Disclaimer: InuYasha is owned by Rumiko Takahashi; however, Kagome's wind tunnel, the plot line, and this piece are mine.
Special Thanks to: Umbrae Calamitas for her helpful ideas; my too busy, beta, Dr. Dogma, for all his help; and of course, special thanks go to all my readers and reviewers.
Recap: "KAGOME!"
Faintly, her mind registered InuYasha's frightened call as he shouted over the roaring of the winds before her, and her eyes popped open just long enough to see the last of the youkai disintegrate in front of her hand. Then without replacing her gloves, she collapsed onto her knees
Are You My Father
Chapter 14:
Kagome lowered her head closer to her knees and attempted to regulate her breathing in hopes of keeping the blackness that threatened to overwhelm her at bay.
'What happened? Why do I feel so weak?'
"Kagome!"
This time she heard InuYasha's frantic call, and slowly, she raised her head, her nose almost colliding into his as he leaned over to check on her. Then attempting to focus on the hanyou, she looked him in the eye, and called out quietly, "I'll be fine."
"What do you mean, you'll be fine? You could have gotten yourself killed, wench," InuYasha snarled, his worry coming out as anger.
Angrily, Kagome focused on his eyes, but when faced with the depths of pain and worry evident in his gaze, she sighed. "I didn't have a choice. There was nothing else I could do. It worked didn't it?"
InuYasha snorted angrily and walked abruptly away from her; she did not take her life seriously. She had no way of knowing that she would be able to withstand the bee poison, but she had foolishly thrown herself into the monk's position.
Two arms snaked around Kagome's neck as her little kitsune held onto his mother. "Kagome," Shippo cried, "are you really okay?"
Kagome nodded, then cautiously put her hands around her kit. She was not in pain; she was only tired from the exertion of operating the wind tunnel.
"Apparently, I was not affected by the poison at all," Kagome mumbled as she hugged Shippo, and then gently placed him on the ground.
Then grabbing her backpack from off her shoulder, the miko ran to her best friend. Sango had not moved from her position on top of Miroku. Gently, Kagome pushed on Sango's shoulder. The slayer started then sat shakily up and rolled off Miroku.
"Are you all right, Sango?" Kagome asked worriedly as she opened her backpack and dug out her first aid kit.
Sango nodded weakly. Then pulling out her bee antidote, Kagome administered the medication to Miroku before walking over to repeat the process on Kirara. The cat flinched as she felt the poison and the antidote fight within her, but she soon breathed normally and easily as the poison left her body. Then running back to check on the monk, she found that his color and facial features were now returning to normal.
Leaning over, Kagome asked quietly, "Sango, will you keep an eye on him?"
Sango nodded and smiled gratefully at her friend.
Sango stared down at the still unconscious monk, and her body began to ache in the pain that foreshadows tears. Closing her eyes, she whispered, "Why did he do that?" There were enough insects to kill him almost instantly. "Does he not know how much I—"
Sango's eyes flew open, as she felt a familiar hand reach out to stroke her.
Suppressed laughter filled Miroku's eyes, and he sat up and whispered in Sango's ear, "And you were saying, Sango?"
SLAP!
Sango's shoulders heaved as she fumed, "I was saying that if you continue to touch me, you will not be having any children with me."
Miroku slowly pressed a hand to the side of his face, feeling the heat from the mark she had left even before his hand made contact with his skin. "I confess to being a bit surprised, Sango. For a moment there, I thought you were going to say that you lov—"
Sango's hand cut off the rest of his sentence, and her anger was rapidly replaced by embarrassment. Smirking, Miroku gently pressed his lips against her hand in a light kiss.
Immediately, the hand was removed, and the owner of the hand found that now was a superb moment to check on Kirara.
Miroku smiled lazily as he watched the slayer flounce away. He would have an heir yet, and he would have one with Sango.
Jogging, Kagome wandered over to the tree where InuYasha sat, perched high above the ground floor. Already, her strength was coming back. Grasping a hold of the lowest branch, she struggled to pull herself up the large oak. Soon, she slipped back down the trunk and landed gracelessly on the hard packed ground; she was not going to make it up there on her own.
"InuYasha," Kagome called questioningly, but he did not acknowledge her.
Angrily, she stormed away from him, her eyes boring holes into the already tore up ground. Abruptly, her view of the ground changed and the grass appeared to be farther and farther away as InuYasha held onto her and leaped to occupy the tree limb he had just left.
Giving herself a moment to adjust to the height and width of the tree, Kagome clutched tightly to InuYasha; then gaining her balance, she reluctantly released him.
The miko's eyes narrowed as she turned to look at the man beside her, and he turned his head away from her so that she could not read his expressions. It did not matter; she knew him well enough to know when something was bothering him. Sitting there for a few moments, she relished the feel of being next to him.
Then gathering her courage she asked, "What is wrong, InuYasha? I know this isn't just about me using my wind tunnel."
Kagome felt InuYasha's body tense beside her, confirming her suspicions.
"It's nothing," InuYasha said stubbornly.
Kagome shook her head, "You can trust me, InuYasha. Why won't you tell me what is bothering you?"
Her statement startled InuYasha; it reminded him of the question the monk asked the slayer the night before. No, this was not a trust issue, was it?
"You did not think I could protect you," he whispered.
Kagome stared foolishly at him, "I was just trying to help, InuYasha. You were busy; I needed to do something, or we were going to die before we ever defeated Naraku."
"You could have died? You almost did, Kagome. You didn't know that you would be able to purify those insects, did you?!" InuYasha angrily spat.
Slowly, Kagome shook her head, "No, I didn't know that would happen," she whispered. Shaking her head, she muttered, "But it did."
"Look, Kagome, I—" InuYasha's voice trailed off as he turned his head away from her. "Just forget about it."
"No, InuYasha, I won't forget about it," she said stubbornly. "I still—"
InuYasha was getting frustrated. She would just not listen. Angrily, he turned his head back and found himself looking deep into Kagome's fiery chocolate eyes. Instantly, Kagome eyes widened, and he found that the closer his head got to hers the quieter she became. When his lips were a centimeter apart from the miko's, she stopped talking altogether. InuYasha would have pulled away then, but something— something in her gaze drew him in. It drugged him so powerfully, that for the moment he followed his instinct, and lowering his head, he lightly pressed his lips against Kagome's. Feeling the potential power in their touch, he pulled hastily away before his bottled emotions could get the better of him.
"InuYasha," Kagome whispered.
The hanyou interrupted her. "Just let me protect you." Then in a voice low enough to be mistaken for the slight breeze, he whispered, "Naraku will not take another one away from me."
Then before Kagome had time to react, he leaped from the tree, placed her on the ground, and walked off, leaving her standing dazed and confused.
She was brought out of her stupor by enthusiastic applause. She looked up to find Miroku, clapping loudly, while Shippo had pulled out illusionary popcorn and was busy munching on the theater treat.
Blushing all the way to her roots, Kagome walked speedily away. Then finding she had nowhere to go, she halted and just sat down.
'How embarrassing.' Kagome thought. 'I wonder what he meant by that?'
Kagome sighed and her hands reached out to brush the long grass around her. Then her hands stopped their movement as they encountered a long soft piece of leather… her forgotten glove. Blinking, she stared blankly at it. Then finally reacting, she hastily pulled the glove onto her hand and wrapped the rosary around her palm.
Seeing, Kagome's predicament Miroku rose from the ground and walked over to the young miko. "It is as I thought," he said. "You have some control over your wind tunnel, Lady Kagome."
Her brow rose in obvious question.
"It would seem as if your hand reacts to your need," Miroku said as he seated himself in front of the miko. "Each of the times you have been in danger, it has opened up, yet, when you showed it to us, it remained almost completely closed."
Kagome sat in silence for a long moment. Then without a conscious effort, her mind went back to the words Midoriko had spoken to her the day she had received the wind tunnel.
"My time to leave draws nigh, Kagome; you will have to find out the rest on your own."
"Perhaps," Kagome said slowly. "That was what Midoriko was referring to."
"Already, we have found two ways your curse differs from mine. Your ability to purify youkai with your tunnel will make you all the more deadly for Naraku, now that we have a way to deal with his insects and his miasma."
A low rumbling came from behind Kagome's head, and the monk gulped as he realized that InuYasha was not very fond of Miroku's suggestion.
Turning around, Kagome looked sharply at the hanyou, "Stop that InuYasha, it will only tire me a little to use my hand. I thought we talked about this already," she said as she pointed to the tree they had been sitting in.
Miroku put his hand on his chin and said thoughtfully, "It sure looked like you were discussing something rather different, to me." Then he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
Sango, who had just joined them, lifted her boomerang and dropped it on Miroku's head, finding that she too had regained some of her strength already.
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Kagura looked down from her feathered chariot and gazed down upon the regal stature of the Lord of the Western Lands. The male youkai paused, but did not deem it necessary to acknowledge her.
"My lord, my lord," Jaken yelled. "It's that evil, conniving," Jaken got no further in his speech as Ah Un literally ran over him on his way to the more powerful youkai's side.
Jaken scraped himself off the ground, tripping on his clothing in the process. Ah Un snorted and Rin giggled as they looked back at the fallen imp.
"Jaken."
"Yes, Lord Sesshomaru?" Jaken answered quickly.
"Take Rin and Ah Un up ahead. Do not wait for me," the youkai lord demanded.
Jaken attempted to protest, but soon found himself flying rather rapidly over Rin's head. Seeing the flying speck of green, Rin reached up, grabbed Jaken, and set him down on Ah Un's back. Jaken fumed from his perch as Rin continued to giggle.
Seeing that his ward was obeying him, Lord Sesshomaru turned to face the female youkai. Without needing to speak, his very posture and demeanor demanded that she explain the cause of her visit, quickly. Kagura smirked, and lowered her feather slowly to the ground, leaving it just above his head for a small moment, knowing that it bothered him to have her head above his. Yes, she feared him, but her nervousness only heightened her excitement. It would not bother her to be killed by Sesshomaru instead of Naraku, at least then she would have had some control over the situation.
"Speak, woman," Sesshomaru said icily, his tone demanding nothing but total obedience.
"You are rather impatient, Sesshomaru," Kagura said, deliberately leaving off his title.
The male's eyes narrowed angrily, but he listened as Kagura informed him of Naraku's location.
"And what will you gain from this?" Sesshomaru asked, in a manner that showed her answer mattered not to him.
For the first time, Kagura answered, "I am the wind, I wish to become as it is…" Pulling her feather from her hair, and holding it between two fingers, Kagura let her powers swirl around her. "The wind is free."
As she rose into the air, she called out, "You would do well, Sesshomaru to proceed with caution around your brother's wench."
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Author's note: Well, there was a tad bit of movement in the Kag/Inu relationship; let me know if you find it believable.
Well, due to the excellent response to my last chapter, I wrote the next chapter to this story instead of going to my other two fics like I normally do. I still plan on the next chapter being the last (or almost last); however, there will still be an epilogue and a chapter of deleted scenes/chapters (if you would be interested in seeing some of them). So please, let me continue to hear from you. Authors are not kidding when they say that reviews are their fuel for writing.
Thank you all!