Chapter 12

Please review. I'd like to know if you like the story so far. The story is a romance so there is some mushy stuff but I also try to stay faithful to the characters personalities. I also tried to give it some adventure and fun. Enjoy! LadySesshoumaru41

Inuyasha had decided to leave Kagome at the palace of Sesshoumaru for the remainder of her pregnancy, While he went looking for more jewel shards. His first stop was the rotting corpse of Shogon. The demon who had defiled Katame. They were too concerned with her to retrieve the jewel shards at that time, but now he would claim them.

When he arrived at the site he found only two of the fragments. Where was the third he was certain Kagome had counted three the night of the battle.

"So you return to the scene of your crime. Where is your illustrious brother?" The voice was that of Taigon, who was brother to Shogon. "You come to claim what is not your's Inuyasha. The shards you seek are mine. I will have my revenge." He lunged forward to meet Inuyasha head on.

"Your foul brother deserved to die for what he did to Katame! And as for the jewel shards, they are mine by right of conquest." Inuyasha drew his great sword and prepared himself for battle. "You will do well to hand over the shards you have and leave while you still have breath in you."

The demon Taigon lept into the air and transformed himself into his true form. He was neither fully snake nor lizard. He had many arms as his brother did but was not able to regenerated them once lost. He had immense jaws and teeth and he would snap at Inuyasha as he passed. His power was that of a dragon able to spit fire from his mouth.

The battle was fierce. Inuyasha's clothes were made from the hair of the fire rat and so it was some protection from the flames. But Inuyasha couldn't get a clean slice at the neck of the demon. Taigon dealt his a terrible blow from one of his many arms and Inuyasha crashed into a tree cracking it nearly in half. The great demon slithered close to the fallen half demon.

"Now I crush you as you as your cursed brother did to Shogon. And when I am done with you I will devour that pretty little wife of your's starting with her child within."

Inuyasha's eyes changed. "No one threatens Kagome and lives." He raised his great sword and leaping up onto the top of the demon's head he thrust the tetsaiga down through the skull and out the mouth.

The great beast shuddered and crashed to the ground. Tinkle tinkle. The sound of the shards falling from the carcass. He stopped and picked them up thinking to himself. 'The demon knew Kagome was with a child. He knew too much! Who else knew of this and what danger was his wife really in?' He turned and raced back to the palace.

As he neared the palace, a frightening sight met his eyes Sesshoumaru had transformed himself into his dog-demon form and was facing down another multi armed snake-like demon. It was Cohgon the last brother of Shogon. He was demanding Sesshoumaru hand over the females.

"I would taste their blood as payment for my brothers life. My other brother, Taigon, is now destroying your useless half-breed brother and I will destroy you!"

"Think again Cohgon. I'm not dead yet." Inuyasha came leaping to his brother's aid. Sesshoumaru had already dealt the demon many blows with his poison claws but it didn't seem to have any effect.

"Ha ha. You fool Sesshoumaru, don't you know I am a snake demon. I am immune to your poison." He spit out his own venom. Sesshoumaru dodged the splatter and looking back, saw the spot where it hit sizzle and turn black.

"You are the fool Cohgon, if you think that is my only means of attack." Sesshoumaru rose up eyes blazing he lunged for the back of the demon's neck his terrible teeth bared.

Cohgon tried to turn and face Sesshoumaru's attack but was too slow. He screamed. and began to thrash about wildly throwing Sesshoumaru backward into the palace wall.

Inuyasha jumped up and swinging his great sword lopped off the head of the beast finishing the kill. The two brothers stood over the beast's steaming body. "It would seem that we have more enemies than we first thought." Inuyasha remarked, kicking the head away from him.

The girls were at the back of the house struggling to hold on to Inumouru. He was wriggling and growling furiously. He could smell the battle outside and was desperate to join it. It was all Katame could do to hang on to him. Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha went into the house. When Inumouru saw his father he scrambled away from his mother. He ran to his father and clambered up into his hands. He was sniffing furiously at the blood on his father's tunic.

Inuyasha was standing next to Sesshoumaru. The boy could smell different blood on his uncle, and scrambled across to the arms of his uncle. Sniffing and growling all the more.

Sesshoumaru limped off into the back of the house. He just made it to his chamber when he collapsed. Katame was right behind him when he fell.

"Sesshoumaru!" Katame cried as she ran to his side. She knelt down beside him and brushed his hair away from his face. "You're hurt, let me help you." She managed to get the great lord to his bed and started to undress him.

"Leave me be woman. You can do nothing to help me. I will heal on my own." Sesshoumaru's voice was pained.

"No." Came her firm response. "You didn't leave me while I was hurt. I'm not leaving you. Now let me see. "She opened his tunic and saw the problem. One of the Cohgon's claws had broken off and was embedded in the top of his leg. She studied the wound and tried to remove the claw.

Sesshoumaru grit his teeth and snarled. "leave me be!"

She lept to her feet and ran to find Inuyasha. "Come quickly, please. Sesshoumaru is hurt and I don't know what to do." She explained what the wound looked like.

"Go find Kagome. Get some hot water ready and I will need bandages, lots of them." He turned and disappeared into Sesshoumaru's chamber. Inuyasha came and knelt beside his brother. "It seems you have kept a souvenir of your battle." He examined the wound. "It has to come out, you know that."

Sesshoumaru nodded.

Katame arrived in time to see Inuyasha's claws grow very long and plunge into the wound.

"Aieee. What are you doing." Katame cried.

"Don't worry my claws aren't poisonous. " He went to work and pulled out the broken claw.

Sesshoumaru winced and growled with the pain. "You're doing this to get back at me for all those years of trouble....ungh. Damn you Inuyasha!"

"Oh shut up, it's almost over. Here Katame wash the wound and bandage it tight. You need to stop the bleeding and check it often in case it festers."

Kagome piped up. "I have some antibiotic cream will that help?"

"NO! woman leave me. Damn I don't want all this fuss. Leave me. NOW!"

Kagome and Inuyasha left the irate lord to the tender care of Katame. She bandaged the wound as best as she could. She sat by his side bathing the sweat from his forehead.

"Why wont you leave me. I don't want to be seen like this."

"Now it is my turn to say no. You need me. Here lay back and get some rest, I'll watch over you for a change. And I don't care how much you growl and curse at me, I'm not leaving."

"Unngh... I will beat you yet woman." He leaned back and passed out."