed, been through, experienced.

So she never finished high school, or junior high, yet that didn't matter to her. Nor did it matter to the miko's mother, as long as Kagome was happy.

Sesshomaru came by often, dropping off presents for Rin and checking in on her, and soon found himself checking in on Kagome as well- even bringing her new furs for winter. It also didn't take long before Kagome craved his presence, enjoying it every time he came around.

The inu even took Shippo under his wing, giving him the youkai training Kagome could not, as she was teaching Rin the things only a woman could teach her. And it was after that, they fell in love.

To say Inuyasha was happy about this was an understatement. Since Kikyo had died before the final battle against Naraku, the hanyo no longer had to go to hell with her, and Inuyasha finally turned his attention to Kagome.

But by then, Kagome was sick of coming second best to Kikyo and decided to let Inuyasha go. She told herself they'd stay friends no matter what happened, and things continued as normal between them for a good while, because Inuyasha was scared of rejection after all he had put her through.

And by the time he got around to telling Kagome how he felt, she had already fallen in love with another.

'Inuyasha nervously paced back and forth outside Edo Village, the sun just rising in the distance behind him. The half-melted snow glistened under the light, the vibrant grass just beginning to perk up as winter slowly faded away.

Today was the day... the day when he'd tell Kagome how he felt about her. She was 17 now and even more beautiful, but that was unimportant, for the hanyo could know his feelings were getting stronger.

He wished to be with Kagome for as long as her human life allowed her to be. That was for certain.

Inuyasha glanced over at the direction where Kagome's newly built hut sat, Shippo and Rin inside with her, none of them awake. He scowled, Sesshomaru's brat... Inuyasha didn't like having her around Kagome because it meant that the icy bastard was also around her.

It also didn't help that Sesshomaru brought Kagome new furs for winter when the season began, when he brought Rin hers. Inuyasha's eyes narrowed- just what was that bastard getting at?

The hanyo took another deep breath, his scowl deepening when he didn't smell Kagome nearby. But what he did smell...

Was Sesshomaru.