Guardian Ang...err...Youkai?!
Co-written by Angel and Glitter Dust
Disclaimer: We do not own Inuyasha or the cast from both the manga and anime. We do own our own characters and as such you'll know them when you see them.
She was a normal girl with a normal life. Then the oddest "accidents" started to happen and she didn't seem so normal anymore. On top of that five mysterious men come into her life, demanding she choose one to marry, and claiming to be able to protect her. All she wanted was to be normal, how much more of this madness can she stand?
Chapter 14- Kikyo
It took almost a week for everyone to start to wake up. After Inuyasha the palace celebrated Miroku and then Kouga's awakenings. Sango took a few more days, Sesshomaru was found to just be sleeping as he waited for Yuki who took the full week, as did Shinta. Despite his protests, Kagome was kept in a separate room for sleeping and such and Inuyasha was reprimanded to bed rest until the healers thought otherwise. Kagome smiled as Sango, who was the first cleared from bed rest, despite her youkai mate insisting he was fine being mandated to bed for at least a few more days joined her for daily activities. The two went from breakfast to visit with their males. Kagome walked into Inuyasha's room and was quite surprised to find another girl there who looked remarkably like her.
"I told you out," the healer snapped at her as Inuyasha just shook his head from a chair by the window. Kagome looked on confused as the girl huffed and stormed out without looking at Kagome. "Ah, good morning my lady," the healer said to her as Inuyasha noticed her and grinned. Kagome walked into the room and looked back.
"What was that all about?" Kagome asked as Inuyasha shook his head and went back to relaxing.
"That was Kikyo," he said as Kagome joined him. "I was seeing her about a year ago; we never got romantic because every time I tried, she'd push me away." Kagome nodded as she listened. "Finally she told me the only way we'd be able to have a future is if I purified myself and went straight human." Kagome looked at him surprised.
"That's horrible," she said as he looked at her curiously.
"You don't want me to do that?" he asked her curiously. Kagome just gave him an annoyed look at the idea.
"Why would I want you to purify yourself?" she demanded as he shrugged.
"Most people are not fans of hanyou, even if they do bow to Yuki and me," he said as Kagome sighed and shook her head.
"No, I want all of you, not just part of you," Kagome said as he grinned at her and nodded.
"Just what I wanted to hear," he said as he chuckled and waved her over. Kagome got up and moved closer, quite surprised as he pulled her onto his lap. They kissed and he chuckled as he held her close. "I needed one of those kisses of yours too." She giggled and shook her head as she relaxed with him. "I hear father is trying to chase Sesshomaru out of his room but he refuses to leave his mate." Kagome nodded.
"They are certain she's fine," Kagome said as Inuyasha nodded in agreement, "but understandably he hates the idea of leaving Yuki alone. I think he's just worried that something will happen to her if he walks out the door."
"It's probable," he said as Kagome looked up at him, "I'd be by your side all the time if you were the bedridden one."
"I tried to be by yours," she said as she thought about it, "but I wasn't given much of a choice." Inuyasha chuckled and shook his head in agreement. His father was quite good about making sure they were where they were supposed to be, despite wanting him to mate Kagome as soon as possible.
"I know, father is quite proper despite not being proper," Inuyasha said as Kagome smirked and nodded in agreement. "I'll be back in the same room with you soon anyway; I'm just about to be cleared back to normal at this point." Kagome smiled and nodded as she thought about it.
"That's good, I'm sure the others will be soon as well," Kagome said as Inuyasha nodded. "I know Kouga is furious that they didn't clear him but they did Sango." Inuyasha chuckled and nodded as he thought about it.
"Good, let him be stuck somewhere for five damn minutes," Inuyasha said amused as Kagome smirked at him. He leaned down and kissed her again, enjoying as she wrapped her arms around him tightly.
"Let the girl breath, boy," his father grumbled as the two jumped and looked to see Nishi, Sesshomaru, and Yuki in the door way. Yuki smiled and shook her head as she leaned against her mate for support.
"Wait, Yuki is cleared to wander and I'm stuck to this stupid room?" Inuyasha demanded annoyed as Kagome laughed.
"No, you've been cleared for three days," the healer said as she got up to leave. Inuyasha shot her a dark look. "You just never asked." Nishi laughed as Kagome giggled and Inuyasha prepared to throw a temper tantrum at her. Yuki sighed as Sesshomaru looked down to see if she was alright.
"Yuki?" he said softly as Kagome looked over and smiled.
"I'm fine, mate," she mused as she looked around, "just a bit tired. My body is stiff from the last fight is all, I'll be good in a day or so of moving." Sesshomaru nodded, though didn't look quite so convinced. "Come along, pup, we need to be debriefed on what happened by the lords and Myoga." Inuyasha rolled his eyes as Kagome got up and pulled him up.
"Get dressed before coming down," his father said as he motioned for Kagome to come along. She kissed Inuyasha on the cheek and left with the others as he grumbled and prepared to change.
Downstairs, once everyone was gathered and comfortable, the four lords and Myoga sat before them and looked rather stern. Kagome sighed as she relaxed against Inuyasha; she noticed how Sango and Yuki were practically wrapped in their mates as everyone waited to hear what everyone had to tell them.
"You lot are probably the luckiest beings in the known universe," Minami said as he shook his head. "All of you should be dead by all accounts of what happened that day."
"Is Naraku dead, is the better question," Yuki asked softly.
"We don't know, we can find neither hide nor hair of this being before and we're certainly not going to find him now," Nishi said shaking his head as she sighed and nodded.
"How did we survive?" Sango asked confused.
"You all owe your lives to the one person you were supposed to be protecting," Kita said as they all looked at Kagome surprised. She jumped and then tried to hide further against Inuyasha as she blushed.
"Explain," Sesshomaru said as his mate rolled her eyes and Kouga chuckled amused.
"Just as Inuyasha collapsed from the miasma you were all trapped in, Kagome started to panic. I could not get her to run back to the shrine or to go to the portal to be brought here, despite everyone telling her to run," Myoga explained. "To be honest, we figured by a certain point you were all dead. Kagome screamed out for Inuyasha a few times but the last time something strange happened, she found a way to subconsciously tap into her own powers. She shot a pulse of power out, it destroyed Naraku's barrier around you, purified the miasma, and started to hurt Naraku. By the time he vanished he was quite injured if not dying."
"So there is a high probability that he is dead?" Miroku asked suspiciously.
"We are suspecting that he died away from the battle, but we will neither confirm nor deny this without proof," Higashi said nodding.
"How did Kagome tap into her own powers?" Sango asked them softly.
"We think they've gone a defensive route," Nishi answered with a shrug, "but to be perfectly honest, we're not certain. Since the days of Midoriko, one of the first recorded special people, we have never seen one do this before." Yuki got up and walked up to Kagome weakly.
"Yuki, you need to rest," the human girl said worriedly as Yuki held her hand out.
"Its fine," Yuki said as Kagome took her hand and stood up. Yuki pulled her away from the others and looked at her as she thought. "I think the answer is something far more basic than her powers chose to go defensive."
"How so?" Shinta asked her confused.
"Kagome was raised in a shrine," Yuki said as if it were obvious. Myoga looked at her as he thought about and shook his head.
"Never has she shown signs of being a miko," he said as Yuki looked at him and thought about it.
"Never has she been in mortal danger before," Yuki replied as Myoga stopped shaking and looked at her surprised. "Sango and I always took care of the dangers before they could get to her. But, what if we weren't there? What if we allowed one or two to slip by unintended? Kagome's powers would have revealed themselves then." Myoga nodded after thinking about it that way.
"So you're saying Kagome has more than the powers of the special person, she's a miko on top of that?" Kouga asked as if clarifying what he heard. Yuki nodded and looked at the four lords as she shrugged.
"I can't find another reason," she said as Kagome thought about it. "Kagome is more special than you give her credit for." The four lords looked at her as she blushed in embarrassment. She looked at Yuki uncertainly as the female hanyou seemed quite confident in her assessment.
"So we have to find a miko to help her hone her powers," Minami said as Yuki nodded in agreement.
"Yes, because if she should get upset or stressed and release her powers here, it could have devastating effects," Yuki said as Kagome looked at her worriedly.
"How devastating?" She asked softly.
"Well, youkai don't handle purification very well…" Yuki said as she thought about it. "Really the only ones that wouldn't be hurt would be the humans around us." Kagome looked at her stunned as she sat back down next to Inuyasha. She jumped as he took her hand and looked at her worriedly.
"Way to scare the hell out of her," Inuyasha snapped as Yuki sighed and shrugged.
"I'll not lie to her and tell her it'll be alright." Yuki snapped back. "Kagome needs to learn to control her powers, that way nothing does happen."
"I know there is a miko in the taiji ya village," Sango said softly as Yuki nodded. She knew it as well; they always kept a miko on retainer in case they needed something purified. "I'll summon her immediately."
"Good idea," Kita said as he looked at Kagome. She looked near a panic attack. "It's alright, child, we just want to make sure everything's alright." Kagome nodded as she thought about it. So far, she's been safe; she only lost control because she was under extreme stress. Yuki and Sango both said it's never happened before because she was always under their care and they stopped big threats. Kagome jumped as Yuki collapsed a little and grabbed her, holding her up as Sesshomaru moved over and grabbed her as well.
"You need to go lay down," Kagome said softly as she looked at the older female with concern, "you're too weak to be standing right now."
"I'm fine," Yuki ground out as she straightened herself up and pulled herself from her mate's hold. "Just a momentary weakness." Sesshomaru shook his head as Kagome smiled at her. "We'll get you trained up in no time; maybe we'll get you a present as well."
"A present?" Kagome asked curiously.
"We'll see," Sango said knowing what Yuki was talking about.
After a bit more talking, discussion of future plans for the three couples, which made Kagome and Inuyasha turn redder than tomatoes, everyone separated and headed off in their own directions. Inuyasha took Kagome's hand and led her out of the palace and out for a walk. He sighed and smiled as she grinned up at him while they swung their hands a little.
"It feels great to be able to walk around," he said happily as Kagome laughed a little and nodded in agreement. "I hate being cooped up."
"I'm sure you do," she said as he nodded in agreement.
"Maybe we'll build a nice home in the forest, where we can be alone," he mused as Kagome laughed and nodded.
"Really? The forest?" Kagome asked him surprised. He grinned and nodded in agreement. "Why there?"
"Because I love it in the forest, the trees, fresh air, and solitude, we'll stay close enough so we can get to and from town, but otherwise be on our own." He said as she grinned at him, she liked the sound of that. He let go of her hand and pulled her close as he slid his arm around her waist. "Make as much noise as we want without disturbing anyone." She blushed as he chuckled a little before kissing her.
"You just like making me blush," she lightly scolded as he laughed and nodded in agreement. "You and Yuki, I swear you're out to see who can turn me redder." Inuyasha shrugged with a grin as they walked around, not really noticing anything around themselves but each other.
"So this is why you sent me away? Some girl?" a voice demanded coolly behind them. The two stopped and turned around, Kagome was surprised to see the girl again.
"No," Inuyasha replied harshly, "because you're a bitch." She looked at him surprised as Kagome looked up at him as well. He was obviously agitated and uncomfortable with the situation.
"How am I a bitch? Dog!" she spat as Inuyasha barked out a laugh at her idea of an insult.
"Yes, I am half dog demon, good of you to notice," he replied sarcastically. "Why don't you go purify that half of your memory and we'll see. Now, leave me the hell alone." With that he led Kagome away as she looked at him surprised. Kikyo just stared at his back grumbling to herself about insufferable hanyou as she turned and stormed off embarrassed.
"Inuyasha," Kagome said after a few minutes. He had since let go of her waist and grabbed her hand, which he was now squeezing with more strength than she could handle. "Please calm down." He stopped and looked at her; she could see he was still annoyed. "Please?" She pulled their hands up and he immediately understood.
"I'm sorry, Kagome," he said softly as he kissed at her hand, "did I hurt you? I'm such an idiot…" He kept kissing it as he looked at it as if to make sure he didn't hurt her.
"No, it was just a little tight," she said as she smiled at him. He grinned at her when he realized she wasn't upset with him. "Are you alright?" She gently caressed his cheek as he leaned into it and nodded.
"Yeah, she's just irritating," he grumbled as Kagome nodded and listened. "She insists that she didn't mean what she said as she said it and wants to try to work things out. I don't, I explained that to her. It's not just because I have you and you are amazing and wonderful," Kagome blushed at the compliments and smiled as he beamed at her, "but because I genuinely don't want to be with her."
"Well, then there is no problem, she will have to understand and move on," she said as he nodded in agreement. He grinned at her again as he pulled her close.
"So, where were we before we were so rudely interrupted?" he asked her as she smirked at him. He leaned down and kissed her softly, the world forgotten in their embrace.