A/N: HEY!
Oh My Gods! 35
Kagome stared at the ground, analyzing each blade of healthy green grass beneath her crossed legs. She wondered if the grass would sympathize with her if she told it what she had recently been through. Perhaps it would recoil and wither into nothingness; merely disappear.
Well, she'd like to disappear...
Why? For the most part, she was once again brought to the immortal realm without any warning whatsoever. Inuyasha was incapable of being so kind and understanding, yet he wasn't the only one, since her current misery revealed as much. No. It was a deadly plague.
So, add all of the above to the fact that she was now stuck with a raving hanyou and a stoic miko who threatened to shoot him if he didn't shut his running mouth. Obviously, the raven-haired teen felt like acting out Kikyou's threat in her stead.
"Why the hell are we here?! When are you taking us back?! Hey, bitch, answer my fucking questions! Are you a freakin' zombie? Are you dead? No one told you to die when I'm asking you questions! And I'm hungry!"
Kagome continued to stare at the ground, trying in vain to ignore her fiancé. But, alas, it was impossible because his furious voice still echoed in her foggy mind. So, she merely redirected her thoughts to ponder her current whereabouts.
They were all in some sort of clearing in the middle of a forest; she was sitting on the ground, leaning against an old wooden well while Inuyasha stood in front of Kikyou, bellowing at the top of his lungs. Kagome was decked in her pajamas, embarrassingly enough, though her fiancé wasn't faring much better with crimson sleeping pants on and a white T-shirt covering his torso.
If Kikyou had just warned them, they could have changed...
But nooo, I was kidnapped by a creepy mummy-looking priestess. Kagome glanced at the apathetic miko standing with her arms crossed. At least my slippers are comfortable... Slippers... Right, they're my Slippers of Death.
Her chocolate eyes gazed at the fluffy blue shoes on her feet and then shifted to settle on a certain complaining hanyou. An idea soon popped into her brain...heheheh...
"Dammit! Do you not care that you just abducted a prince?! I can have you executed!" Inuyasha shouted at Kikyou, his anger fueled by her steady indifference. Hell, she even yawned in boredom! "And there's no way in hell Sesshoumaru's gonna pay ransom, which means I might as well go ahead and die! I hate that inconsiderate ba—"
"Inuyasha..." Kagome stood, finally out of her prior stupor, and innocently stepped up behind him. A sweet smile was on her pretty face, though it was only seen by Kikyou. The miko smirked once she caught sight of fluffy object in her hand. "Can you please stop being annoying?"
"What?! Wench, we were fucking kidnapped! We have school on Monday and—shit! What the hell was—stop!" The silver-haired hanyou failed to recall that Kagome was vicious, and he unfortunately succumbed to a...slipper attack!
N-No...it was more than just a slipper...it w-was...
...the Slipper of Death...
Oh shit. Inuyasha cowered from the fluffy slipper Kagome brandished after she whacked him a couple of times on the head. It was his punishment for being insolent, he supposed. Gods, he might as well bow in worship of the terrifying Blue Fluff!
"This reminds me..." The raven-haired teen tapped her chin in thought, recalling something or the other. After a few seconds, her eyes darkened to border on black fury. Inuyasha knew it meant nothing good for him. "I owe you a beating for earlier."
"But I didn't do anything, wench!" He retorted, no longer fearing his demise. "Stop making excuses just to—fuck!" Whack! Wham! Whack! "GAH! STOP!"
Kagome used both of her slippers and brought them down on the hanyou's head with enough force to summon a painful migraine. Her lips curled into a savage snarl as she refused to allow him a moment to recuperate from the onslaught of whacks and whams. Soon enough, his proud stature crumbled into a fetal position on the ground.
"You're more of an asshole than Meimori is!" She shouted, her anger from earlier returning with vengeance. A few feet away, Kikyou merely watched, amusement etched into her expression for once. "How dare you let yourself be stabbed like that! You freakin' scared me! I thought he really hurt you!"
"WENCH!" Whack! Wham! "YOU'RE HURTING ME!"
"SHUT UP!!!" WHACK! "NEVER DO THAT AGAIN OR YOU'RE DEAD!!!"
"Technically he's already dying," Kikyou cut in, but she sighed and treaded closer to the arguing couple. "Alright, I suppose it's time for an explanation. Kagome, Inuyasha will need to participate."
The teen hit him one last time and huffed prior to placing her deadly slippers back on her cold feet. Inuyasha twitched a couple of times and compared being impaled by his cousin's broad Aotoki dimension sword to his fiancée's hissy fits with household items. Which one was scarier?
The answer was obvious...
Now that she had everyone's attention, Kikyou uncrossed her arms and exhaled deeply. "Let's set things straight. I can careless about your own little battles with Meimori or whatnot—I only desire the Shikon no Tama."
"And I thought I told you I don't know where it is," Inuyasha responded after gathering his wits. His muscles tensed and his jaw ticked as he became defensive, and even Kagome wondered if Kikyou would use force to attain this jewel, whatever it was.
"Yes, half-breed, I'm aware of your incompetence."
"What?! I'm gonna—"
"Ok, so he doesn't know where the jewel is," Kagome smartly interfered before her hanyou initiated another one of his tirades. "This doesn't tell me why we're currently here."
"Inuyasha actually does know the location of the Shikon no Tama; he just doesn't remember." Silence accompanied her statement. The couple before her merely stared at her with their heads cocked in the same direction. They looked like a pair of befuddled puppies...
Err...Kikyou's thoughts were digressing, amazingly. "Listen up, idiots. Without me, the Shikon no Tama is useless, so I require it in order to make it useful. But you, yes you, Kagome, hid it. Your mate, the half-breed, is the only one who has the memory of its hiding place in that shockingly small brain of his."
The silence was overbearing—crickets were chirping and it wasn't nightfall yet.
"Um...how did I end up with the Shikon no Tama in the first place?" Kagome tentatively asked, fearing if she inquired too much, her brain would overload with information and explode.
"Simple. I handed it to you."
"Why?"
"Because you're it's keeper."
"Why?"
"Because you are the only one with the likeness of Midoriko!"
"Why?"
"...because you're a miko who fell in love with a hanyou."
"Why?"
"..."
"Alright, I'm confused." Inuyasha shook his head and sighed. "Who the hell is Midoriko, when did you give Kagome the Shikon no Tama, and why am I suddenly involved in this?" From his little escapade yesterday—in mortal timing, that was—he recalled mention of Kurayami and Midoriko, but it hadn't sunk in.
Truthfully, he had been conscious throughout the entire ordeal; meaning, he remembered every exact detail, only that his body was out of his control. Yet, the most prominent feature of the deadly battle was him fighting against a strangely powerful Kagome...and he had called her Midoriko.
Likewise...she had called him Kurayami.
What in the world did that mean, then?!
Kagome was wondering the same thing, since she also remembered that moment in history. Hopefully this doesn't mean I'm being possessed or something along those lines... She had enough to deal with ever since Inuyasha stepped into her life.
"Has no one ever told you the story of Midoriko and Kurayami?" Kikyou asked in return, yet the two eighteen year-olds shook their heads. "Hmph, of course you won't understand anything, then. Well, long, long ago, there lived a family of powerful dog demons in the Western Lands, which you both should know is now known as Makai..."
The miko delved into the entire story about Kurayami, who was actually Inuyasha's uncle, and Midoriko, the benevolent miko he fell in love with and who apparently lived within Rin and Kagome. It wasn't literally, however; the two teens were merely the only ones able to tap into the Shikon no Tama and harness Midoriko's dormant soul, just as Inuyasha was apparently able to harness Kurayami's soul using his Tetsusaiga, apparently.
The thought was unsettling—if he had it his way, the hanyou would never look at the sword again...
Throughout the entire tale, the couple couldn't help but gape in shock at all the information oblivious to them. As it turned out, the hanyou knew nothing about his family history! And he bet Myouga and Jaken knew all of this because they lived through it!
He was going to kill them, unless Sesshoumaru beat him to it already.
"—and so, Midoriko and Kurayami both died, but their souls in their respective jewels are guarded by two immortals and two mortals: Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, Kagome, and Rin. Naraku still roamed freely and desired to eradicate any trace of Midoriko and Kurayami, since they're the only ones who can defeat him. We all fight, we all die, and we all came back to life. The end."
"..." Inuyasha and Kagome couldn't manage more than that. And here the raven-haired teen thought her life couldn't become any stranger... She was never wishing for a handsome, silver-haired stranger with sparkly wings to come whisk her away on some adventure ever again.
Kikyou was unaffected by their immense shock, and she merely rolled her mahogany eyes. "Any questions so far?"
"Um..." The miko regretted asking when Kagome opened her mouth to speak. If she was going to say annoying things again and repeat 'why' millions of times, her silver guns were right within reach. "I don't understand why you gave me the Shikon no Tama."
She was an ordinary overachiever in high school! As if she planned on battling an evil demon god named Naraku who lived in totally different dimension than her!
"Trust me, it wasn't my choice," Kikyou muttered darkly. "Listen, Kagome—it was destiny, fate, or whatever you want to call it. The keeper of the jewel could have been your next door neighbor, but it was you. It's the same for Rin. Now just let it go—you can't change it."
The teen quirked an eyebrow. Kikyou had surely twisted the stick up her ass because she sounded substantially annoyed. "Thanks for the lecture..." Kinky-hoe. She refrained from voicing the nickname, though.
Barely.
"So...why did you have it, then? Are you part of Midoriko, too?"
"No," Kikyou murmured darkly, yet huffed and reaffirmed herself. "The jewel was handed to my mother shortly after Midoriko's death. I began to protect it the day she died and purified Onigumo's evil soul. It was only when you finalized a Bond of Mates with Inuyasha that you were able to tap into the Shikon no Tama. I entrusted the jewel to you shortly before the final battle with Naraku and I still have no idea what you did with it."
Kagome raised her eyebrows in surprise. "That makes two of us..."
And what does finalizing a Bond of Mates mean? She glanced at her fiancée for some guidance, but the bright red blush blooming in cheeks swore his secrecy. Damn. I'll have to torture it out of him later.
No worries!
"Ok, I don't care anymore about this whole Shikon crap." Inuyasha was confused and most dogs hated being confused. On that level, he instantly related with his bastard of a brother—they even started their own club: Dogs and Confusion Equals Chaos.
Apparently, Kikyou had neglected to join. "What do you care about, hm?"
"Keh! Why the fuck am I here right now?"
Kagome nodded in agreement; yay, he finally said something remotely intelligent! "And where is 'here', anyway? Besides the obvious, of course."
"You two idiots are wasting my precious time. Inuyasha, you're here because you're incompetent and you have abilities you must control. Kagome, same answer, and we're currently—"
"—in Enma, the Northern Lands....my kingdom."
"I knew I smelled wolf shit around here!" Inuyasha was quite proud of himself for catching the scent that had been upwind, since Kouga suddenly decided to jump down from a tree out of nowhere. "Keh! What's up with people and spying now a days?!"
First Meimori, then Kikyou, afterwards was Kizurei, and now Kouga! Who was next?!
The aforementioned wolf demon scoffed, yet walked up behind Kikyou, who seemed happy to have someone else deal with a bunch of baffled children. His expression, however, was solemn for once, and his current grim mood was revealed by the way he neglected to glomp Kagome, his 'mate'.
He sighed before crossing his arms over his chest, and it was now that his two classmates noted his black and brown imperial garments. A black silk shirt adorned his torso, matching his sleek sable pants, while a dark brown fur...boa hung from his left shoulder, accenting the band of fur (mostly his tail) wrapped around his waist.
All in all, he looked like the prince he claimed to be...and his princess stepped up behind him a few minutes later.
Ayame's mood wasn't faring any better than Kouga's, yet her clothing was similar. Instead of shirt and pants, a form-fitting black dress sheathed her slender body, hugging her curves and exposing the sides of her long, creamy legs with slits reaching mid-thigh. A boa of white fur was wrapped around her left shoulder as well as a band of matching fur around her waist.
Inuyasha and Kagome were once again speechless—Kouga and Ayame perfectly fit the description of able and handsome rulers. Gods, they needed sleep. Yes, they needed sleep and a bed...to sleep on, dammit!
"Okay, I can deal with this." Kagome was determined to protect her mind from shock and confusion! She was going to comprehend her present situation even if it killed her! Err, she wouldn't go that far, though. "We're in Enma...in front of a well...in pajamas..."
And any escape route was virtually blocked...
"Don't forget I'm hungry, wench. I thought I made that clear." One could never forget such a fact; the hanyou owned a bottomless pit for a stomach. Then again, he could eat grass for all his fiancée cared.
Grass was universal solely for his endless consumption.
Ayame took a step forward, having ignored her two friends' mumbling. Her stark emerald green eyes betrayed all emotions. "I, Queen Ayame of Enma, humbly approach you, Prince Inuyasha of Makai and future ruler of Seijou, with the request for an alliance in this dire time of war."
"What?!" Inuyasha glanced at Kouga, who stood in back of the wolf demoness, completely impassive. If Ayame was Queen of Enma, then that meant Kouga was King...
...and they were...she was...his...
But didn't Kouga detest Ayame?! Why the hell would he marry her?! When the fuck did Kouga assume the throne of Enma without his notice?! And there was to be a war?!
...war...war...WAR!!!
Dammit, he wasn't even deigned Lord of the Eastern Lands yet!
Kagome lost all of her prior determination. She was forever doomed with confusion—hell, she should dump Inuyasha and marry it. Ok, so at the back of her mind she knew Ayame was immortal—the wolf demoness adorned a gold beaded necklace around her neck, and it had ten beads on it.
Ten.
Ten was two more than Inuyasha's eight. Wow...
But then Kouga... The miko glanced towards the uncharacteristically stoic demon, and she noted that his regular surfer beads were actually replaced by a gold medallion accented by ten teeth. As in...he reached a superior rank, higher than Inuyasha's and equivalent to Sesshoumaru's.
Both Kouga and Ayame were suddenly complete demon gods... How long had they been gone for? The answer was trapped in the maze also known as Kagome's brain.
"Prince Inuyasha, I assume you are not aware of current events," Kouga stated, polite and civil to the hanyou for the first time in his life while his voice now possessed a smooth, commanding quality. "Naraku, the King of Akuma—the Southern Lands—has declared war on my kingdom and your Western-Eastern Empire. It would be wise to join forces in order to prevail against his vast army."
This was probably why Kouga already took the throne of his kingdom, or so Inuyasha supposed after he quelled his initial shock and observed the situation calmly. In order to deal with declaration of wars and such, the ruler of a domain had to be a king, not a prince. Regents were not allowed to govern wars, as well.
Wait. Then Sesshoumaru and I have to... The thought suddenly struck him and his golden amber eyes widened. Shit. I have to leave the mortal realm and become a...
"How long until its commence?" Inuyasha guarded his inward emotions of panic and anger closely. His mask of indifference was firmly in place, and his face mirrored the grim note of his fellow rulers.
The only person who could possibly see past his façade was Kagome, since she recently became adept in utilizing their Bond of Mates. Her nervous hand grasped his, seeking his comfort as well as returning hers, and he tightened his grip, acknowledging the fact that...
...it was highly likely they would have to...have to...
"From what I've heard, Naraku will only allow a year for strategic planning. In mortal terms, that is only three months." Even Kikyou was aware of impending events. Her source of information wasn't important at the moment in the perspectives of the other four.
"Shit." Three months...Inuyasha graduated from high school in four months. Even so, he could no longer remain in the mortal realm. There were war preparations to be made; his duty was to his kingdom first and foremost.
Now Inuyasha understood Kouga's long absence from classes. He had received word of this war and hastened to take his inherited throne. The wolf also married in order to leave behind a capable, trustworthy ruler while he was fighting in the battle front. They were all tasks Inuyasha, and Sesshoumaru as a matter of fact, would be forced to accomplish in the near future.
Yet...Kagome...
He turned to gaze at her, and she glanced back, her chocolate eyes absorbing the knowledge she refused to accept. Technically, matters between them from their altercation the day prior were far from settled—their feelings and issues were still a mile away from the surface.
Gods, what he would give to freely express his feelings as though nothing blocked his heart from opening up to her! In reality, his apprehension was as strong and powerful as before. His insecurities had not retreated. He jaded—that much he admitted. And he wanted to let Kagome know! Inuyasha truly did!
But...
...but he couldn't stay...he just couldn't.
To force her to join him in a world foreign to her would be selfish and heartless, as well. His duty was to his kingdom...his life belonged to the people who served him and vice versa...yet...
Where did Kagome fit in his domain?
"Prince," Ayame interrupted the hanyou's silent brooding with her melodic voice barely above a whisper, "Sango and Miroku are taking care of the menial work back in the Eastern Lands in your stead. I'm certain Lord Seiryuu has already enlightened Sesshoumaru on this recent turn of events."
"I see..." In a way, Miroku and Sango were his indirect regents. They didn't actually rule in his absence, but they had enough power to control matters in the Eastern Lands, Seijou, in case disaster arose.
"Before war breaks out and Naraku summons hell, you both need to train and stabilize your abilities. That is why I'm letting you use the Gunslinger's secret training grounds." Kikyou gestured towards the well behind Inuyasha and Kagome. "You will spend approximately a month in there. In mortal time, it's little over a week."
"So, does this mean the Gunslingers are on our side?" Kagome asked, glancing at the wooden well. She peered over its opening and shuddered; all she saw was blanket of darkness.
This must be some kind of portal, I guess. She sure hoped so.
Kouga barely refrained from rolling his azure blue eyes. He was trying to emulate the conduct of a sophisticated ruler, and kings didn't roll their eyes in annoyance. At least, that was what his father told him years ago. "I employed the Gunslingers and they will fight under my command."
Inuyasha, unlike his fellow royal demon, rolled his eyes and scoffed. "As long as that freak Jakotsu doesn't get anywhere near me, then I don't care about them."
"If I could draw, I'd totally sketch a manga starring you and Jakotsu..." Kagome tapped her chin in thought, ignoring her flabbergasted fiancé. "Well, there's always Fanfiction!"
"I have no idea what you're talking about, but you better shut up, wench." The hanyou sighed and faced the three other occupants of the forest clearing with grim golden eyes. Everyone spoke about a 'time' his mother foresaw—he supposed the time was looming near. "When will Kagome and I leave?"
"The Shikon no Tama is the last artifact required for this war," Ayame responded, once again standing proudly beside her husband—though Inuyasha's senses told him they were still not mates. Hm... "Training will bring forth a vision containing its whereabouts."
"Which means you have to leave now." Kikyou moved to stand in front of the king and queen in order to better address the slightly anxious couple. "You will need to summon your own weapons, and your clothing will change once on the other side of the well."
At least the stoic miko answered one of Kagome's questions, but she still wanted to take the woman's obsidian black guns with her... Well, I won't be fighting in my pajamas and slippers—that's a plus. She smiled, imagining her and Inuyasha fighting wild demons in only their sleeping attire.
However... Inuyasha might rip his shirt off during the call of the wild, sling me over his shoulder in all of my fluffy blue glory, and fly towards the horizon to make love on soft, silky clouds... The teen's smile widened into a satisfied grin. Wow, I really am sex-deprived. Yup. I blame hormones.
"I suppose we don't have much of a choice," Inuyasha muttered from beside his fiancée, though he failed to perceive her spike of arousal. "Come on, wench, let's go kick some ass!"
"What about Sesshoumaru and Rin? Won't they be worried?" Kagome faced her other companions, concern lighting her chocolate eyes. "And what about our homework for the next week? We have another Literature project due on Thursday! And my mom—"
"It's been taken care of by Kizurei, so stop making excuses." Kikyou huffed and crossed her arms, tilting her head to one side patronizingly. "
Kagome gaped in anger. Did Kikyou hate her because she was jealous or what?! It seemed like she wished she had control of the Shikon no Tama! Hell, she could have it for what the teen cared! "I'm not making excuses, Kinky-hoe!"
"Hmph. Yeah right."
"One day I'm going to take your pretty little guns and shove them down your eye sockets and shoot into your cranium and spoon out your brain and—"
"Whoa! And I thought Sesshoumaru was a freakin' sadist!" Inuyasha merely shook his head and tightened his grip on the teen's hand again. He cast one more look at the others standing in front of him. "If anything happens, keep in touch with me, wolf-shit."
"Of course, dog turd." There, Kouga allowed himself a short reprieve from his mask of indifference! "I hope you don't get yourself killed before the war starts! Sleazy mutt..."
"Keh! I hope Ayame doesn't chop your balls off while I'm gone!"
Kouga had to fight the urge to protect his pride and joy...
"Bye, you guys! Have fun!" Ayame's emerald eyes twinkled with her pent up energy, and Kagome sighed in relief. She had known her jovial ex-roommate was somewhere in the shell of an eloquent queen!
"You'll be using Bankotsu's private training grounds. Trust me, the obstacles won't be easy to surpass, and they'll be many of them." And those were Kikyou's final words said in a monotone voice, yet her message was comprehended.
Inuyasha and Kagome didn't know what they were getting themselves into, but with a final wave and fingers still interlocked, they jumped into the dark well, only to be consumed by a bright midnight blue light.
Once they were gone, Kouga, Ayame, and Kikyou remained standing by the well in silence, their expressions blank. At long last, Kouga sighed and treaded closer to the grove of trees near by. His red-headed wife followed after him, but she stopped midway.
Without turning to face Kikyou, Ayame whispered, "Naraku isn't going to wait a year to attack, will he?" At this, Kouga stopped to listen to the miko's reply.
Kikyou stood silent. In his new beginning in life, Naraku wasn't about to repeat the same mistakes like last time, and he would start by crushing any interference. And Kikyou knew...that he had already targeted Kagura, a good friend of hers, oddly. Meimori was still unaware of this, yet he too will succumb to Naraku's wrath in the end.
But it was the cycle of life.
It needed to happen.
"No," the long-haired miko alas sighed as her slender fingers glided across the smooth rim of the well. "He will not wait. Though, I can tell you this: be prepared. Naraku can strike in a year...or even tomorrow."
A/N: END! WOOT! Well, I don't feel like talking. My impending root canal is scaring me to death... I LOVED MY BLOODY VALENTINE 3D! IT WAS AWESOME! :-D RISE OF LYCANS WAS COOL, TOO!!!
Next chappie: Well, I kinda lied last time so...Inuyasha and Kagome have to get over their differences (again)...FLUFF TIME! And training and...stuff. Rin and Seiryuu have to get over their differences too, but they won't be fluffy at all...
Sooo...what will Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru do now that they know about the war? Why in the world did Naraku declare war? When will Meimori find out about Kagura? When will Naraku use Kagura as his 'puppet'? Where is Yuka's evil plotting? Will Kagome agree to be Inuyasha's queen?
I AGREE! TAKE ME AWAY! --no one comes-- Damn...
Well, vote for this story as Best AU, stay away from drugs (including caffeine in coffee :-D), eat crocodiles, kill a mockingbird, and DESTROY ANARCTICA! Wait--we need that for oil! REPOPULATE ANARCTICA!
REVIEW TO GET A FREE TICKET TO ANARCTICA! :-D Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru are already over there...