Author's Note: Hello everyone. I know that it has been a while since the last time I posted on here. I am truly sorry. I have also received your reviews and pms and finally got around to replying to them. Again, my apologies. I have been dealing with a lot of things and working way too hard to the point I was in and out of the hospital. But, I promise that I have not forgotten about any of you or my stories. I WILL finish this one and hopefully be starting a new one soon after "Mates to Lovers" is completed. I know I need to do better and I am trying. I seriously am. My goal is to have this story completed sometime soon. But, for now, I hope you enjoy this chapter. I love you guys.
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Last Time on Mates to Lovers…
"What is everyone talking about out here?" A voice said from behind us.
We all started to turn around and started gasping when we saw a familiar face enter the gardens. "Naoru?" I said in a surprised voice.
"Hello Lord InuYasha. And a very happy birthday to you." She said, smiling.
"What are you still doing here? I believe I had relieved you of your duties today." Sesshomaru said, moving to stand in front of her.
"This is correct, Milord. But, I had finished everything I wanted to accomplish today. Plus, I wanted to spend at least somewhat of the day with the young lord on his birthday." She answered in a slight amused voice. "How is everyone? It has been a while since your last visit to the palace." Naoru asked as Sesshomaru and she moved to sit down with the rest of us.
"We're doing well, Naoru. How have you been? Busy I would assume?" Miroku asked in return after answering.
"Yes, quite busy actually. After your return to the palace after your week long vacation, I have started working on a new project for you, Lord InuYasha."
"A project? For me?" I asked in great confusion.
"Yes. After you told me that late Lady Kaede entrusted you with the task of Keeper of the Scared Jewel, I started looking into an old ritual that will bond both you and the jewel together." Naoru said with pride in her voice.
"Are you serious? There is actually a ritual that could bond the jewel with me? But, how is this possible?" I asked.
"From the information I have been gathering for the past several months, the ritual seems to consist of the Jewel bonding with the Keeper's heart. The history of this ritual was first conducted by the creator of the Jewel, Priestess Midoriko. It was said that, in her final battle where she fought many yōkai for several days and nights, she was captured within one yōkai's jaws and managed to expel both of their souls, after fusing them together, from their bodies, thus creating the Shikon no Tama. When the jewel was expelled from her chest, it flew off into the distance. A few days after its creation, it was discovered by a priestess named Nisou. She did not know at first what it was but she did see that it was valuable and full of the souls of Midoriko and the yōkai she was fighting and of the purification powers that she begun to develop the more she held onto the jewel. In fact, she was the one that gave the Shikon no Tama its name. Well, somehow word of the Jewel's powers and value soon was spread across the land. And with the discovery of the jewel came the humans and yōkai that wanted to control it. Day and night of having the jewel in her possession, Nisou created this very ritual as a way to not only mask its whereabouts but to protect it from all who came to claim it. When she grew old and could no longer protect the jewel, she passed both the jewel and the ritual onto her apprentice, Teishi. The same happened to her until she passed it onto her apprentice and so on and so forth. But, the more pursuers came to try and claim the jewel, the more the priestess realized just how dangerous the ritual was to continue with."
"What was so dangerous about the ritual?" I asked.
"The danger was not in the ritual itself, but in the consequences of performing the ritual. With each individual that knew the identity of the current priestess who housed the jewel, the more dangerous their lives and the lives of the people closest to them were in. Eventually the next priestess who was in charge of the jewel's safety, Shuhan, decided that the ritual would no longer be performed to try and save the life of the priestess. That is why the last several lines of priestess that possessed the jewel never even heard of nor performed the ritual. But, with you being the first guardian of the jewel to possess both human and demon blood, I believe that the ritual would benefit you more than if you remained separate from the jewel. Now, I will tell you this. With this ritual your life is in twice as much danger. If you die, then so does the jewel. But, with the jewel being bonded to you, you are able to better protect it as well as yourself. And, with having it bonded to you, the jewel will also automatically enhance not only your powers and abilities while also giving you more abilities to assist you in battle, but it will also give you the power of protection from any harm that you may face based on your condition in battle. So, for instance, if you were to become severely injured in battle, then the jewel would focus more on trying to heal you and keep you alive than surrounding you with a barrier to protect you. I just wanted to make you aware of the consequences of this ritual before asking you if this is truly what you desire to do. I cannot tell you if this is something that you should do, but I would recommend it if you are serious about your task of being its guardian as well as one of the protectors of your family." Naoru said in a serious tone.
"Wow. That is a lot of information to take in and a lot more responsibility to handle than I originally thought," I said with a slight chuckle.
"Yes, it is. And I believe that this is too much for InuYasha to handle. I would like to thank you for your time and for the research you spent on this ritual, but I do not think that InuYasha~"
"I'll do it," I said, effectively interrupting Sesshomaru.
"What?!" everyone, including Sesshomaru yelled.
"I said I'll do it." I said, repeating myself.
Using this moment to regain his composer, Sesshomaru gave a slight cough to clear his throat before putting his hands on my shoulders. "InuYasha, Love… are you quite sure about this? Is this something you really want to do? I know that you are overwhelmed with the task given to you by your late surrogate mother, but is this a risk you are absolutely certain that you are willing to take?"
I gave a bright smile before taking Sesshomaru's hands in mine. "I have never been surer of anything in my entire life. I know that this is a large responsibility for me to take on, but I am ready to do what I can to not only see this task all the way through but to protect you and our family. Please. Trust me to do this,"
He stared deeply into my reflecting golden eyes for a few moments before giving a defeated sigh. "Request accepted."
My smile went soft before I gave a slight nod and turned toward Naoru. "Alright what do I have to do?"
"I will need a day to get everything ready and require some assistance." she stated.
"I will be glad to assist you in this task," Miroku said, standing up to gain everyone's attention.
"Very well then. Lord InuYasha, please allow us the rest of the day to prepare for this ritual. I will fetch you in the morning when we are ready to begin. You are a brave soul to go through with this task, Lord InuYasha. I commend you for this." was all she said before leading Miroku out of the gardens.
Everyone went around and started congratulating and saying how much they admired me for what I was doing. I just smiled and nodded and started cracking a few jokes to try and lighten the atmosphere. I was really glad when it started working. On the inside, I was a nervous wreck. I could feel my heart and blood pounding in my ears. My hands were starting to sweat and shake slightly with how nervous I was. But, I couldn't lose my never. I had to be strong for Kaede, myself, and my family. This was going to be a large step in my life and was going to be one of my new purposes in life. I just only hope that I don't fuck this up like I do everything else.
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Chapter 24: Kidnapping the Keeper
Normal P.O.V.
The day had progressed as normal as it could. The younger children were left unaware of the situation while the adults tried as hard as they could to not discuss the ritual. With these factors in place, InuYasha managed to enjoy the rest of his birthday in peace, even with the thought of the ritual plaguing his mind.
With the sun, having set and the moon now shinning bright in the sky, InuYasha continues to toss and turn in his shared bed with Sesshomaru.
"InuYasha, stop your persistent moving. You are beginning to annoy me." Sesshomaru says with his eyes close.
Mumbling "Sorry," InuYasha slowly sits up with his back against the headboard and his hands in his lap.
Sensing his mate in distress, Sesshomaru rises to face InuYasha. "What is the matter Love?" InuYasha does not say anything as he turns his head away from Sesshomaru. "Can you not sleep because of the ritual that will be occurring in a few hours?"
After a few moments, InuYasha gives a light sigh before throwing the covers back and strolling over to their bedroom window. When he still does not say a word, Sesshomaru moves to stand behind him with his hands on InuYasha's shoulders and his chin resting on the hybrid's crown.
"You can always explain to Naoru and Miroku that you do not want to participate in the ritual if you are this nervous."
Sighing deeply while reaching up to place his hand on top of Sesshomaru's, InuYasha speaks. "It's not that. I mean, I am nervous about the ritual. Who wouldn't be? Knowing that the Sacred Jewel will be magically bond to me for the rest of my life wasn't something I was prepared for," InuYasha sighs as he leans further on the window. "But that's not what has me worried,"
"If the ritual is not what has you up at this hour, then what is the matter, otoutosan?"
Thinking of his next words, InuYasha slowly turns to face Sesshomaru. "I'm worrying about the future. Your mother is still out there and who knows who else wants the Sacred Jewel. By me having the jewel our family will in constant danger, but if the jewel is bond to me, then I will be able to escape while you get our family to safety. I know I made the decision to do this, but I should have consulted you first. Maybe I can find another priest or priestess to take the jewel from me,"
"InuYasha, listen to me. You have taken on this responsibility in honor of your late surrogate mother's wishes and I cannot be more proud of you than I am right now. You made this decision on your own and that is fine. You are doing what is best for the family. If you would like to go through this ritual and decide to be the Keeper of the Jewel, then you will have both my support as well as the family's and your friends. I promise you that no matter what happens, I will always be here to protect you. You are my mate and I love you. Nothing in this world will stop me from fulfilling my duty to you. Do you understand me?"
Nodding at Sesshomaru's promise, InuYasha leans in closer to his mate. When he was close enough, Sesshomaru wrapped his arms around his mate's body before burying his nose in the snow-white crown and taking in the scent of vanilla.
"Do you feel even a little bit better?" InuYasha nodded. "Good, now come to bed. You have to be well rested for the ritual tomorrow."
Taking his mate's hand, InuYasha lets Sesshomaru bring him back to bed. When the two of them reach the bed, Sesshomaru climbs in first. When he is comfortable he waves InuYasha to join him. With a slight smile on his face, InuYasha climbs into the bed and curls himself close to Sesshomaru's side. Strong pale arms wrap around InuYasha's sturdy frame, soothing him into a peaceful slumber.
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Peaks of sun rays shine through the curtains in the room. A light breeze tickles InuYasha's nose, causing him to wake up. While moving to sit up, InuYasha rubs the dried rheum from his eyes.
"Good morning milords. How are you feeling today?"
InuYasha and Sesshomaru look towards the edge of their bed to see Sango, Naoru, Miroku, Ayame, Jaken, Koga, InuYasha's new pets Roiyaru and Naito, Kirara and her mate Hatsukoi standing there.
Groaning while stretching, InuYasha answers. "Morning everyone," Sesshomaru just nods.
"Are you ready for your big day?" Koga asks.
"I mean yeah. I have to be right?" InuYasha smiles.
"That is great to hear milord. Would you like to hear what you need to do to prepare yourself for the ritual?" Naoru asks.
"Hit me with it,"
"Well first, you must purify your body. The Jewel will reject you if it does not view you as purify enough. First, you must travel down the path past the palace gates and into the forest. There you will find a cold waterfall. You must brave the cold for at least half an hour. Once your time is up, one of us will retrieve you and bring you back to the palace. Once you arrive, you will bathe in a special green tea that Miroku will prepare with the ingredients I have collected. When you complete both activates, then I will perform the bonding ritual. When the ritual ends, both you and the Shikon no Tama will be bond together until either you die or decide to pass the jewel along to another person. Are you sure this is something you want, milord?"
Giving himself a few seconds to breathe, InuYasha nods. "Yes. I am sure. Let's get started,"
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"What the hell was I thinking? This shit is for the birds," InuYasha thinks to himself as he tries to stay still in the freezing water.
After much protest from Sesshomaru, InuYasha convinced him to head to the waterfall alone. The alone time gave InuYasha a lot of time to think. It took him a while, but InuYasha was finally able to clear his mind enough to focus on purify his body. But when he sat under the waterfall, it took everything in him to scream at the sharp pain from the freezing water. It took some time to get used to, but InuYasha managed to soothe his nerves enough to slightly stand the water's temperature.
"How do people do this? This is fuckin insane!"
With both eyes open, InuYasha looks around to see if anyone was there.
"Come on you guys! Half an hour must've passed already," he closes his eyes before giving a sigh. "Stay calm. Stay calm. I need to purify my body and I can't do that if I'm frustrate myself. BUT GODDAMN! I JUST WANNA GET THIS OVER WITH!"
"You are showing your frustration again Mutt Face,"
InuYasha opens his eyes to see Koga standing at the edge of the pond with a towel in his hand.
"Shut up. Please tell me that my time is up already," he whines.
"Yeah, come on. Everyone's waitin'," Koga answers.
Cheering slightly, InuYasha jumps off the rock he sat on to walk across the pond towards Koga, shivering along the way. He happily reaches for the towel and uses it to wrap himself in it.
"Cold enough for ya?" Koga chuckles.
"That water is freezing. This ritual better be worth it,"
"Don't worry, it will be,"
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Koga walked InuYasha back to the palace where he was told to bathe in the purified green tea liquid. He had to bathe himself from head to toe until he was completely coated. Once he was finished, Miroku gathered him for the final piece of the ritual.
"You ready?" Miroku asks.
"Wait! Where are the kids?"
"Don't worry about them. Jaken, Rin and Shippo are watching over them. Does that ease your mind a little bit?"
"Yeah. Thanks. Alright, let's go,"
Miroku nods before opening a door. InuYasha steps inside and looks around. Naoru and Sesshomaru are waiting for him behind a table in the center of the room. He has never been in this room before and wanders what it is.
"Welcome to my study, milord. Do you like it?" Naoru introduces.
"I didn't know this was your study. But then again, I never come to this side of the palace,"
"That is quite alright. Now, are you ready for the final part of the ritual?"
"Bring it on," InuYasha smirks.
"Alright then, please lay on your back for me." Naoru instructed. "Lord Sesshomaru as requested that he be here with you for this part. I hope that is alright?"
"Yeah it's cool. I might need him anyway,"
"Very well then. Now, I have here the Shikon no Tama. I will now bind it to your soul. Once I do this, it cannot be undone. I can only transfer the jewel to another host or it will die with you. And once I bind the jewel to you, all your energy will be drain from you, leaving you vulnerable for about couple of days' time. Once that time passes then you will be back to your complete strength. Just try to avoid fighting as much as you can for a while. You must be fully healed first or run the risk of overexerting yourself. Is that understood?" InuYasha nods in response. "Now, Lord Sesshomaru, upon our agreement, you may be in here for this part of the ritual, but you MUST NOT touch him no matter what happens. If you do so, then you will interrupt the ritual and may even cause Lord InuYasha's death and the destruction of the jewel. Do YOU understand sire?"
Nodding at her words, Sesshomaru speaks. "I will do my best to uphold your instructions."
"Very well then. Everyone stand back and allow me to start the ritual."
Naoru waits for both Miroku and Sesshomaru to stand back before she begins.
"Great ancestors, hear my prayer. Please lend me the power to bind the souls of the Shikon no Tama and Lord InuYasha. He has heard and accepted the path the gods have chosen for him to carry on as the guardian of the Scared Jewel. Allow him the strength and courage it takes to hold strong and carry on as his predecessors before him and wield the magic contained within the jewel to the best of his abilities! I beg of the, please guide him on his journey and give him the power to both use the jewel to his advantage as well as protect it with his dying breath! Oh, great ancestors! I call upon thee! Now, bind these two for all eternity!"
The jewel began to glow brightly in Naoru's hands. Having said her prayer, Naoru lowers the jewel onto InuYasha's chest. A barrier around the jewel forms and with as much pressure and strength as she could muster, Naoru begins to push the jewel into InuYasha's chest. With this action a great force brought both Sesshomaru and Miroku to their knees and causes InuYasha to let out painful screams.
"INUYASHA!" Sesshomaru yells as he tries to get up to help his mate. "INUYASHA! I'M COMING!"
"No Lord Sesshomaru!" Miroku shouts while using his staff to hold on. "You can't disturb the ritual! You could kill him!"
"I know but he needs me!" Sesshomaru yells back.
"I know! But you have to trust that Naoru will pull them both through!"
Using all the strength in his body, Sesshomaru did everything he could to hold himself back from running to InuYasha's side. InuYasha's screams increases the more force Naoru applies to the jewel. His claws can be seen clawing into the top layer of the table. The pain is intense to the point that InuYasha can feel himself about to pass out from the pressure and intensity of the jewel. But he knew that he had to stay strong and hold on or risk losing his life and destroying the jewel.
"Please Lord InuYasha! You must hold on a little longer! The jewel is beginning to accept you as its host!" Naoru encourages.
And she was right. The barrier of the jewel is slowly disappearing. And when it completely disappears, the jewel descends into InuYasha's heaving chest. Naoru uses her hands to give the jewel more of a push before it finally sinks into the hybrid's chest. With a little more force, the jewel becomes completely engulf within InuYasha's chest. With a final scream, the same bright light that encased the jewel shoots from his chest before disappearing. With the jewel now bound to his heart and soul, the pressure within the room disappears and Naoru falls to the floor. Miroku rushes to Naoru's side and lifts her into his arms. At the same time, Sesshomaru rushes to an unconscious InuYasha. He takes his right hand and brushes the bangs from InuYasha's sweaty forehead. As gentle as he can, he lifts InuYasha into his arms and carries him into their room where he watches over to him for the rest of the day.
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Night time falls as Sesshomaru remains by an unconscious InuYasha's side. The longer the day drags on, the more Sesshomaru and others worry.
Naoru woke up a few hours ago and came to check on InuYasha. When he wasn't awake, Naoru tried to sooth Sesshomaru's nerves, but nothing worked. She promised that she would check on him later if he wasn't awake yet. Hours passed and nothing had changed.
The time is now close to midnight as Naoru walks into the young couple's bedroom. She gives a sad look at InuYasha's unconscious body and Sesshomaru's tired phasic. On the bed, both of the Nekomata are laying at the end of the bed sleeping their day away.
"Milord, you need to rest."
"You seem to forget that yōkai do not require sleep." He answers, never moving.
"This is true but your body suggests otherwise. Come, would it make you feel better if you lay next to him instead?"
Sesshomaru was about to say something but stops when Jaken runs into the room.
"Excuse me, Lord Sesshomaru, but there are some demons here who demand your attention. They are attacking the palace!"
"Jaken." Sesshomaru glares sternly. "Do you not see that I am caring for InuYasha. You deal with it."
"I am very sorry milord, but they~"
"Jaken."
The glare from Sesshomaru freezes Jaken with fear. Deciding to save the toad yōkai, Naoru steps in.
"Lord Sesshomaru, if I may. Maybe you dealing with these irrelevant demons is just the distraction you need. Besides, it could help you relax." Sesshomaru shows little hesitation. His eyes shift from InuYasha to Naoru. "I can see your hesitant. Here, allow me to aid in your decision making. Jaken, do any of the other guests know about this?"
"No. We have done a good job of keeping everyone else ignorant."
"See milord. No one else knows about this. You are the ruler of this palace which means that it is your job to keep everyone in it safe, no? And I am sure Lord InuYasha will not be pleased to know that you did not handle this situation before it got out of hand, right?"
Sighing Sesshomaru says "You are correct in your assumption. Jaken, take me to these insignificant demons."
"Yes milord,"
Sesshomaru moves to follow Jaken out of the room; only stopping when Naoru speaks.
"I will watch over Lord Sesshomaru."
With a nod and his gratitude, Sesshomaru exits the room while Naoru takes his seat next to the bed.
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"Lord Sesshomaru seems to be taking his time. I wonder what's going out there?" Naoru whispers to herself as she turns to face the window.
Just as she was about to get up to go to the window, she hears someone calling her name. Thinking it was one of the servants, Naoru moves to open the door. When she did not see anyone at the door, she closes it. Just as she was about to leave, someone calls her name again. She goes to open the door a second time.
"Is anyone there? Is this a game?" she asks to an empty hallway.
Ignoring her irritation, she goes to close the doors. But, as soon as she does this, a gust of wind slams open the doors that lead to the garden outside their door. The pressure of the wind is so strong that Naoru uses her claws to grip the doorframe. But the wind proves too strong for her and blows her out into the hallways. She gains her ground and heads back to the bedroom door. And just when she was about to reach it, the door slams. With all her might, she tried to force the door open but it wouldn't budge. She even tried to use her claws to claw open the door, but nothing was working. Deciding that her efforts are useless, she goes to get help from Sesshomaru.
On the other side of the door, the wind calms down and suddenly the sound of music can be heard from the gardens. A sweet, hypnotizing melody that can entice anyone into a trance, even an unconscious hybrid. The melody causes InuYasha's eyes to pop open with a daze look on his face. He throws off the covers and enters the garden. He continues to walk towards the end of the gardens. Realizing that their master was in danger, Roiyaru and Naito rush to his aid. They try to pull on his kimono, but nothing works. Roiyaru even transforms to stand in his way. Naito transforms and gives a loud roar to snap him out of it. By this time, Sesshomaru and Naoru manages to bust through the door to see InuYasha walking towards the end of the garden.
"INUYASHA!" Sesshomaru screams.
"He can't hear you, sochi," A soft, angel like voice calls out.
Out of the clouds InuKimi appears, holding a magical flute within her hands.
"MOTHER!" Sesshomaru growls.
"Hello Sesshomaru. How have you been?" she smirks.
"I DO NOT HAVE TIME FOR YOUR GAMES!"
"Now, now. Is that any way to talk to your mother? After all I have done for you?" Sesshomaru continues his hard glare while keeping his eyes on his dazed mate. Seeing this, InuKimi lowers herself behind InuYasha. "Oh Sesshomaru you are so cute. Still in love with this half-breed? Pathetic. It breaks my heart that you can't make your mother happy and just carry on our line by mating with another one of us. Instead you insult our bloodline; just like your father,"
At this point, Sesshomaru is fuming with anger towards his mother. She goes to run a sharp claw along InuYasha's jawline, earning a vile sneer from Sesshomaru.
"DO NOT TOUCH HIM!"
This makes InuKimi jump back slightly. "Oh dear, such a disrespectful sochi. I raised you better than this and this is how you repay me? Fine then, if that is how you would like for this to play out then I shall play too. So here is what is going to happen. I am going to take your "precious" mate to my castle where I will deal with him myself. You are free to come retrieve him if you wish, but be warn son; I will not be the only foe you face," Touching InuYasha's forehead, she breaks him of his trance. His body falls into her arms.
"YOU WILL NOT GET AWAY!" Sesshomaru shouts as he rushes towards her.
Just as he was about to strike, she waves her hand to create a barrier that not only blocks his attack but sends him flying back. He coughs slightly as he rises on his hands and knees. The brightest smirk plays on her face before she waves her hand again. Her magic lifts them into the air where she pauses to look at Sesshomaru, Naoru, Roiyaru and Naito for the final time.
"Goodbye, son. Come find me when you are ready for a real fight,"
And just like that, she vanishes. Only silence plays in the air. Sesshomaru's body can be seen violently shaking as his claws dig into the ground below him. With his anger reaching its boiling, Sesshomaru rises to his knees and lets out the loudest scream that anyone has ever heard from him. This scream was so loud that it shook the palace and its grounds. A scream of a ruler who suffers from torment. A scream of a broken heart.
"INUYASHA!"