AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Hey guys! Thank you everyone for reading! I have to say I do like seeing the numbers go up.
I know I haven't posted two chapters this close together in quite a while, and I can't say that it will happen again soon, cause honestly I don't know when the next one will be posted. I just happened to have a little spare time is all.
I hope that you enjoy though. And please review!
DISCLAIMER:
I DO NOT IN ANY WAY SHOAE OR FORM OWN INUYASHA AND GANG.
I do however own the characters:
Astrid
Himiko
Shu
Last time:
It was a good thing I had made it so no one could sense my aura. Hopefully I could find them before he did. Who knew what this new incarnation was capable of, but I had a feeling he was the reason Naraku found them.
I took off towards the northeast to where the village Inuyasha used to reside, hoping that was the direction he had taken off in.
Chapter 28: The Search part 2
We had been traveling for a day and a half before I had to stop. Usually I could keep going but Kagome needed rest. She started stumbling late last night so I insisted on carrying her so she could get some sleep. She only shook her head and told me that if she went to sleep they would only find us faster. So she clung to my back and asked me questions and had me ask her some in return so she wouldn't nod off. She rested head on my shoulder as she rode, and tried to get as comfortable as possible.
Kagome explained how when she read the note left behind by Naraku that her first instinct was to go and find him as fast as she could. She didn't even tell Sesshomaru where she was going. Which made me wonder how he had found us. When she got to the part where Kagura had shown up to cart her away and how her whole body erupted in pain I flinched. That just proved that Naraku was right in suspecting that she would be able to feel what I did. Every last bit of inflicted pain she felt.
She told me how she started to have nightmares about a week and a half ago but quickly realized that it was Naraku trying to get into her head to find her. Or at least one of his incarnations. She said that he had been attacking her mentally for days and wearing her down so when she did sleep she wasn't really getting any rest. She tried keeping any information from him for as long as possible but the other day he had finally broken through and got their location. Also that he hadn't learned of the baby, but assumed that he knew that she was still hiding an important piece of information. She didn't think he would stop until he found out what it was.
We were maybe another half a day from the village but I needed rest too. I set her down and turned to face her.
"Kagome we need to stop." I could see that she was about to panic as her eyes grew wide. "It will only be for a couple of hours I promise. But I'm getting tired and I know you must be as well."
"I-I can't, the baby. I n-nee-" I silenced her with a kiss and took her face in both of my hands. I know she is worried that he was going to find out about the baby the next time she fell asleep.
I looked her in the eyes. "I think I have an idea how to keep him out of your mind." She shook her head lightly from side to side.
"How?" she almost looked like she didn't want to get her hopes up.
I had been working on an idea in my since we left the cave yesterday. "I think that I can protect you and the baby through the mating bond. I think that our bond might be strong enough to do so." I could see hope building in her eyes. "We already know that it's strong enough that feelings can be passed through otherwise I don't think Kagura would have caught you the way she did." Her ears flattened at the memory as did mine.
"How to you suppose we go about doing this?" she asked sincerely hoping that it could be done.
"Well I think it might work the same way that I got into your mind the first time, only this time it won't be to break you out it will be to protect you from him getting in." she nodded indicating that she agreed and that she remembered. "ok."
We walked hand in hand until we found a tree that's branches didn't start till pretty far up the trunk. We leapt into the braches and jumped a few more until we decided that we were high enough. I leaned against the trunk of the tree to get myself comfortable. I patted the spot in front of me between my legs for her to sit and lean back. And she did.
I wrapped my arms around her and the feeling of the bark of the tree pressing into my back and legs faded into the background. I focused on her and how she felt, how she smelled, and who she was. I could feel my mind blending with hers the more relaxed I became. Soon I was completely immersed in Kagome.
Kagome's POV:
It didn't take long for me to begin to drift off with as tired as I was, leaning back against him. Feeling nice and warm with his arms wrapped around me like iron bars that wouldn't let me fall.
As soon as Inuyasha had connected us through the bond I knew. I could feel him through every pore and cell in my body. It was like he was physically now a part of me. In me. It made me feel safe, safer than I have felt in weeks. It was such a good feeling, one that I didn't want to lose.
"Inuyasha? You're there aren't you?" I asked and my voice seemed to echo into the distance of my mind. I was back in the same field as always when something important went on in here.
"Yes." His voice came from behind me and I whirled around to see him walking in my direction with a smile on his face.
I ran the rest of the distance between us and threw my arms around his neck. "Oh I missed being able to hug you! Lately I have just been so tired." He held me against him tightly as though he was never going to let go.
"We have to hurry if you what you said about him being able to tell when you're sleeping is true." He said holding me at an arm's length away, looking me in the eye.
I thought about it for a second about every time I felt Naraku's incarnation's presence in my mind. "We have maybe two minutes before he shows up." I said confidently and he nodded his understanding. We had at least that much time. He still had to get through my barriers, even as weak as they were now. I didn't have the energy to make them any stronger, not with how long he has been wearing me down. There wasn't much more I could do to protect myself or our child and it terrified me.
I was supposed to have all this power but I had no way to access it. It was like it had all been syphoned off when Naraku used that poison on me. I could feel it there but it was weak and hadn't gotten the chance to replenish itself before his incarnation had attacked. And going almost two weeks fending him off with the small amount of power I did have, it quickly dwindled. Now there was barely enough there to keep the barriers on my mind, and protecting the knowledge about our baby in place.
I was exhausted both physically, mentally, and spiritually.
I really hoped this worked, otherwise Naraku was going to find out about the baby and catch us both.
I felt Inuyasha's demonic power surge from both outside my body and inside it as well, causing me to gasp in surprise. He was so powerful. Way more so than I had originally thought or had believed. And yet his power also felt incredibly gentle, and loving.
It felt like Inuyasha.
I looked over at my mate who was standing beside me with his eyes closed in wonder.
"Inuyasha."
He looked at me and smiled. "Hmm?"
"I love you."
"I love you too, Kagome." he took my hand in his and brought it up to his lips for a kiss.
I smiled, "I really hope this works. I don't think I can hold him off anymore by myself."
"Don't worry, it will. I won't let anything happen to you or our baby." He seemed to trough up his own barriers around my mind, reinforcing my own with his power and his strength. They were so strong they became visible to the eye. His power was a beautiful dark red that when it joined with mine together they glowed a brilliant dark purple that faded to light blue around the edges. Together our auras were one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen.
"Oh my." I brought my free hand to my lips in surprise. "It's beautiful Inuyasha." he only looked at me and smiled.
Almost immediately I felt Naraku's incarnation slam against the barrier from the outside. The strength of the barrier and the mixed power must have surprised him because he didn't strike again as soon as the first strike failed like he usually did.
"Damn bastard is fucking strong." Inuyasha glared beside me. "You've been dealing with this for almost two weeks and just reached your limit?" when he saw me nod the affirmative he grunted in what sounded like pride. "And you weren't even at full strength were you." He stated almost like a fact, I could only shake my head.
"Well now I'm here to help protect you so your body and your mind can get some well-deserved rest." He stated sitting down in the field and pulling me down to sit in his lap. I didn't resist nor did I complain as I let him hold me and protect me as he saw fit. "Hopefully your miko powers regain some of their strength as well as your demonic ones."
The incarnation slammed against the barrier again and again trying to get through, but it held steady as we sat under its protection. Together it seemed Inuyasha and I could beat anything that came our way. The slamming continued for maybe an hour before it started to dissipate and finally stop. We didn't dare let down the barriers though until it was time for us to wake up and continue on our way to the village.
Naraku's POV:
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T GET THROUGH!?" I screamed outraged at my pathetic incarnation before me. "YOU SAID THAT SHE WAS WEAKENED! THAT YOU COULD GET IN ANYTIME SHE FELL ASLEEP!" I stomped my foot in anger as I continued to yell. The demon before me simply stood there expressionless.
One of my tentacles shot out and wrapped itself around his throat lifting him into the air. "IS IT YOUR INTENTION TO MAKE ME ANGRY? DO YOU WANT TO DIE?" my tentacle brought Shu within ten inches of my face. He didn't even struggle in the slightest.
I dropped him to the ground with a satisfying thump. I turned away from him and began to pace. 'Why won't anything go as planned?'
I waited for him to regain his composure before turning back to him expecting an answer to my question.
Shu sat on his knees before me as he rubbed gently at his throat before answering. "Master Naraku, she seems to have somehow gotten help from a red clad, silver haired, hanyou. He somehow managed to enter her mind as well and I'm not sure what he did, it was almost as though he boosted her barriers."
I growled in frustration and drew my sword slashing wildly. "NOTHING EVER GOES RIGHT! WHY?!" I slammed my sword into the ground before my point first and buried it in there about eight inches. "SHE IS SUPPOSED TO BE MINE! MINE!" I brought the sword back out of the ground only to slam it back in. "NOT HIS! WHY CAN'T THEY SEE THAT?" Out of the corner of my eye I caught the movement of Shu taking a step or two back. It seems even though I didn't make him with emotions he seemed to have some self-preservation, which was odd since I didn't seem to recall giving him that either.
I rounded on him in a blink of an eye and had him in my clutches once again. My hand closed around his throat as I brought him closer to me. The toes of his boots dragging across the dirt, leaving two identical trails behind about a foot long.
"I don't remember giving you permission to back away from me. I do not remember giving you the ability to even think to do so." He seemed to be changing color the longer I kept him from oxygen. Unfortunately it seemed that I still needed him, which was fortune for him. Shu only looked at me without a hint of emotion across his features. "You are going to break through that barrier if it is the last thing you do. YOU are going to find her and you ARE going to find out what she is hiding."
He only nodded that he understood before I let him fall back into a heap at my feet once more. He clutched at his throat as though it were a life line, which in a way I guess it was.
"Get to it." I said before kicking him while he was down.
With that I left Shu on the ground and went back to my chamber. I needed to figure out what to do next.
Author's noteā¦again:
I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as the last.
Please review, I do so enjoy reading them.
