Disclaimer - I do not own InuYasha . . . nor did I win my plushie *sniffles sadly* But I do own my lighter, and every DVD that has come out in English so far : )
Author's Note - Wow . . . 500+ reviews . . . gods above, I think I'm stunned. This has turned into so much more than I ever expected it to . . . it's actually scary. 39 people with me on their favourite's list too . . . I think I'm going to faint! You guys are great, you really are : ) Well, here's another 'tying off loose ends and getting things in order' chapter . . . this one and the next should be the last ones, and then it's on to hunting Naraku! *cheers* Now, many of you have asked me to do another lemon . . . many with Sango and Miroku in it. To be honest, I hadn't planned on doing another lemon for the story . . . I didn't want the fic to become to citrusy. However, since so many of you asked for it . . . I will work on it. I might take me some time . . . but I think I will fit it in between last chapter and this one . . . you know, the cute Sango and Miroku scene where she finally gets up the nerve to approach him on it? I'll extend that a bit and add it to Starlight and Shadows Lemon Scenes . . . give me a couple of weeks though, lemons are not easy to write if you want them don't properly, and I refuse to write simple smut (at least, not for this story!) And now . . . on with Starlight and Shadows, before stuff starts getting thrown at me. (Hides behind Sephiroth and Malik in a vain attempt to continue writing . . . too bad the bishounen boys are going to keep me slightly . . . umm . . . preoccupied?)
Chapter 18 - Preparations
"NO! I don't want to go . . . I want to go with you! I can be useful, really I can! I helped against the Thunder Brothers, didn't I?" Shippo wailed as he clung to Kagome's leg like a burr. Kagome was adamant, however.
"You're not going Shippo. I'm going to have enough to worry about without throwing you into the mix . . . and you know as well as I do that Naraku will attempt to use you against us if he can. You're going to stay in my time with my mother, and that's final." Her tone of voice warned the little kit that if he continued the argument any further, he was going to find himself bound and gagged as he went through the well.
"You've become as bad as InuYasha . . ." he grumbled, releasing her leg as he went to sulk in a corner of the hut. Kagome simply sighed in exasperation before she turned back to her packing, preparing her back pack for the journey ahead.
InuYasha smirked slightly from his own spot on the futon as he watched Kagome bustle about the hut gathering her supplies. As per Kagome's request, he'd allowed her to handle the argument with the kit, staying out of it entirely. It appeared Kagome had been right . . . had the order come from him, he would have ended up in a full blown shouting match with Shippo, but with it coming from Kagome, Shippo had only argued for a few moments before leaving to sulk in the corner.
Sesshoumaru was the lucky one . . . Rin had actually been excited at the thought of visiting her 'big sister Kagome's' home. He had merely had to mention it and the young girl had begun bouncing with joy. His smirk faded slightly as he thought of his brother. Their relationship was still on awkward ground . . . neither knowing how to suddenly put aside the years of hatred that had been between them. His smile returned slightly as he thought of how much Kagome had been involved in the healing between the two brothers. Sesshoumaru admired her greatly and listened to her with avid interest . . . and InuYasha loved her with every fibre of his being. With her adding to their conversations, they'd come to see and understand sides of each other that even they hadn't known existed.
He sighed as he felt one fingertip gently caress his ear as she passed by the futon on her way to some corner of the hut, his amber eyes following her lithe form. His Kagome . . . his mate. Gods, how he hated to admit it, but he was scared. Scared of what Naraku might do . . . scared of what might happen once the Shikon No Tama was whole again. What if he lost her . . . what if she was forced to go back to her own time? He shook his head abruptly as he sat up, pushing those thoughts from his mind with a concentrated effort. If it happened, there would be nothing he could do about it . . . nothing except try to find a way to be reunited with her again. He waved away Kagome's look of concern at his sudden movement, standing to step outside for a breath of fresh air.
He grinned as he spied Sango and Miroku making their own preparations, although neither one would go more than a few paces from the other. Sango was checking her boomerang for any cracks or flaws, while Miroku was deep into meditation . . . although InuYasha noticed it wasn't so deep that he couldn't take advantage of an unaware Sango bending over near him. He snickered as Sango shrieked in outrage and slapped the houshi, before leaning over to help him up, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Miroku himself was grinning like a loon, rubbing his cheek absently as his other hand moved in for another grope at the exterminator's round behind. Sango, however, saw him before he made contact, and quickly moved out of range, although not without a whispered "pervert" and a smile.
Kagome's head peeked out of the hut behind him at the commotion, and she shook her head and giggled slightly at the spectacle.
"He never gives up . . . even if she is going to be his wife. I don't think he'll ever change," she murmured, her blue-grey eyes sparkling with amusement.
"I don't think he could change, Kagome," InuYasha replied, before turning and hauling her out of the hut, one arm wrapped around her waist, holding tightly to his side as he lay a gentle kiss on the top of her head. Together, they stood in silence for a few moments, before InuYasha spoke again. "Have you got everything together?"
"Yes . . . I'm as ready as I'm ever going to be for this. I've learned everything I can about my powers, and my quiver is stocked full of arrows. I've got medical supplies and food in my pack, and I'm leaving the rest of the Shikon Shards here with Kaede just to be on the safe side. How about you?" InuYasha merely nodded in reply.
"Your mother . . ."
"Knows that I'm leaving Shippo and Rin with her. Actually, she's looking forward to it. From what I've told her of Rin, she thinks Rin is going to be absolutely adorable, and Shippo will have a whole lot of fun with my brother. She said it will be good practice for her when she had grandkids." Kagome blushed bright red at this, and InuYasha sighed before giving her a brief hug. Kagome's mother was a great woman . . . a little overzealous about grand children now that Kagome and he were mated, but a great woman, none the less.
Sighing again as he spied his brother a short distance away, he gave Kagome's waist a quick squeeze before releasing her and going to approach his brother. Sesshoumaru looked up at his approach, one silver eyebrow rising in question, his face otherwise composed, as always. InuYasha stifled a spirt of irritation at that thought. His brother's lack of . . . inner fire . . . always unnerved him. The youkai lord could have been carved from ice and stone most of the time . . . the only time InuYasha had ever seen him warm up was with Kagome. He was still slightly irritated that his brother had kissed her . . . but Kagome had never spoken of it, and Sesshoumaru had apologized for it, so there was very little he could do. That was fine by him, actually . . . as long as it didn't happen again. It actually was something of a relief to know that his brother cared about Kagome that much . . . that meant that Sesshoumaru would protect her, if he could, during the fight. And, as much as he didn't want to think about it . . . it meant Kagome wouldn't be alone if anything happened to him. He shrugged off the cold shiver of dread that thought induced. Nothing was going to happen to him . . . nothing was going to keep him away from Kagome now that he had found her love.
"Sesshoumaru . . ."
"InuYasha. I assume you came to see if I am prepared to leave on the morrow. Rest assured, I am ready and willingly to travel. I've been too long in this human village as it is." InuYasha nodded at his brother's matter-of-fact tone. He knew Sesshoumaru had been getting slightly irritable at being so close to humans . . . he himself wasn't too comfortable around them either. That was why Kagome and he had a hut on the far outskirts of the town . . . he didn't feel so crowded out there. It must have been worse for his brother . . . the youkai lord barely tolerated humans on a good day, and outright loathed them at any other time.
"I want to be on the road as early as possible. The sooner we find him . . ."
"The less likely it is that he'll have a trap waiting for us. Yes, brother, I quite agree. Any good leader wants as many advantages as he can get, and Naraku will already have the advantage of home territory." Sesshoumaru sighed, some emotion finally showing through his stoic mask. "Rin is excited to be going to Kagome's home. I had to send her out with Jakken to get a moments peace." InuYasha grinned at that.
"Yeah . . . Kagome had a rather abrupt discussion with Shippo on that subject. He's isn't at all happy about being left behind."
"It is for the best. We will need Kagome in her best form . . ."
"Trust me, Sesshoumaru, she knows that as well as we do. That's why it was her idea in the first place. She stomped on his tantrum rather abruptly." He was surprised to see a slight smile flicker across his brother's elfin features.
"Somehow, I am not surprised." Sesshoumaru paused for a moment before going on. "Father . . . would have approved of her thoroughly, I suspect." The two brothers stood in silence for a moment, before a scent on the wind caused them both to turn towards the woods.
"Kouga . . ." InuYasha growled, his claws cracking ominously as he identified the scent.
"Yes . . . and he is not alone," Sesshoumaru affirmed, his own form relaxed as he watched the dust cloud that signified the arrival of the wolf lord approach.
InuYasha nearly jumped out of his skin when a soft hand on his arm startled him from his watch. Kagome moved up next to him, her own gaze serious as she watched to approaching youkai. InuYasha stifled the urge to pull her to him and place her behind him. Loving Kagome meant trusting her and knowing when to back off, and he knew that Kagome did not consider Kouga a threat. She would not welcome his over-protective jealousy at the moment . . . likely, it would get him one hell of a tongue lashing later. So, he quickly suppressed the urge, standing beside her quietly as Kouga skidded to a halt a few feet in front of them.
"Word is you're going after Naraku," the wolf lord began in greeting. "I want to come with you." InuYasha began to growl a definite negative to that idea, only to be stopped as Kagome stepped forward.
"Why, Kouga? This isn't your fight . . . you actually have shards that we're going to need after this is all said and done. What's to say that you won't try to take off with Naraku's shards yourself?" Kouga actually looked hurt at this, while InuYasha and Sesshoumaru both could only stare at Kagome in surprise.
"Kagome . . ." Kouga began softly, taking a step towards her. He quickly retracted that step when the sound of InuYasha's knuckles cracking sounded through the still air. Kagome shot a glance towards her love, a small smile gracing her lips. She concentrated slightly, sending a wave of calm and love through their link to him. She sighed in relief as he visibly relaxed, a wave of love and apology coming back from him through their bond. She returned to facing Kouga, who had stilled. "Kagome, Naraku is no youkai's friend . . . especially not mine. He wiped out nearly my entire pack . . . I owe him. If you all are going to take him on, I want to go with you. I swear, I merely want to help . . . and you know you'll need all the help you can get. Afterwards . . ." he paused for a moment, taking a deep breath before continuing on, "Afterwards, I will turn my shards over to you."
InuYasha's jaw nearly hit the ground, he was so surprised. Kouga . . . would willingly turn over the shard's of the Shikon Jewel that he had in his possession? Next to him, Sesshoumaru was doing his usual mask trick to cover his own surprise at the wolf youkai's proclamation. Kagome was the only one that remained unsurprised by Kouga's sudden offer.
"You're right, Kouga . . . we will need all the help we can get. I accept . . . we leave tomorrow morning." With that, she turned and walked back into the village. InuYasha stood, stunned speechless, before turning to go after her. How could she make a decision like that without talking to him about it?
Behind them, Sesshoumaru and Kouga shared an amused glance at the hanyou's sudden departure.
"Newly mated . . ." they both said at once, and shared a grin.
"Why in the world are you letting Kouga come with us!?" InuYasha began without preamble as he caught up to his mate. "We don't need him . . . he's going to be more trouble than he's worth!" Kagome sighed, stopping for a moment before turning to look into his golden eyes, her own blue ones steady as she reached up to brush an errant strand of silver hair away from his face.
"Inu . . ." she sighed, "Kouga isn't after me anymore, love, so you can drop the rivalry act. And he was right . . . you know as well as I do that we're going to need all the help we can get against Naraku . . . you're just too stubborn and full of pride to admit that." InuYasha began to sputter a retort to this, but fell silent as Kagome smiled at him gently and lay a finger against his lips. "Don't argue . . . you know it's true. Kouga can be a huge help in this battle . . . he's got amazing speed, even without the shards. That will be useful. Plus . . . as know you've been worrying about protecting me and fighting Naraku at the same time . . . you know Kouga won't allow anything to happen to me, and neither will Sesshoumaru. This will give you another pair of eyes that will be watching over me . . . so stop worrying."
InuYasha merely sighed before enveloping her in a bruising hug, burying his nose in her hair as he held her body close to his own. She was right, as much as he hated to admit it. He was terrified that something would happen to her while he was distracted with Naraku . . . and Kouga . . . as much as he hated the flea bitten wolf lord, he knew that Kouga would never allow anything to happen to Kagome if he could stop it.
"Feh," he huffed gently against her ear. Kagome took that to be a sign that she had won the argument, and grinned slightly against his shoulder. That was one benefit of being mated, she supposed . . . InuYasha actually listened to her now. She sobered as she thought of the upcoming fight . . . were her miko powers, still slightly untrained as they were, going to be enough? Sighing, she determined she would try to get in one last training session with Kikyo tonight while she slept . . . perhaps Kikyo would have some useful advice as well.
Releasing InuYasha, she stepped back to look up at him, smiling. He returned the grin, his dog ears flicking back and forth at her cutely. She stifled a giggle at the sight, shaking her head absently as she grabbed his hand and tugged, silently asking him to walk with her. He didn't fight her, walking beside her with her hand held lightly in his own, enjoying the feeling of just being with her as they walked down the path towards the Goshinboku. No words were spoken as they arrived, InuYasha merely sweeping her into his arms before bounding up into the tree. Together, the newly mated pair settled onto a branch in the higher levels of the ancient tree, watching as the sun began it's slow descent towards the horizon. The mate bond buzzed with love and comfort as they enjoyed a brief moment away from the troubles that plagued their life, knowing that they would probably see little time alone in the next few weeks, as they would be on the move, hunting down their nemesis in whatever hole he'd crawled in to.
Kagome sighed, leaning back to pillow her head on InuYasha's shoulder as the stars began to blanket the sky with diamonds. She smiled gently as his strong arms wrapped around her waist from behind, holding her against him. She would never be afraid of anything . . . not as long as her hanyou was near. She felt his lips brush her neck, and murmured happily as she snuggled closer into his warmth, eliciting a slight chuckle from her mate . . . just before she found herself pulled even closer, and the edges of his billowy fire-rat outer shirt were wrapped around her. She curled into the warmth of his chest at her back, the cloth wrapped tightly around her, and reached up with an arm to absently caress one silken furred ear. A rumble against her back caused her to giggle slightly.
"I love you InuYasha," she murmured contentedly. His arms tightened around her slightly.
"I love you too, Kagome."
