In The Blood
By: Ryu Katanna
Beta:
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter Eleven
It was late that night when Kurama had left Kagome to sleep after she had told him her story. He softly shut the door behind him and turned to make his way down the hall toward his own room. He needed sleep and some time to let everything she had told him settle in his mind. Walking down the hall he looked up to see Yusuke leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. He had that stubborn look in his eye, and Kurama could feel himself groaning internally. He did not feel like being in the middle of this apparent sibling feud, or dealing with an over-protective Yusuke at this moment.
"You were in there a long time. It's almost midnight."
"So it is." Kurama confirmed as he went to walk around Yusuke.
"Kurama." Yusuke said firmly as he stopped him.
"Don't start this now, Yusuke. She was upset, and needed someone to talk to. Being as your one of the reasons she's as distressed as she is; it couldn't be you."
"I was doing what I thought would be best." Yusuke said as he moved to follow him.
"By tying her up and taking her out of Makai against her will, and away from the place she considers her home while she'd grieving? She didn't want to come here, Yusuke. I think she has made that much clear. The fact that she would resort to throwing holy energy at you says that much." Kurama growled as he moved around him and further down the hall so they wouldn't wake Kagome after she had finally fallen asleep.
"She has family here."
"I'm starting to understand why she punched you that day in Gandara." Kurama growled in aggravation as he brought his hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Yusuke asked his defensively.
"It means that you don't think, Yusuke. You follow your first instinct, and that usually works for you. Somehow you pull it off, but somehow I don't think that it's going to work that way this time."
"What do you mean by that?" Yusuke asked him feeling more and more annoyed and defensive as he followed the redhead down the hall.
"She's a girl with feelings of her own. Do you even listen to her? She's not happy or comfortable here. How is she supposed to recover from the loss of her best friend under these circumstances? Think of how you would feel if Kuwabara died, and the people you trusted helped to tie you up and let you be taken from your home when you're grieving." Kurama continued the few feet to his bedroom.
"On top of that she has to worry about the fact that she's still looking for her kit, and has just been taken from Makai where she is responsible for the welfare of two territories right now. One of them to which you are the rightful heir." He said as he opened the door before turning back to look at his friend.
"Do you have any idea how much she is doing for you so that you can stay with Keiko during her lifetime instead of looking for her son herself? Yet she's prepared to wait on finding him all for your benefit, and you're the one that takes her from her home when she's in an emotional state like this. Think about that, Yusuke. I'm going to bed."
Kurama walked into his room and closed the door firmly behind him. Sighing, he leant back against the door and looked at the ceiling. Taking a few minutes to breath and calm down he took off his shirt and crawled into bed. Kurama lay awake for a little while after that in thought.
'What am I doing? I've only spoken to her a few times, and yet I snapped at Yusuke like that. Why did I do that? Why was I so annoyed?'
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The morning sun shone brightly in the window as Kagome woke the next morning. Squinting a bit she rolled over and moved the close the shutter to her bedroom windows when her hand touched only sheer fabric. Startled she sat up and looked around. This wasn't her room at the stronghold.
'Right. Yusuke brought me back into Ningenkai. Sorry, Koenma. Looks like that idiot made a liar out of me.' She thought as she looked down at her bandaged wrists as the skin pulled a bit with the movement of her hands.
Pulling the blanket aside she looked down to see that she was still dressed in the same kimono as she had a week ago. Sighing she decided that she would have to ask Yukina if she had a change of clothing she could borrow. She was the only one here that was about the same size, and she really didn't feel like wearing these same clothes for another two days as she waited for her natural healing to finish. She needed a bath, badly.
Turning her body she slide her legs over the side of the bed, and moved to put her feet on the floor. Kagome gasped and stood, stumbling as pain seared from the stretching, scabbed skin and the pressure of her weight. Moving slowly she righted herself, and bared her teeth to the pain before slowly stumbling her way over to the door. She was surprised as she opened the door to find the very same girl she had been thinking about on the other side.
"Oh! Lady Kagome! What are you doing out of bed? I imagine walking must be painful. Here. Sit back down on the bed and I'll be right back." Yukina helped her back to the bed before going back out into the hall.
Kagome waited and it wasn't long before Yukina returned with Kurama who greeted her with a small smile before picking her up gently and carrying her out the room she had been given and into the bathroom. Setting her down on the toilet seat he turned and started running warm water into the bath. Kagome looked to Yukina in puzzlement as he did so and she entered with some clothing in her arms.
"Kurama asked me this morning to let you borrow some of my clothes, and I agreed. I don't imagine Yusuke thought much about that." Yukina said gently as they watched Kurama using his youki to grow and then use herbs in the warm water.
"Thank you both. I don't think he thought much of anything other than doing what he wanted." Kagome commented as Kurama stood and turned to face her.
"I've put some aloe and chamomile in the water. It should help sooth the irritation. I'll have some more balm ready by the time you get out so we can apply it again." He said before leaving and closing the door behind him to give the girls privacy.
"I'm going to help you so that you can put as little pressure on them as possible. Let's get you cleaned up." Yukina said as she started helping Kagome out of the dirty fabric.
"Your so kind to me, and you don't even really know me. Thank you, Yukina. For today as well as last night." Kagome said as the ice apparition helped ease her into the warm water.
"You don't have to thank me, Lady Kagome. You're important to people who are important to me, and right now you're hurt. I don't mind helping if it will ease the pain." She said as she gathered the clothing from the floor to be washed when she heard Kagome chuckle.
"You know, I said something very similar to Kurama the first time we spoke. Just call me Kagome. I'm no lady here in Ningenkai."
"Okay Kagome. I'll be back in a bit to help you get out and dressed. Enjoy your bath." She said before leaving Kagome to herself and heading into the hall.
She made her way to the wash room and put the clothes into the washer for them to be cleaned before returning to the sitting room where Keiko was watching Kurama make the balm for Kagome's wounds. Seating herself with them she pulled out the bandages as Keiko spoke.
"How is she?"
"She's soaking in an herbal bath right now. Her wrists look better, but her ankles and part of her legs are still rather raw and tender. Not much better than last night anyway. I wish I could do more, but her body rejects my power, and only makes the wounds that much worse." Yukina explained with some sadness as she thought about the night before and of how her own healing power had made things so much worse instead of better.
"Thankfully there doesn't seem to be any negative reaction to my plants. She can't return to Makai like that. The law is still so new, and with her position there are some who would take offense, and still others who could use the injury against her. Makai is not a place you want to be seen as weak." Kurama said as he finished grinding the herbs into a gelatinous mixture.
"Why did Yusuke have to force her here anyway? She was from the human world in the first place." Keiko asked as she thought about the man she loved who had locked himself in his room since late last night.
"She has her own reasons. It's not for anyone else to pry into." Kurama's voice clearly said to drop that subject.
"But-" Keiko tried to continue only to pause as gentle Yukina gave her a stern look that was unlike the ice apparition.
"Kurama is right. Lady Kagome must have many reasons to have not wanted to come here. She may be Yusuke's sister, but that does not give him the right to do as he did. I'm going to help her get dressed." Yukina agreed with Kurama before standing and heading toward the bathroom.
"I'll wait for you both outside the door. Let me know when she's ready." Kurama said as he followed her.
Yukina nodded before entering the bathroom to see Kagome looking a little sad as she stared at the sky through the window. The water was a bit murky from both the herbs as well as the dirt. She could not tell if the tinge of red was from blood or the red dirt of Makai that had clung to her skin. Yukina made a mental note to clean the bedding Kagome had slept on to avoid any risk of infection setting in before she could fully heal.
"The sky is different here than in Makai, right? I've lived here for years now, and still haven't gotten used to it completely." She said as she pulling the drain and helping Kagome out with a towel.
"I never wanted to see sky this blue again." Kagome said quietly in answer as she finished drying off and let Yukina help her into a red kimono with a pale green obi.
"I know how you feel." Yukina said softly only to have Kagome look at her with a clear question in her eyes.
"I never want to see the sky so red." She told her quietly with a small smile of understanding as she finished tying the obi.
Opening the door, Yukina moved for Kurama to come in and pick Kagome up. She followed as he carried her into the sitting room where Genkai now sat with Keiko, Kuwabara, and Shizune. He set her down gently and she positioned herself on her hip to take the pressure off her ankles. It grated at Kagome as it was not the proper sitting position that had been drilled into her, but she knew she would have to deal until she was healed.
"Good morning everyone." She greeted them all pleasantly as Kurama started applying the balm and wrapping the bandages without a word spoken between them.
"Eat girl. You must be starving." Genkai said as she placed a bowl of rice and a large plate with raw strips of bloody red meat and chunks of deer liver in front of her.
"Thank you, Master Genkai. This looks really good." Kagome said as she used her chopsticks to pick up and eat the one of the pieces of raw liver with some of the rice.
She noticed Kuwabara shiver in seeming revultion as well as Keiko and Shizune's slightly repulsed looks. She paused for a moment at this as she looked down at the blood dripping from her food. She was not used to eating human meals any more. The thought of cooked meat wasn't even appealing.
"Do not let their reaction stop you. You need it to heal. They are just not used to it. That was why Hiei and Yukina don't eat in front of them while they are around. It is what your body needs so don't pay attention to them." Kurama said firmly as he encouraged her to continue when he had finished wrapping her ankles and waited on her wrists.
At the others surprised looks Genkai spoke up.
"Those with demon blood find it preferable to eat their meat raw. They naturally crave blood. The nutrients demons need are a bit different from that of a human."
"So does that mean Yusuke?" Keiko asked, looking a little green.
"No. Not that I've seen anyway. He still holds to his life as a human. So he eats like you. It makes him weaker than he should be. I'm sure you noticed it at the tournament, Karama. His Mark of the Mazoku only showed itself after Yomi had kicked the crap out of him." Kagome told Keiko, and received a nod from Kurama as she finished the food and he took her wrists into his hand when the wraps on her legs were finished.
"So you don't hold to your life as a human?" Shizune asked, but there was only curiosity in the question.
"No. I was human, yes, but that part of me died when my heart stopped beating as a human's does. I am a demon now. I accept that, and all that it means. I do not cling the humanity I have lost." Kagome replied only to look at Kurama as he ducked his head with a smile.
"Living true to yourself." He commented when he finished with her wrists and squeezed her hand briefly before letting go.
"Yes. Thank you for tending to me Kurama. You did not have to do everything you did this morning." She said softly as he stood to take her dishes away while she licked the last of the blood from her lip.
"Didn't have to, but I wanted to." He said as he walked out, and Kagome felt her eyes soften for him just a little bit more.
"Wait. You said something about a mark?" Keiko asked as she remembered seeing Yusuke coming out of the cave after his fight with Sensui.
"Has he not told any of you anything? The Mark of the Mazoku shows our heritage to any who see them. Our demonic father was so strong that his youki could be felt for miles when he wasn't even fighting. His Mark never faded from his skin because of it." Kagome said proudly as Kurama came back in and sat next to her.
"What does this Mark look like?" Shizune asked as she was curious.
"It's different depending on the descendant." Kagome replied as she allowed her hold on her youki to loosen and raise her power level just enough that it radiated outward from her.
Seeing the looks Yusuke's friends gave her she knew they could see the Mark on her cheek. Pulling her power back she kept it a just enough to maintain the Mark. Raizen had taught her this to be able to better maintain the control of her youki. I was an exercise she did whenever possible. She would not let what he had taught her go to waste now.
There was a loud crash as Yusuke ran into the room looking around in alarm. Seeing them just sitting there calmed him a bit, but looking closer at his sister he could see what she had done.
"What the hell Kagome! I thought you were getting ready to fight!" He yelled at her and Kagome let the scowl deepen on her face at both his presence and what he said.
"I do this almost every day, Yusuke. You know that." She said in an even tone.
"Yeah in Makai. We're in the human world now. What are people going to think when they see you right now?"
Feeling her irritation grow she leveled him with a look that promised pain.
"Right now we are in the middle of nowhere, and the only ones who will see me are either demons themselves or humans who know of us. If I want to practice my control then I will. Don't you forget Yusuke Urameshi. I am not here under my own will. I was forced here. I will not restrain myself because of human sensitivities when I never should have had to in the first place!" Kagome growled as her youki fluctuated again in challenge.
Before Yusuke could say anything a portal opened up there in the sitting room and Botan and Koenma in his teenage form stepped out. Looking around the room both of them gaped at seeing Kagome with a hostile look on her face as she growled at Yusuke.
"Lady Kagome?! What are you doing in the Ningenkai? You promised never to step foot here so as not to cause any trouble with Rekai. You're setting off our sensors." Koenma said as Kagome allowed her youki to die down before pointing at Yusuke.
"I never would have willingly. That idiot decided to tie me with a suppressant cord and bring me here. I'm just as pissed off about it as you are upset." She growled as she crossed her arms roughly and flinched as she rubbed the healing skin.
Botan and Koenma both looked at Yusuke in clear alarm and disbelief.
"You kidnapped a Lady of Makai? Are you crazy?! The new law has just been put into place!" Koenma started to look a bit panicked.
"Why haven't you gone back yet?" Botan asked as she could see she wasn't tied up now.
When Kagome refused to answer Genkai did instead.
"She was injured from the cord binding her. When Yukina tried to heal the injury it interacted poorly with her."
"She needs to stay off her feet for a couple days while it heals. We've had to resort to an herbal treatment." Kurama confirmed as Koenma and Botan looked at the bandaging.
Finally Kagome had enough. She didn't want to deal with all this. She wanted to go home. She most definitely did not want to see her brothers face right now. Dealing with Prince Koenma and the issues this could cause with Rekai was also something she was not looking forward to.
"Master Genkai are there any gardens on your property?" She asked the old woman with a pleading look.
"There is a field where flowers grow in the forest to the Northeast." Genkai confirmed for her with a nod.
"Kurama will you please take me there? I don't want to be in here any more." She pleaded with him.
"Of course." Kurama replied as he picked her up.
"If you want to go there Kagome then I can take you." Yusuke said as he stepped forward with a look at his old friend.
"No Yusuke. I do not want to be around you right now. Why don't you go home? You just don't get it. You don't even see how hard this is for me, and you don't care. All you care about is having things go the way you want them. You didn't give a single thought to what coming here would be like for me, or why I never wanted to come back here. I don't want to see you for a while. I just want to go home to Makai." Kagome's voice was sad and bit disappointed as she said this before nodding to Kurama that she was ready.
With that, Kagome curled into Kurama as he carried he outside and ran to the northeast. They came to the field Genkai had spoken of quickly. Kurama placed her down before he sat next to her without a word as he chose to keep her company. Looking around she allowed herself to relax a bit and look around the area as she listened to the sounds of nature. As much as she didn't want to be here she did have to admit this was a pretty place. She sat like that for a while with him by her side as she calmed.
Looking over she could see that Kurama had his eyes closed as he just listened. He seemed totally at peace sitting here among nature. Kagome couldn't help but think of another kitsune, that when he was a kit, would play for hours in the field away from the human village where they stayed. It brought a smile to her face at the memory of her kit. How she missed him.
"I imagine I just caused quite the scene for your friends. I just couldn't take it anymore. Yusuke can bring out the worst it me sometimes. He reminds me a lot of the way Inuyasha could be. At least with him I could 'sit' him into the ground when he was being stupid." She murmured as she took her hair down from the ponytail and let it fall around her; the light breeze of the morning air felt nice.
"Don't worry about that. They are used to Yusuke and his antics. It's not wrong for you to be angry with him." Kurama said as he opened his eyes and looked back at her.
"Maybe, but I don't like being angry all the time. It feels like I'm almost a different person. I mean I used purifying ki against my own brother yesterday. I could have killed him!" She sighed at the thought as she tried to hold her legs under her without pulling the skin.
Kurama sat up and turned to face her as he spoke.
"Yet you didn't. All it did was burn him. Even while angry you still cared for him enough that you didn't want him dead. The kind of feeling you have for him doesn't just go away when you're angry. Give it some time and things will cool down. There is a lifetime of moments like that waiting, but there will also be better ones as well." Kurama said gently as his eyes sparkled with a bit of mischief.
"I will tell you as an outsider looking in. It was rather entertaining to watch Yusuke run away yesterday. If we had thought you really had the intention of killing him then we would have stepped in to help. We didn't because from what I could see it was more a lesson not to make you angry like that."
Kagome gave Kurama a small smile and a light giggle before she took a deep breath in and let it all out.
"Maybe you're right. I really do hate that Yusuke brought me here, but I feel like one good thing came out of it." She said as she looked up at him again.
"Oh?" He asked curiously.
"We got to speak once again, and we might not have if things hadn't been like this. Thank you, Kurama. For calming me down, treating my wounds, carrying me so I don't make them worse, but most of all for just taking the time to talk with me. I haven't had someone I can talk like this with since Father died." Kagome explained quietly as she picked at the bandages on her wrists a bit.
"You really loved him, didn't you?" Kurama asked as he heard the affection in her voice at the mention of Raizen.
"I always will." Kagome replied as she looked down at her lap before looking back up at the field of color before continuing with a heavy sigh.
"We never knew our father. Atsuko would never really talk about him. He was just some guy who ran out on her. She was in love with him though, and kept Yusuke because he reminded her of him. I was just given away to her sister. She never saw me as her child. While my aunt raised me no different than our cousin I always knew I wasn't hers. Not really. Her husband was a kind man. The priest of the shrine like his father before him, but I wasn't his. He accepted that his wife wanted to raise me, but he never saw me as a daughter." She said sadly as she thought of the man who had died a few years after Souta was born.
"When I learned of Raizen I knew he would come for me. He called his daughter. He had never even met me, but already he saw me as his. After I met him he treated me no different than as if I was his own. As if I was not born of some stranger. He may have been known to all of Makai as one of the strongest demons, or a powerful King, but to me he was so much more. He loved me in the only way he knew how. Protected me." Kagome looked back up at Kurama with a small smile.
Kurama smiled back gently with a softness in his green eyes. He had found her to be an interesting puzzle at first, but the more he had spoke with her, the more he was starting to understand her. She was one of the rare beings he had encountered who was slowly starting to earn his respect. Even after all she had been through in her past she was still looking forward. She accepted herself as she accepted those around her. She had only been a Lady of Makai for such a short time, and already she was helping to implement great changes for the demons under her charge. Kurama found himself wanting to see how those changes would affect Makai.
She was already having an affect on him.
"Is that why you decided to hold your brother's seat on the counsil for him instead of returning to Ningenkai, or looking for your son? For your father?" Kurama asked as he tried to understand why she had put everything else on hold until Yusuke was willing to take his place.
"I will never stop looking for Shippo. Even now I have people searching for my kit. Part of my decision is for my father. Raizen wanted Yusuke to rule after him. To protect Makai. He also knew that my brother wasn't ready. However, I spent time with Lord Sesshomaru in the past, and so I already knew what would be expected of me. I will hold Yusuke's place until his return, but that does not mean I will simply watch things as they unfold. Even with what I am doing now I am helping to make Makai into a better place for us all to live. For my son to live." Kagome affirmed vehemently as she spoke.
Kurama's ears perked at the familiar name of Gandara's Western Lord. Thinking of the inu, he could then see the influence of the demon in Kagome. The more he learned of her the more he could see what had been motivating her. The pieces were starting to fall into place, but the was still more the just the picture he was putting together.
When several moments of silence had passed at the sun had reached it's peak she spoke again.
"Thank you, Kurama. For listening to me as you have been, and for all your help since yesterday. I do believe we should return to the temple now." The words were softly spoken, but Kurama could hear the sincerity of the words.
Knowing that he would not learn any more of her for the moment, Kurama stood up before leaning over and lifting her into his arms.
"You don't have to thank me, Kagome. After all, don't friends help each other?" He said with a smile as he looked down at ther in his arms and started walking back toward the temple.
Kagome smiled brightly up at him before she wrapped her arms around his neck in a light hug.
"Yeah. Yes they do!"
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Here's the most recent chapter. Posting on all my stories will be a bit sporadic for awhile. My dad will be having surgery soon, and I'll be staying with him for a while until he can get around on his own after. Please let me know what you thought. This story is turning out to be longer than I had originally planned for, but that happens sometimes.
Until next time,
~Ryu