"Oi wench. When are you coming back again?" Inuyasha screamed at me.
"If I have my way, never." Kikyo muttered, thinking I was out of earshot.
"I heard that." I hissed. I straightened up. "I'll be back in ten days Inuyasha. Surely," I rolled my eyes. "You can get by without me until then."
"Feh, you'll be back in a week." Was his only reply.
I learned about a year ago that if I wanted a kitten, I asked for a horse. Inuyasha was a mean, stubborn jack-ass, but he did have weaknesses.
I was wary of Kikyo as was Miroku and Shippo. Sango wasn't there at the moment because she went to her village to repair her weapon. Miroku and I knew something was wrong with her aura. It was pitch black and almost as dark as Naraku's. Shippo's nose kept picking up some strange scent that no one recognized.
I made my way over to the well when I met Sesshomaru and his little squad. Jaken, Rin and Ah-Un were still traveling with him.
"Miko, where is this one's half-brother?" Sesshomaru asked.
"Inuyasha is most likely rutting with his mate," I spat out the word. "In Inuyasha's forest."
"He mated the dead one?" Sesshomaru's eyebrows rose.
I was in no mood to talk. Shippo and I were experimenting to see if I could take him through the well and it was already dark. Kikyo was around, I could feel her presence, and was deciding on whether she should seal the well or not.
"No. He mated the live one." I said sarcastically. "What do you think Sesshomaru? Why the hell would I let Inuyasha mate me? Even though the idiot refuses to believe it, Kikyo has been betraying us to Naraku ever since day one. I would never mate with someone who just sees me as Kikyo." My voice softened.
The two we were speaking of came out of the forest. Kikyo smirked at me. "Inuyasha, I'm dying without my soul. Kill her. Kill Kagome."
And of course the bastard actually listened to her. Right when Rin came over and gave me a hug. Instead of killing me though, he pushed me through the well and Kikyo sealed it.
Sesshomaru grabbed Kikyo by the throat and shook her. "My ward fell through there with the miko and the kit. I will kill you for this." He raised his poison whip, but before he could strike, she laughed and disappeared.
He swore, a very un Sesshomaru thing to do. "If I ever find your clay pot again, she will not escape at all."
"…" Inuyasha didn't know what to say, seeing as he had just pushed me, Shippo, and Rin down the well and into another time.
MEANWHILE
When we landed at the bottom of the well, I knew something was wrong. There wasn't a ceiling above our heads, and there weren't vines for me to climb up.
Rin whimpered. "What happened? Rin is scared and wants Sesshomaru-sama."
I stroked her hair. "It's alright. Shippo's here, so do you want to play with Shippo?"
They shook their heads.
"Do you want a hug?" I held out my arms. They rushed into them and clung onto me for dear life.
"It's going to be fine. I'm going to see what time we're in. Maybe I can find out where we are and see if I can find Sesshomaru, Inuyasha, and even maybe Inutashio." I told them. "Don't let go." I gave a burst of my miko energy and we landed on the ground outside the well.
I looked up at the sky. I heard a cry for help come from about a mile away. I held them both in my arms and ran toward the scene. A small silver hair boy was struggling against two tiger youkai.
"You little prince will make good ransom. Stop struggling!" He raised his paw to strike at the little boy. I notched an arrow in my bow and it flew to create a barrier between the little boy and youkai.
"If you want to live, I suggest that you step away from the boy and make your name in a more respectable trade." My voice was deadly. I saw a shiver go down one tiger's back before he stepped away.
"Sorry, Lady Miko." He came over to me and stepped behind me.
The other however was not so easy. "Traitor," He hissed. "This dog scum's father will give birth to a hanyou and the hanyou is to defeat a great evil and I was ordered not to let that happen."
I narrowed my eyes. "And what if I said that I am the Shikon Miko. What would you do then?"
He thought for a moment. "I would probably have to kill you." He tapped his chin thoughtfully.
He rushed at me, with his claws raised. A barrier erupted between him and me along with the other youkai and the small pup. My pack included of course. Once he reached the barrier, it purified him to dust.
I turned to the pup. "What's your name? You wouldn't happen to be Prince Sesshomaru, would you?"
The pup nodded. "Yes, I'm Sesshomaru. Who are you? You said something about being the Shikon Miko before, but you never actually gave me a name."
I smiled softly. "I'm Kagome, little one." I turned to the other youkai who on second glance was not a tiger youkai.
He fell on his knees. "Shikon Miko, please spare me." He babbled other nonsense.
I started laughing. "Why would I kill you? I gave you another chance and you took it. What's your name? What kind of youkai are you?"
"Lady Shikon Miko, my name is Jiyu and I am a lion youkai. I was helping kidnap the young prince only because my father owed Orokana a favor and since my father has died, that favor comes down to me to fulfill. Again, I am sorry, young prince and Shikon Miko."
"Don't worry. You have repented and are forgiven." I placed my hand on his shoulder. I turned to everyone and tried to keep a straight face while saying, "Let this be a lesson. Do not listen to anyone that has a name meaning stupid." I failed miserably. I even had little Sesshomaru laughing.
"Now, little one. How about we get you home?" I asked Sesshomaru.
He nodded. "Can we go the long way? I am in no hurry to see my father right now. He's going to marry Princess Izayoi and she's nothing but mean to me. He told me this morning and I ran off. I don't like the whore at all and she only wants my father for his position." He burst out.
"First off Sesshomaru, never call a lady a whore. I've been called one and I hated it. Secondly, you're a prince. You may not like her, but you must keep your emotions in check. Don't become a stoic mask, but don't let your emotions dictate your actions. Lastly, your mother is alive, is she not?"
He nodded.
"Good. Now, remember, not all humans are bad. I'm not, am I?"
He shook his head.
"Rin," She came out from behind my leg shyly.
"Is Rin a bad person just because Izayoi is?"
Another shake of his head.
"Does your mother like humans? No she does not. Neither does your grandfather. After I drop you off, I'm going to visit your mother and grandfather, then how about I screw with Izayoi's head a little?"
He smiled.
"Feel a little better?"
"Yeah, um can I call you okaa-san? Mother makes me call her mother and she doesn't like me much, since Izayoi came."
"I don't mind. Do you mind Shippo?"
"Nope. I always wanted a brother. Rin and Sesshomaru, wanna play?"
They all nodded. They turned to me.
I smiled. "Yes, you may go play. Just stay where I can see you." They ran off.
"You have a way with kids, milady." Jiyu stated.
"Please, call me Kagome. I am in no way anyone's lay, much less yours." I told him.
"Okay mil…Kagome. I have a request, actually." He asked.
"What is it?" I answered curiously.
"I would like to be your personal guard. I mean, you will be in heat soon and you are untouched, which will makes things twice as bad."
I raised my eyebrow. "Won't it affect you?"
He shook his head. "If we share a blood bond, it won't bother me. It will be as though you are my clan mate. It won't affect me or any other lion youkai."
I shrugged. "What harm could it do?"
He nicked himself with a knife and then did the same to me. He pressed our wounds together and then chanted some weird incantation. A blue light flashed and our wounds were closed.
"You can now withstand a lion youkai's bite and I am immune to miko powers." He smiled softly. This was obviously very important to him and his pack.
"Do you have a family? If so, I would like to meet them." I told him.
"I suppose we could make a stop at my home." He told me. "Though I'm not sure his majesty would appreciate the delay of his son returning to him."
"I'll see what Sesshomaru says. Screw his father. I think Sesshomaru is old enough to make some of his own decisions now." I said, mostly to myself.
"Sesshomaru, will you come here, please?" He came over to me and sat down in my lap.
"Yes, okaa-san? What do you want?" He asked, snuggling in my lap.
"You said you wanted to take a little longer getting to your father, am I right?"
He looked puzzled but nodded. "Yes, but why?"
"I was thinking maybe we could go see Jiyu's family. I'm sure he's anxious to see his family and I would like to meet his family. What do you think? It's your decision and I don't want to keep you away from your family any longer than you deem necessary." I asked him.
He perked up at the thought of meeting the family of more children he could play with. "That sounds like fun."
I nodded. "Do you want to go tell Shippo and Rin about the decision? We'll have lunch first, and then we'll start again."
He jumped up, smiling at me. Then he ran off yelling to Shippo and Rin about what was happening.
I quietly giggled. Little Sesshomaru was adorable. I was used to stoic Sesshomaru who never said a word. Except maybe Hn.
"What's so funny?" Rin came up and asked. I whispered in her ear.
She giggled too. "That's true. I wonder what Sesshomaru-sama would do if you actually did tell him all he would say in the future is 'Hn'.
Jiyu overheard our conversation and said, "I wondered why anyone was around. Orokana said he did a through search of any living being before the incident. My mother always told us about the Bone-Eater's well having mystical powers, but I never believed it until now." He shrugged.
He took that rather well. I got out the ramen and started lunch. About thirty minutes later, lunch was ready. Shippo dug in as usual, but everyone else stared at it. I smiled.
"I know you two don't eat human food, but it's all I have right now." I said apologetically.
Rin cautiously raised a bite to her mouth and swallowed. "It's very good. Try it" She said to the other two.
They did the same as Rin and immediately liked it. There was enough to have second portions, since Inuyasha wasn't there. I saddened thinking of Inuyasha.
"Okaa-san, what's wrong?" Sesshomaru asked.
"It's nothing." I put on a cheery smile.
After lunch, Rin and I went to the nearby stream and cleaned up the dishes.
"Onee-chan, you were thinking about Sesshomaru-sama's brother, weren't you?" Rin asked. "Do you wish to mate him?"
"No Rin, I fell out of love with Inuyasha a long time ago. He mated the dead priestess. The one who tried to take your soul?"
"Her," Rin's brow winkled in disgust. "Even Ah-Un doesn't like her and they like almost everybody."
I laughed. "It's okay Rin. I don't plan on falling in love with anybody for a long time. My heart's been broken too many times." I muttered the last part.
"Okay, we're done. Let's head back to everyone else, so we can leave." I ruffled her hair.
"Okay Onee-chan." She grabbed my hand and started to skip back to camp.
When we got there, everything was ready to go. We started walking away. A rustle in the bushes stopped Jiyu and I.
"Did you hear that?" I asked him quietly.
"What do you think it is?" He started to ask, but Rin threw herself in the bushes.
"Ah-Un! I missed you!" We found her hugging the two-headed dragon youkai. The dragon made no move to push her away. He obviously knew who she was and allowed her to pet him.
"Rin, do you think you could ask him to let you, Shippo, and Sesshomaru ride him while we walk?" I asked her.
She conversed with the demon for a minute and then nodded. "He says he be happy to."
I helped the kids get on him and we started again. We got to Jiyu's family in about three hours, since the children were riding Ah-Un.
When we got there, Jiyu went in first, then came out and panicked.
"My wife's having a baby. Kami help us!"
"Jiyu, you have forgotten that I am a miko. I will go and help deliver the baby." I went in and saw a pretty, young lioness youkai trying to give birth.
I rushed to her side and said, "Alright, I may be a miko, but I will not kill any youkai unless they attack me or any innocent ningen. You must trust me. Now PUSH." I could see the head. "Push!" More baby. "PUSH." Half the baby. "PUSH!" Three-quarters baby. "Okay, last one PUSH!"
She screamed. Jiyu tried to come in, but I put a barrier on the door.
I asked the demoness, "Would you like to see your baby, miss?"
She nodded. I put the little one in her arms. She cooed at it and then smiled at me. "Thank you lady miko."
I shook my head. "No thanks needed. It was a privilege to help a new life into this world." I let the barrier down. "Alright Jiyu. You can come in now."
He rushed in. "Thank you so much Kagome. We are indebted to the Shikon Miko."
"As I told your mate it was a privilege to be able to bring a new life into this world." I said.
"You are the Shikon Miko?" The demoness gasped.
I shrugged. "More or less."
"I am honored to have met you. Will you bless our kit?" She raised the baby up.
"I would be honored." I quickly blessed the child and put him back in his mother's arms, as he was hungry.
"What's your name?" I asked the demoness.
"Aya. What's yours?"
"I'm Kagome, Aya. Your mate and I are blood bonded. I was wondering if you and your family would consider becoming part of my pack. I would very much appreciate it if some of your older children would come with me when I go drop Prince Sesshomaru back at his fathers. I plan on going to Totosai's and then to Sesshomaave time I will then go mess with Izayoi's head. It's your choice. I can go alone, because I don't want to deprive you of your mate at this time." I offered.
"I'll send you with two of my oldest. Kayo and Reiki. They're both brave demons and are not mated, so they have no obligations here. Oh, wait take this." She held up a charm. "This will hide your scent while you're in heat, so no unwanted intentions will come along."
I suddenly hugged her. She returned the embrace. "Thank you Aya."
"Thank you Kagome."
When I went outside, I found two lion youkai playing with the children.
"You must be Kayo and Reiki. I'm Kagome." I smiled warmly. I looked down at the pups. "Alright kids. It's time to go."
"But momma"
"Okaa-san"
"Onee-chan"
"Aya has just given birth and is very tired, so we must be going. Sesshomaru, it looks like we'll have to return you to Inutashio sooner than expected." I told them.
His lip started to quiver, but he held back the tears. "Whatever you do, you mustn't cry." His father had told him.
Okay, enough.
"Sesshomaru," I bent down to his height. "Do you want to cry?"
He nodded. "But I can't. Father will be disappointed."
"Listen to me Sesshomaru. Screw your father. You're under my protection right now and you can cry all you want without me being disappointed. Emotions are a fact of life and if you don't let them out, you very well could turn into a stiff, stoic-faced, icicle ass …"
Rin giggled. "Don't get started again onee-chan. It will be all night before you finish."
I ignored her. "What I'm saying is, no one will look down on you because of your emotions. If you bottle them up, they'll turn into something ugly and terrible, much like your father if I do say so my self. Okay?" While I was speaking, tears started to roll down his face.
He nodded. "Okay, okaa-san."
I ruffled his hair. "Alright. Are we ready to go?"
"Yes." They answered all at once.
"Good." We started walking, while the children rode Ah-Un.
We made considerably good time, even though we had to stop once because…
The castle wasn't too far from Jiyu's home. We got there roughly around six o' clock.
As soon as the guards saw Sesshomaru, they opened the gates and let us in. Inutashio was in his study and would be with us in a moment.
I, on the other hand, had a sneaking suspicion he was rutting with his mate-to-be. When they entered the room, the smell of sex was so strong the humans could smell it with a stuffed up nose. Rin gagged out loud, as did Shippo, but Sesshomaru, Kayo, Reiki, and I had better manners. Although I could see where Sesshomaru got his point of Izayoi.
Yes, she was pretty, but it was the sickening pretty. The kind of pretty you see in a whore.
Inutashio said, "Come son."
Sesshomaru whined, "Okaa-san, do I have to?" He looked at me, his eyes pleading for me to say no.
Inutashio roughly grabbed his sons arm and said, "Of course you do. I'm your father. She is NOT your okaa-san."
Inutashio suddenly found himself pinned to a wall with miko powers. "What the hell bitch?" He snarled.
Izayoi came at me. She too found herself pinned to a wall. "Release me now. I am the Princess Izayoi."
"Remind me why I should give a shit?" I rolled my eyes. I had a barrier place around the room, so no one who wanted to harm me or Sesshomaru could come in.
I pointed my finger at Inutashio. "What kind of father TELLS his son that he's going to mate a princess without asking the son first about his opinion? Obviously not you." I picked up Sesshomaru, who clung to me. "If you had asked him, you would know that Izayoi, and no, I will not use your title, had threatened Sesshomaru's life. Obviously you aren't very observant. I've been around Sesshomaru less than three days and I know he doesn't like her. You could almost call it hate." I rolled my eyes.
Izayoi started to speak. "She's lying honey. She doesn't know anything. For all we know she could have been the one to take Sesshomaru." She reasoned.
I snorted. "That shows how much you know. If you paid attention to your lessons instead of daydreaming about whatever else, you would know that miko's are very bad liars. The Shikon miko is even worse. I'm only doing this for Sesshomaru. I saved him and it was him who told me everything I know about your situation. Well almost everything."
Any comments Inutashio? We're all dying to hear your input." I said sarcastically.
He said, "So my father was right. Miko's can't lie. All I tried to do was the best for Sesshomaru. Then I wanted more children and found Izayoi. I guess I am a fool. Wait a second. Did you say you're the Shikon Miko?" He asked in disbelief.
I sighed. "Yes. I suppose you know who and what I am, then. You know who Midoriko is."
He nodded.
"Good. I will release you and then we shall take a walk. Later." I told him.
Izayoi screamed, "He's my mate. I will be present on that walk, whether you like it or not."
I shut her up with a wave of my hand.
I swear I heard I sigh of relief come from the servants outside.
"I am going to give a little demonstration. I need five servants, preferably ones that Izayoi hates." I opened the barrier to let the five servants in.
"I'm going to need your names please. And I promise you that you will not lose your jobs. I might lose my head, but it's worth it." I laughed quietly.
"Oyana"
"Laysa"
"Reikio"
"Hana"
"Watahio"
"Alright, we're going to play a little game called, Why I Hate Izayoi. It's very simple. List why you hate her without fear of your lives." I smiled, relaxing them a little.
Izayoi's eyes bugged out. Obviously she knew these servants, which would make this all the more enjoyable.
Hana started. "She mutters to herself when she thinks no one can hear her about very bad things. She doesn't enjoy anything we bring her. She is very selfish and cares about no one but herself." She backed up, allowing Oyana to step forward.
"Well, milady. Izayoi is very demanding and is never pleased. She plots all the time about what she will do to the young prince when she thinks no one is paying attention."She stepped away, allowing Reikio to talk.
"She hates the food. She hates the soaps and its very tiring to listen to her drone on and on about how her pup will rule the western lands.
Laysa started. "I find all kinds of things in her kimonos. Rips, tears, and everything else imaginable. It gets very bad when I have to mend them instead of taking care of my own pups."
Watahio stepped into the spotlight. "I have this to show." I looked at the list he showed me and flipped out. I walked over to her and punched her. Then I went over to show Inutashio the list.
He reacted worse than me. Red seeped into his eyes and he snarled in her direction. "You will die. Alliance or not, my pups life is not worth it."
On the list I showed him was probably about thirty ways to kill Sesshomaru while making it look like a servant did it. My rage was so great that I was deciding whether I should let
Inutashio loose or not.
"Please milady," She begged. "Spare me. I was not going to do anything to the young prince."
I took one look at Izayoi and felt no pity. I told Inutashio, "She is yours to deal with. I will take Sesshomaru with me. This is something he does NOT need to see. I take my leave." I beckoned to my peoples and we left. I let Inutashio go as soon as we reached the outside of his domain. Since Sesshomaru still clung to me, I told him, "Let's go visit your mother and tell her what happened." I turned to the others. "Kayo and Reiki, would you watch over Shippo and Rin, until I return?"
"Yes, milady." They bowed and watched as I left.
Sesshomaru and I went to Totosai's first.
"Totosai, are you here?" I asked.
"Lady Kagome is that you? But you aren't supposed to arrive until…" The old man stumbled out of his cave. "Kikyo sealed you in the well and Lady Izayoi is dead."
"Yep," I eyed the old man suspiciously. "How do you know who I am? You don't meet me for over two hundred years."
"It's part of my demon heritage. I know what is yet to come and I will not tell you. One clue, you've already met your future mate." He refused to speak anymore on the subject.
"Totosai, would you do me the honor of making me a sword?" I knelt down.
"Relax. I already have your sword made. Here." He handed me a shimmering sword with a design so beautiful I gasped. The blue blade made it even more beautiful.
Sesshomaru tugged at my sleeve. "May I see the sword? I would like to make a blood bond between us three, Okaa-san."
I lifted my eyebrow at Totosai. He nodded.
"Alright, Sesshomaru."
He cut his hand and my hand. He pressed them together and then he brought the sword between us. The sword changed color and then reverted back to blue.
"Totosai, I am indebted to you for this act of kindness. Come, Sesshomaru. We must be on our way to your mother's." We left the cave, Sesshomaru trailing after me.
Totosai chuckled to himself. 'Ahh, Sesshomaru. What I would give for you to see this."