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Chapter 17: "Run this by me again…."
~A. Van Helsing
(I'm trying a new way of naming chapters. It gets rather boring doing it the same way all the time.)
'What's going on?' I asked weakly, waking up again and listening to the activity around me. I was groggy and wondered what had awakened me- and where the hell I was. It was like the weird space I had fallen into after Sesshomaru knocked me out, several hours before. Even with the Inu Yasha's demon power nestled inside me, the place was still not scary.
'We are sleeping. Rest.' Came the sleepy reply. I felt Inu Yasha's power stretch, and then cuddle up against me. I felt it like a physical presence resting beside me. It was a weird sensation, especially when I should have been alone. What it said though was interesting; was this sleep for Sesshomaru and Inu Yasha? For a youkai, I guess it was rare moment when they weren't worrying about attack. For Inu Yasha I could see the logic in it; the hanyou never fit in either culture and was constantly being threatened. If this was how he 'slept,' partially alert to the goings on around him and ready to snap to attention in a flash, it was no wonder he had saved our bacon so many times while traveling. For Sesshomaru I guess it was just a way to make sure he didn't die in his sleep due to assassins.
'You brought me here and you did last time, too.' I said quietly, the memory of that time flashing through my head.
I felt the ghost of a touch on my upper chest- or what I though of as my upper chest. God this was confusing! This in-between, if you would, was like a place where physical substance was more like a memory or a faint sensation- a pale reproduction to the original. I felt like I was lying down with another body next to me, putting their head on my chest in an effort to placate my questioning, to comfort me. The body beside me was larger, warmer, and slightly furry. Because this place was dark, I didn't know if Inu Yasha's power were in its full dog form, or still humanoid. Wait; did it have a full canine form? Eep.
'Rest.' The voice was internal and external at the same time. 'Your body is readjusting to its power again. It needs to rest.' The body beside me straightened, and I felt myself being turned on my side for spooning. Strong arms wrapped around me, holding me close and keeping me warm as a furry prehensile length wrapped around us both.
'I can't.' I sighed, images of why I couldn't rest forming in my mind. 'A battle is on its way. I have to help my friends. And you have to go back to Inu Yasha.'
'I do not wish to leave. You are mate, you are home.' A warm feeling trickled through my body, making me want to stay here forever and I knew, in that moment, that this was the same feeling I would have felt if I had allowed myself to enjoy Inu Yasha's embrace. It made me warm from the top of my head to the tips of my toes.
'You have to go back.' I didn't think either of us would live if the hanyou's demon side didn't go back to where it belonged. Miko powers or not, it had shocked the hell out of my body when it had first roared into me.
'You hate us in that body.' Us were both of Inu Yasha's natures, human and hanyou, and I knew this from the images I saw behind my eyelids. It was right in a way; at the moment, Inu Yasha and I were at odds over just about anything dealing with a relationship. Actually, that was something that bothered me greatly. This side of Inu Yasha was adamant about me being its mate- why did the complete Inu Yasha waffle between Kikyo and me in reality?
'We are mates, bound till death.' That somehow wasn't comforting under the circumstances. 'My human counterpart is the part that feels he has a duty toward the false one. He likes you too, but is constrained by his duty and conflicting emotions. I love you and know you are mate- the only one for us.' The body against me shuttered suddenly. 'You are right- we love that we can rest inside you, but we cannot stay. However,' and now it sounded worried. 'Tetsusaiga is inside our body again. If we return, we will not be able to feel you anymore.'
'Feel me?' I asked.
'Yes, with Tetsusaiga back inside our body, I will be sealed and our brother side will be back in control. You will hate us and go to Sesshomaru or go home and never return.'
'I can't go home, not permanently anyway. I still have shards to collect.' I sighed.
'Your power…calls back that which is yours by right and summons allies to your aid. Soon, you will go away and leave us all alone.' If it had been possible, I would have said it was crying. 'Mate, don't go!' It begged. 'Don't leave us!' Abruptly the presence against me shuttered, spasming as it held me.
'You have to go!' I told it. I didn't know what the problem was for sure but I did have a sinking feeling about it. If you separated two halves of a whole, sooner or later, the halves would start to miss each other. 'Go back to Inu Yasha and we'll talk later!' It continued to spasm, clutching me and not moving or perhaps too weak to move. Right then, it was up to me. Damn it.
"What I want to know," Kouga said, his arms crossed. "Is where that sword of his went. He carries it everywhere and I haven't seen it around at all."
Sesshomaru's brows met as they knitted together. Where was the sword, anyway? This was the first time Sesshomaru had thought about it- Inu Yasha never went anywhere with out it, and rightfully so considering the value of the blade. It was indeed missing. The hanyou hadn't had it in the bathroom when he attempted to change; the sword wasn't in Sesshomaru's room at all. Had the idiot mongrel left it in the room further down the hall, the place Kagome's backpack had dragged itself from?
A scalding rage filled Sesshomaru, making him tense up so much that the youkai had to force himself to relax his hands before he inadvertently strangled Inu-chan. To think- even remotely- that the hanyou could or would be so careless as to toss away such a powerful heirloom…. Sesshomaru's tail fluffed out to three times its normal size. His eyes bled red and the effort he was putting forward not to beat the hell out of Inu Yasha was visible to everyone. Wisely though, they chose to ignore his surge in temper- an interesting feat considering that the air around him was wavering and doing a close impression of the atmospheric conditions of the Sahara desert at high noon.
Out of the corner of his eye, Sesshomaru could see Kagome slowly reviving. It was a fortuitous incident- the youkai was ready to kill something, allies or not.
Kouga noticed too and was leaving over her slightly, Rin doing the same on Kagome's unoccupied side. "Kagome-chan!" the little girl cried, making everyone wince.
"Rin, quiet." Sesshomaru ordered, striding to the bad and stepping over his unconscious brother on the floor. Kagome's hands flexed, her eye lids fluttering as she slowly came round. She blinked mismatched eyes, one gold and one blue. The girls swallowed in an attempt to speak.
"Shh, Kagome." Kouga said quietly and she looked at him, her surprise evident. Her eyes found Sesshomaru and he offered a very small smile as she caught site of the little boy laying in his arms. Kagome craned her neck and found Taomaru and the child version of herself. She blinked and then sat up quickly.
The dark haired woman wobbled and Sesshomaru caught her hand to keep her upright. Kouga also supported her, and she leaned heavily against him. "Kouga-kun," her voice was scratchy. "What are you doing here?"
"Your dogs came and got me." She looked at him, her confusion evident.
"A matter to be discussed later." Sesshomaru said and heard human Inu Yasha stir. The human stood, wobbling and stared at Kagome. He blinked and then turned to leave after only glancing at the girl on the bed.
"Stop him," Kagome pleaded, completely forgetting about the sit spell. Sesshomaru's tail shot out to grab the hanyou before he could get far. This time Inu Yasha was ready and jumped to avoid it, unfortunately making Kouga able to snag him. Inu Yasha fought, struggling against the wolf youkai's strong grip without success. The human hanyou now looked at Kagome with more interest, especially since she had begun to glow. The girl stood uncertainly and tottered across the floor after a helping hand from Sesshomaru. When the youkai saw she would not fall, he set Inu-chan down on the bed and paced beside her to Kouga.
"Hold him." Kagome ordered and Kouga obeyed, tightening his grip on Inu Yasha.
She wore a pained expression as she walked to the hanyou, her steps unsure and unbalanced. Kagome glowed a bright pink, illuminating the room entirely. She was beautiful, a heavenly thing that seemed unreal, and Inu Yasha's face twisted into a look of pure terror. He fought Kouga desperately, his flailing limbs reaching a fever pitch of desperation when the pink light emanating from the girl turned golden. Kagome extended her glowing hands, capturing Inu Yasha's face between them. "I make you whole again." She whispered and her lips met Inu Yasha's in a chaste kiss. The golden haze around her poured over Inu Yasha and encased him in its power. He screamed in pain and anger, falling to the floor as Kouga let him go. Kagome took a step back and Sesshomaru promptly picked up the shaking girl. The barrier she had put in place to bar them from her thoughts crumbled and now both Sesshomaru and Taomaru could talk to her privately again- and feel her emotions.
Are you alright? Sesshomaru asked and Kagome nodded as she leaned against his chest. The girl still shook; a fine continuous trembling that belied her nod of being alright. She curled a hand around the fabric of his sleeping robe, cuddling closer as if his touch could stop her muscles' movements. She had stopped glowing and in the darkness that followed, Sesshomaru could sense her body's need for rest. Just what the hell had happened in the bathroom? He felt her mind beginning to shut down, not to sleep but just closing her off from everyone around her until she could readjust to everything. Some hurt had been done to her, though Sesshomaru did not know what- he just knew it had every thing to do with what she had just done to the twitching whimpering body on the floor.
No, Kagome; don't go down that path, don't shut yourself away. Sesshomaru pleaded with her, looking at Taomaru for help as he brought her to the bed.
Kagome, you're feeling weak. The elder youkai tried in a calm mental tone. Let us help, please little one? Sesshomaru jumped onto the bed and settled Kagome in a nest of blankets.
Kouga jumped up beside them. "Will she be alright?" The wolf prince wanted to touch her but after a threatening glance from Sesshomaru he decided against it.
"We don't know." Taomaru said softly, his eye grey bronze as he picked up the still unconscious child Kagome and Inu Yasha. He pulled Rin into his lap as well, the little girl saying nothing, her eyes huge. "Kagome is the weakest of us physically." He continued. "She is also the most emotional and is acting as a regulator between us all. That mental exhaustion is making her sick, the symptoms manifesting in a pattern that she ignores to keep up with us all." Taomaru took a breath, letting it shutter through his frame and turn his eye pure bronze. "She has many roles to play because of her power and the stress is too much for her. All of us were too busy to notice, wrapped up in our own problems."
"The bond is doing it too." Kouga said in a somber voice. Everyone looked at him uncomprehendingly. "The bond exists between two people. Two. Even if it's only minimal, that quiet link between mates can allow for a very intimate relationship on a basic level. Without a designated mate, Kagome is slowly being torn apart by you three. She is not human, but she is still mortal." The wolf youkai looked at the floor and presumably at Inu Yasha. "Couldn't you count, dog turd?!"
Somehow, it was slightly demeaning to have such an insightful remark come from the halfwit wolf youkai. Sesshomaru felt insulted and irritated, but knew that it was mostly toward himself for not making the connections; Kouga still made a more convenient target, though. "We will either have to pick who will be her mate amongst ourselves while Kagome in unable to do so or break the bond somehow."
"How did you know she had no established mate?" Rin asked, stumbling over some of the unfamiliar words.
The wolf prince tapped the skin between his shoulder and neck. "I saw only one mate mark on her flesh. If she had picked her mate she would have two."
"As off track as this is," Taomaru said and gestured toward the two children he held in his arms. "You realize that these two change everything."
"Explain." Sesshomaru frowned.
"When Inu-chan here woke up he asked about Kago-chan; these two had already met upstairs." Taomaru looked at his nephew hard. "As far as time is concerned, it means that Inu Yasha met Kagome as children, long before he had ever met or heard of Kikyo." Kouga looked at him blankly.
The wolf dog growled in frustration, his bronze eye tinted red. "In other words, Inu Yasha knew Kagome first as friends. It means that, for Inu Yasha, Kikyo was a replacement for Kagome; not the other way around! The two look alike and though Kikyo existed first, she became the replacement for Inu Yasha's affection for Kagome!"
Notes: Whoa! Is that a switch or what? So, Kikyo is Kagome's replacement and Kagome knew Inu Yasha as kids… Eep. This issue has been kinda like the chicken and the egg problem- which came first? Who does Inu Yasha love more? ::scratches head:: Well, which side are we talking about? (Give me time everyone and keep an open mind. Suspension of disbelief and all that.) If Inu knew Kagome first, how did they meet? And, if the hanyou did actually have a relationship with her, did he ever really have any affection for Kikyo?
And what are the ramifications going to be after Inu's two natures were separated? Will he still be our lovable hero or will he simply tear everyone to bits as he loses his mind? Where's the Tetsusagia? Where's Kikyo? What else could possibly happen?! How about an explanation about the relationship between our two favorite brothers for starters? Please click back, same day, same site, next week for a new chapter!