Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha; only this crazy idea of mine.

Special Thanks to: To my Beta ReviewerWriter (please R&R his stories, too). Also, a big thank you to Umbrae Calamitas. She has given me some excellent ideas, one of which will be used in this chapter. And great thanks to all who reviewed.

Recap:

'She can't be…' He could not make himself even think the word.

She could not be dying, not now. InuYasha would never let that happen. Whoever had caused her this pain was going to be dead—very dead, just as soon as he found out who had hurt her. He bounced over to her now huddled form, picked her up into his arms, and raced as if her life depended on it. Kagome struggled and protested loudly in his arms, but he was deaf to her cries for him to let her go. The only cries he heard were those of his bleeding heart.

Are You My Father?

Chapter 8: Like Father, Like Daughter?

Away from the camp, Miroku leaned his head against the rough bark of a large tree and closed his eyes. His calm demeanor would lead one to believe that he was the very picture of serenity, but his calm features only masked all of the inner turmoil swirling inside of his body. The cause of Kagome's father's death had been a harsh jolt of reality for him, and it crushed countless hopes and dreams that Naraku would be defeated long before Kagome's time.

Suddenly, Miroku's head snapped up. Someone was yelling for him.

He stood and began to swiftly weave his way towards the sound. The voice was frantic and sounded very much like InuYasha. He rounded a corner in the path and almost ran straight into the hanyou. Miroku blinked hard in surprise; InuYasha was carrying Kagome.

"InuYasha, put me down!" Kagome yelled. InuYasha visibly wavered over his decision. Kagome then spoke with a warning tone. "InuYasha."

He swiftly set her to her feet, but refused to step back. Kagome quickly turned to Miroku.

"Miroku, please, I need something for my hand." Miroku blinked again. There was a stunned silence. She then pleaded, "Please Miroku! If you don't have a rosary, I'll need to go to Kaede."

Both males visibly started.

"What!?"

Kagome huffed and sniffed back the tears that were pouring down her face. She walked a few feet away from them.

"Don't you get it? Do you not know what this is?" She tore off her glove and held out her exposed hand.

InuYasha gasped as he heard the distinct sound of wind whistling through her palm, and both paled as their eyes fell on the hole. Miroku stood in his spot, too stunned to move. InuYasha made a move to step towards her, but she quickly backed away from him.

"Please InuYasha! Stay back until I get something to seal my hand," Kagome pleaded as she desperately pulled her glove back on.

Kagome's words seemed to have snapped Miroku out of his trance-like state. He rushed hurriedly over and wrapped his spare rosary around her right hand. He had never imagined that the beads he carried with him in case of an emergency would be needed for this. It was awful.

Seeing the rosary on Kagome's hand only cemented InuYasha's earlier feelings. He was going to kill the man who did this to her.

InuYasha stepped forward and grabbed a hold of Miroku's neck.

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Sango scrubbed furiously to polish and clean her weapon at the campsite.

Last night, after Kagome had gone home, Sango had left the safety of the camp for the sole purpose of relieving some of her pent-up tension. While she walked through the surrounding forest, she met two minor youkai. The first youkai made two very large mistakes. Its first mistake was just being in the same area as Sango, and the second was taking one aggressive step towards her—it had been the last mistake the creature would ever make.

The second attack was from the youkai's mate, and had stood its ground only a moment longer than the first. Yet the fighting had done nothing to drain away Sango's tension.

As Sango continued to buff her weapon, she reflected upon the past few days. With each passing day, someone in their tiny group found another reason to kill Naraku. For Sango, not only had he taken her brother away but, according to Kagome's family tree, Naraku would eventually take the life of her husband as well.

Her cheeks had reddened slightly in a blush at the realization that she would be married to Miroku. Then her thoughts turned quickly back to Naraku again. She wouldn't only lose a husband, but Kagome would lose her father in the future. The slayer closed her eyes as they began to tingle and ache with the pain of unshed tears. She only pushed them back and scrubbed that much harder on her weapon.

They truly were the band of the fatherless.

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Kagome gasped as InuYasha took hold of Miroku's neck.

"What are you doing?!" she cried out in fear as Miroku's face became a deep maroon color.

InuYasha did not answer. Kagome looked at him and noticed that his eyes had turned almost completely red in rage.

"Please, InuYasha, stop!" She opened her mouth to sit him, but had realized that if she had, InuYasha's death grip on Miroku's neck could cause it to snap in the fall.

She could not risk that happening.

Kagome rushed forward and stepped between the arms that InuYasha was using to strangle the monk. She pulled at his arms but they wouldn't budge. She rose to her tiptoes and gently pressed her forehead against his. She gazed into his fiery orbs, completely blocking his view of Miroku.

"InuYasha, please snap out of it," she pleaded.

In desperation, she leaned in and gently pressed her lips to his. She pulled away as the hanyou's eyes slowly receded to their normal tawny color, and his grip was beginning to loosen. His arms finally slackened completely. Miroku fell panting to one knee, and his pain-filled breathing was the only sound heard for many moments.

Kagome did not move her head, and InuYasha remained still—both were almost afraid to move. Finally, the young woman took a small step back. Angrily, she looked deep into InuYasha's eyes.

"What were you thinking? How could you do a thing like that?"

He turned his head away. Her eyes took on a fierce gaze as the anger clearly showed in her voice.

"Tell me now." He looked stubbornly away before answering. She almost had to lean forward to hear his whispered response.

"It's all Miroku's fault." He stared at his hands. "I couldn't stop myself."

"How can you blame him for what you did?" she asked bewildered.

InuYasha growled.

"You think I'm stupid, Kagome? If he had managed to keep his lecherous self away from Sango, this curse would never have been passed to you!"

It made sense now. Almost guiltily, Miroku looked back down at the ground and concentrated on breathing regularly again.

"InuYasha," she said clearly and sternly, raising her left hand up to touch the side of his face. "Do not be angry with him; Naraku is the source of this," she held up her right hand, "not Miroku."

InuYasha grumbled and stepped away from her.

"Fine. I won't kill the monk."

Truthfully, InuYasha had no desire to actually kill Miroku; but, when he realized what was happening to Kagome, all rational thought had fled and his youkai had overruled his human judgment.

Satisfied for the moment with his answer, Kagome turned from InuYasha and went to check on Miroku. He appeared to be all right, though his neck was slightly bleeding and bruised in a few areas. He insisted that he had been through far worse.

They turned and slowly headed back to camp.

As they stepped into the clearing, Sango and Shippo looked up.

"Kagome!" the young fox squealed. He started running towards her but then stopped as his sensitive nose picked up the faint scent of blood. He shrieked in surprise as he searched for the source, until he finally saw Miroku's neck.

Shippo pointed and yipped out: "Miroku, what happened?"

Before the monk could reply, Sango gasped as she, too, saw his neck and ran up to him.

"Miroku," she whispered. Tentatively, she reached out and gently touched the injury, causing him to wince.

"Please, Sango, don't touch it."

She jerked her hand back quickly.

"Sorry," she said with remorse. She opened her mouth to ask what had happened, but again they were interrupted—this time by Kagome.

Out of her peripheral vision, Sango noticed her friend begin to sway back and forth. She gasped as she saw Kagome fall. InuYasha leaped forward and caught her just before she hit the ground.

Kagome groaned as she opened her eyes. Shock was her first reaction as she realized she was surrounded by a huge pink barrier. Oddly enough she did not feel threatened by it. She sat up and could feel its power pulsate above her. She figured someone must have laid her on the ground after fainting.

Suddenly a voice spoke her name.

Kagome gasped.

"Listen to me," the female's voice said. "I do not have much time here with you. I am Midoriko—the creator of the Shikon."

Outside of the barrier, Shippo cried out fearfully: "What's happening to her?"

"I don't know, Shippo," InuYasha answered. "That light just jumped out of her; but, I don't feel any evil aura from it."

Miroku nodded. "Neither do I. It appears to be the barrier of a miko."

The monk stepped forward and attempted to touch the barrier. When his hand came within inches of its pink surface, he pulled back as if it singed him.

"I can't go through."

InuYasha growled and raced towards the barrier; his claws were raised and he was prepared to strike.

"Kagome," the soft, almost musical voice of Midoriko said to her. "You need to tell InuYasha to leave the barrier alone; he will not be able to destroy it. It will only cause him severe pain if he attempts to do so."

Kagome nodded and stopped the hanyou the only way she knew how.

InuYasha crashed to the ground mere inches from his goal. Miroku looked down at Shippo.

"I would say that she is fine." Shippo nodded and continued to watch.

"Listen carefully, Kagome—I cannot say any of this more than once," she continued with grave sincerity.

Kagome nodded.

"The curse Naraku placed on your family was more than just a curse on the males—it was a curse that allowed only male births. But you were different. As a reincarnation of Kikyou, the Shikon was housed in your body. I had willed the power of the jewel to make you female during your conception; to override Naraku's first part of the curse. After the Shikon was ripped from your body, I was no longer able to protect you. You have only fended the curse off this long due to your miko powers. My time to leave draws nigh. Kagome, you will have to find out the rest on your own."

"The rest of what?" Kagome wondered aloud, but received no answer. The barrier began to slowly recede, but along with it went her strength. By the time the last of the protection disappeared, she was in a deep sleep.

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As Kagome gradually woke, she cautiously opened one eye. Sango was stirring something on the fire in front of her. When Sango noticed that her friend was awake, she walked quickly over to her.

"Good, you're awake. Are you feeling okay?"

Kagome nodded tiredly.

Obviously relieved, the slayer smiled.

"Would you like something to eat? We have ramen."

Kagome shook her head. Her eyes then quickly scanned the camp—someone was missing.

"Where is InuYasha? It is not like him to miss a meal..."

Sango pointed towards the woods.

"He left soon after you fell asleep. He didn't say where he was going, but he left in the direction of the well."

Kagome got up to her feet.

"Thanks Sango," she said and started off towards the trees. "I have a strong feeling that I know where he has gone," she said to herself. She ran until she was standing right in front of the Goshimboku. He was there. He just stood there, staring at the spot he had once been pinned to.

"InuYasha?" Kagome spoke quietly.

He did not acknowledge her. Slowly, she approached him.

InuYasha's ears twitched as he listened to her every move. Once Kagome saw that, she could not help herself—she reached up and rubbed the back of his ears. InuYasha growled in warning.

"Kagome."

"Just shush for a minute." She continued to stoke his ears. "Besides," she whispered, "I can't help it—my hand is cursed."

----------------------------------------To Be Continued----------------------------------------

I hope I didn't lose too many fans with the entrance of Kagome's kazaana, but I think most of you were expecting it. Thank you so much for the reviews from last chapter! And to my anonymous reviewer, Ikari, thank you so much for reviewing, too.

Umbrae Calamitas's ideas—that appeared in this chapter—where Naraku's curse had a second part (allowing only male births), and that Kagome was born a women because Midoriko willed it.

Also, I have started another fic, "Beware of Pixie Dust." It is based on Disney's "Peter Pan," but with a character cast of the InuYasha crew. If you have a chance, please read/review it, please. Thanks!