Disclaimer - I do not own InuYasha. If I did, I would be rich, famous . . . and they would hate me : )
Author's Notes - Short chapter . . . reviewer replies at the end : ) Promise I will do a better update next time.
Chapter 12 - Unexpected Assistance Pt. 2
Kagome spent the next three hours pouring over the scroll Sesshoumaru had handed to her. Sighing as she finished, she carefully rolled it back up and tucked it into her back pack, mulling over the information in her head.
As well as the full mating ritual of inu-youkai . . . which had been in enough detail to make her blush . . . she had found information on how they aged, family histories, remedies for illnesses only youkai could get, and details on the few youkai - human pregnancies there had been. She had been surprised that Sesshoumaru had taken the time to write such invaluable information for her . . . and was very grateful for it. That scroll had answered a lot of questions for her. Only one question remained, and she wouldn't find the answer to that in the scroll . . . where was InuYasha?
Running her fingers through her hair, she stared out the door at the darkening sky. He'd been gone for a full day now . . . was he okay? Tomorrow was the night of the full moon . . . the precise time to complete the ritual that would fully bind them as mates. But after the incident with Hojo . . . she wondered if he would want to go through with it. He was so afraid . . . afraid of himself, of what he might do to her . . . how could she make him realize that he would never intentionally hurt her, no matter what his form?
Shaking her head, she had to admit she had no idea how to do that. She smiled grimly at the irony. After everything they had been through to get to the point they were in their relationship, the only obstacle that could destroy everything they had built so far . . . lay not outside, but within the relationship itself.
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InuYasha sat quietly on the cliff overlooking the village, having not moved since Sesshoumaru had left him. He knew Kagome was down there . . . he could sense her, even from such a distance. Silently, he mulled over his brother's words to him that morning. Was he really being foolish? He was so afraid of losing control and hurting Kagome . . . but was it better to hurt her as he was by closing himself off from her?
Sesshoumaru had said she had faith in him. But . . . how could she when he didn't have faith in himself? He shook his head at his own thoughts. 'What a mess,' he mused, turning his attention to the sky.
One other thing Sesshoumaru had said continued to plague his thoughts. What had Sesshoumaru meant when he said Kagome wasn't fully his mate yet, and was still claim able by others? Was that possible?
He stiffened suddenly as the early morning breezes brought him a new, familiar scent. He'd spent the night out here, thinking . . . now it looked like he was going to have a very unwanted guest in his territory.
"What the hell is HE doing here?" he growled. "Damn bastard doesn't know when to give up and back off!" Standing, he sprinted towards the familiar scent, noting that it seemed to be heading in the direction of the Goshinboku. A second scent, also familiar, made it's way into the mix, and he began to growl. "That stinking bastard . . . he's after Kagome again!"
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Kagome broke off from her early morning meditation as a familiar youkai aura invaded her senses. She sighed, shifting on the branch of Goshinboku she was perched upon, settling back with a slight frown of annoyance on her face.
"This is definitely not good timing . . ." she murmured, absently caressing the sword hilt over her shoulder. It was approaching noon, nearly two days after InuYasha had taken off. Tonight was the night of the full moon . . . and there had still been no sign of him. Did he even know about the blood ritual? She sighed again, blinking away the tears that came when she thought of her absent mate. Where was he? And why hadn't he come back?
She tensed as she saw the youkai she had sensed earlier, hoping he wouldn't find her, but knowing damn well that he would . . . he was a youkai, after all. Absently, she wondered if she could use her miko powers to hide both her scent and her aura . . . and then resolved to ask the dream Kikyo about it the next training session they had.
"Ah . . . there you are, beautiful Kagome. Where's the mutt?" She sighed, and silently pleaded to whatever gods would listen for them to give her patience.
"Hello Kouga."
To Be Continued
Review Replies -
To - eddie, Hanyou-Girl25, Raura, Twins, kittydemon, Silvermoon maru, Makina Kitsune, Moonfairy2000, MikkY, CorruptedAngel, WhitneyLin, Evil Bunny, silverstarlight, mvdiva, nataku, Papaya!, Arsenal - Thank you so much for reviewing, and I am so glad you are enjoying my story. Keep reading and reviewing, and I'll keep on writing : )
Shizu-chan - Fluff and non-sense, my dear. Fluff and non-sense. Hehe, actually, plenty more fluff, and a little bit of action. After all . . . Kouga is on the scene now : )
Ambereyes - YOINKS! *runs and hides behind Seph* don't kill me . . . I swear there is more goodness to come. Promise!
Kats - Not sure if there will be more lemons in here . . . I don't think there will be, although I can't really say for sure. I don't want to overwhelm the story of my fic with lemons. I will, however, probably be writing another story with a lemon in it soon : )
Tsukinoko - Yeah, I've just gotten into Rurouni Kenshin (once again, thank you Cartoon Network!) And I get a royal kick out of Kenshin : ) That's not where the idea came from . . . I haven't seen that episode yet, but I'm looking forward to it now : )
YamiNeko - Watch that floor . . . it can hurt : )
NamelessMoonshine - Hojo is fine . . . but I don't think he'll be going near Kagome anytime soon. That literally scared some sense into him.
Sailor Midnight - I just couldn't leave Sess alone . . . he's too tempting a target.
Saro - Having a lot of rather dark ideas (see Standing in Shadows). Very odd for me . . . I'm a dark person, but not usually that dark when it comes to writing. That story surprised even me.
Botan - hehe, don't worry, you'll find out : )
cheler - *wards off bad omens* things will get interesting, just let me leave it at that.
inuficcrzy - why thank you. I'm glad you are enjoying it.
Corran Nackatori - hehe, sorry about that. No, no Sess / Kag stuff here . . . I read em, I find them entertaining, but I am a firm supporter of Inu / Kag. I may write a Sess / Kag somewhere down the line . . . but this is definitely InuYasha and Kagome.
animeangelstar2000 - Good to see you again : ) Was wondering where you had disappeared to. Glad you are still enjoying the story . . . keep reading : )
Higurashi Kagome - don't worry . . . this story still has many a twist and turn in it . . . I think. More Fluff on the way, but more angst and action too.
Amehana sono hanyou - Glad that I managed to clear things up for you, and that you like the way I do Ms. Higurashi. I hope you continue to enjoy the rest of the story.
Lunatic Pandora - hehe, yeah, the fluff scenes were meant to really be stand alone . . . the fic could be read either with or without them . . . at least, that's how I planned it. Sess is showing up more now . . . no going through the well for him . . . I think he would flip out if he discovered the whole future thing : )
dark akira - hey there : ) email addy is draconyx1@hotmail.com . . . my website address is on my stats page if you click on my name : ) Mainly cause I can never remember the darn thing.
Blue Dreamer - sorry I couldn't kill Hojo. But, did you like what I did to him?
To Everyone - Sorry if I forgot or didn't mention you . . . trust me, it wasn't because I don't appreciate each and every one of you. I love all of you (not that way, you bunch of hentai! *bonk*)
If you like my writing and haven't read my other works, here is a list and a short description. Go check em out and tell me what you think.
INUYASHA FICS :
Hanyou (story id # 1233094) - A short one shot done from InuYasha's point of view as he reflects on who and what he is, and how his companions have changed him.
Innocent Blood (story id # 1231112) - A very angsty one shot that I did. Kagome is forced to sacrifice herself to purify the jewel once and for all. How will InuYasha react? And is Kagome really dead?
Standing In Shadows (story id# 1288371) - A dark / romantic fic that I wrote. Was going to be a one shot, but turned into 3 chapters long *sweatdrops*. After Inu runs off to Kikyo again, Kagome starts to wonder if maybe it wouldn't be better off for everyone if she just got out of the way permanantly. Done from Kagome's POV and God POV. I was surprised how it turned out, myself.
And then there is my Final Fantasy VII fictions. There is only one so far, but I'm working on a longer one as well.
Beyond The Mask (story id# 1265977) - A brief glimpse into the lives of Zack, Cloud, and Sephiroth in SOLDIER and how they met and interacted. I took a little bit of liberty with this one.
So anyway . . . *radio voice comes on* This concludes the end of our broadcast day. Please return for the next episode of Starlight and Shadows. *ducks a claw swipe*
Drac : Inu, dang it . . . I'm trying to type here!
Inu : I think you've done enough of that damn torture for one day, you bake wench!
Drac : oh, for heaven's sake . . . all right already . . . *turns to Seph* hey, Seph . . . what else is on the agenda for today?
Sephiroth : knowing you, more writing and reading more fan fictions.
Drac : oh . . . yeah. Thanks hun. Later all : )