The next morning Inuyasha woke Kagome and gave her a bowl rice he had made them for breakfast. When she was finished, she looked at him. He wanted to ask her something and she had a pretty good idea what it was. "I am going to go down to the stream for a bit." she said. "I'll wait for you there."
How does she always know. He nodded and watched her walk away. It had been a long time since he had come here, more than a year. He hadn't told Kagome everything his mother had said, in his brief time between worlds.
'My son, you have grown into a fine man despite the life the fates dealt you. Thank you for honoring the memory of both me and your father and choosing to what was right, even if it was forced on you, in the beginning. When the Kamis revealed to me your destiny, at first I was afraid. They did not tell me that this miko they were sending to aid you would in turn heal your broken heart, but when I was shown a glimpse of her spirit I hoped it would be so. I hoped she would be the one to look inside you and see what you so desperately try to hide. Do not hide from her. There will be times ahead that will cause you great heart ache, where you will feel all hope is lost. I implore you, do not give up. You cannot stop what will be, but I give you this advise, go after her, find her and trust in her love to protect you. Time grows short. She will need you more than ever when you awake. Do not be afraid. Your love can call her back. Bring her to me and thank her for making sure you are not alone and for reminding you of who you really are. I love you my sweet koinu.'
At that he had felt himself being pulled back into his body, brought back to life by the fang of his father.
"Mother, I will do as you have asked." he said softly. "And I will return when I have a grandchild to show you. Goodbye. I love you."
With that Inuyasha left his place under the tree and went to Kagome. She smiled at his approach. "Ready?" she asked. He nodded and they started their journey back to the village.
Sango and Miroku sat in their home having breakfast with a very grouchy kitsune. "Shippou do you understand why Kagome was upset with you for saying those things to Inuyasha?" Miroku asked.
"Yeah because she loves him and their pup more than me and doesn't want me anymore." Shippou offered.
"That's not true." Sango insisted. "Kagome has more than enough love to offer all of you."
"Shippou, I know it can be hard adjusting to change. Kagome and Inuyasha both consider you their son, and now Inuyasha is finally treating you as such. We have all been neglectful in our duty to teach you proper behavior and respect." Miroku said.
Shippou thought about it for a minute. Inuyasha merely growled his disapproval when he had jumped at Kagome again, but he had made it clear that it wasn't going to be allowed, much like his real father used to, when he had misbehaved. Could Inuyasha really think of him as his son? He had always thought Inuyasha hated him. Shippou almost didn't want it to be true, because then he would have to be ashamed for being such a jerk. "Inuyasha hates me." Shippou replied.
"Inuyasha doesn't hate you." Sango said. "I'm not supposed to say anything but I think it will help you understand. When their house is finished, you are going to be living with them."
"Inuyasha wants me to live with him and Kagome?" Shippou asked. Miroku nodded an the kit began to cry.
"What's wrong Shippou?" Miroku asked.
"I was such a jerk. Inuyasha and Kagome probably won't want me after how I acted." Shippou cried.
"They will forgive you. All you have to do is apologize." Sango told him.
Three days later Kagome and Inuyasha arrived at the village. Shippou as usual came bounding out of Kaede's hut and headed for Kagome. He was about to jump into her arms, but stopped in front of her instead. She bent down and hugged him.
"I wanted to say that I'm sorry. I didn't meant those things I said. I don't hate Inuyasha and I know that you still care about me." Shippou said softly.
"Forget about it runt." Inuyasha told him. He schooled it quickly, but Kagome hadn't failed to notice his smile at Shippou's apology. He looked at her and she smiled at him brightly. They walked to Sango and Miroku's and Kagome went inside. Shippou was going to follow but Inuyasha stopped him.
"Where are you going runt?" he asked. "Dinner won't catch itself." Shippou looked up at him. "Well are you coming or not?" Shippou nodded enthusiastically and followed Inuyasha.
"Kagome, it is good to have you back." Sango said. "How was your journey?"
"Good." Kagome replied. "So which one of you talked to Shippou?"
Miroku smiled. "Both of us did actually. Speaking of Shippou, where is he?"
Kagome smiled. "I'm pretty sure Inuyasha took him hunting." she replied.
A short while later Shippou came inside. "Kagome look what I caught." he said proudly, holding up a rabbit for her to see. Inuyasha came in behind the kit carrying two more rabbits.
Kagome raised an eyebrow at him, but he shook his head. "That's great Shippou. Give it to me and Sango and I will start dinner."
That night as Inuyasha lay beside Kagome watching her sleep, he thought about all she had done for him. He had let go of his desire to be anything other than what he was born to be, a hanyou. Being a hanyou had given him the rare mix of almost incontestable power, tempered by his human heart. His heart gave him the power to love her and his demon half gave him the strength to protect her. In moments like this he wondered why he had ever been willing to settle for less.
His ears twitched. Kagome was making soft noises in her sleep. She did this often, but these were not her usual sounds. These were sounds of distress. "I can't. I wont..." she mumbled. "No please, not my baby... all right...Inuyasha I'm sorry..." she cried.
"Kagome." he said shaking her gently. She jumped up in surprise and scooted away from him, her hands clutched across her belly. She looked around the room. Inuyasha could see fear shining clearly in the depths of her gaze. He reached out to her. "Kagome, it's all right." She looked at him as if she was just recognizing him. She started to cry as he put his arms around her. "Kagome what's wrong?"
"Nothing. It was just a stupid nightmare. I'm sorry." she replied.
"Kagome." he asked again. He was sure she there was more to it than she was telling.
"Please." she whispered. "It was just a nightmare."
"All right." he said at last.
Kagome wasn't doing well at all. She had nightmares every night and was hardly sleeping at all. She was also eating very little in her exhaustion. Inuyasha was worried about both her and their pup. He had asked her several times to tell him what was wrong, but it only seemed to upset her more.
When after two weeks Sango came to him near tears, telling him that Kagome had fainted and had to be carried to Kaede's, he decided that she was telling him, no matter how much it upset her. Kaede was waiting for him outside her hut.
"Is she all right?" he asked.
"For now." Kaede said. "Ye must learn what troubles her spirit. Both she and your child are still fine, but if ye can not get her to eat and sleep, they won't be for much longer."
Inuyasha nodded. "Can I take her home?" he asked. Kaede nodded.
Inuyasha carried Kagome and laid her down in the room they shared in Sango and Miroku's home. When she woke up he was staring at her and she knew his patience had run out. He would insist that she tell him and it was his right. She knew what she was doing could hurt both her and their baby.
"Kagome.." he started.
"I know." she interrupted. "Will you sit beside me?" He nodded and moved beside her. He put his arm around her and pulled her close. "It always starts the same. I wake up inside a room and I'm sitting the floor. I am wearing a light blue Kimono and my leg is chained to the wall. It's cold and I feel the presence of a youkai coming. A woman enters the room followed by this man. He is tall and has long hair that at first looks black, but when the light catches it you can see that it is really a dark blue. His eyes are the same color and on each side of his face is a blood red line, in the shape of a lightening bolt. His dress is strange He wears a robe the same shade as his hair and over it a red coat the color of the markings on his face. He has the woman release me, but warns me that I will not be able to escape. He also tells me that should I purify him, I will be killed instantly and I know he's not lying. I worry that he will kill me. He senses it and tells me that he has no plans to kill me, only to use my power to destroy the two sons of the former Inu no Tashio."
"Is that all?" Inuyasha asked.
"No." she replied. "Then it is later. I know because now my belly is much larger. I know that soon I will have our baby. I am sitting at a window. I get the feeling that it is where I spend all of my time, waiting for you to come. I know you will come. The demon enters I know his name in my dreams but I cannot recall it when I wake. He laughs. 'Still waiting for your mate. Well your wait is over. He comes. Now I will have that which I seek. Lend me your power miko.' I tell him that I can't, that I won't. My heart tells me that to do this is to destroy you. He steps closer and pulls open the lower half of my kimono, exposing my belly. He drags a claw across it and blood begins to run from the wound. 'You will, or you will watch as I rip the pup out of you.' I cry out..."
"No please, not my baby..." Inuyasha whispered.
Kagome nodded. "He laughs again 'Will you do as I ask?' I agree and just before I give him what he wants I whisper a final apology to you for what I am about to do. Most of the time you wake me when I reach that point, but once I saw more. I was there with the demon as he faced you. I could feel the hate he carries in his heart. As he kills you using my power, he cries that his quest to end the line of your father has begun. I know then that he will kill our baby and that I have let him destroy you for nothing." Kagome broke down in tears again.
"Kagome, I won't let that happen." he told her. "I will protect you."
"That's just it. You can't protect me. This will happen. It cannot be stopped." she cried. "There is something I can do to change the end result, but I don't know what it is. I am being given a chance to save us but I don't know how."
Inuyasha thought back to his mother's words. "You will find a way." he told her. "I trust you. Sleep now." He soothed her hair and growled softly until she fell asleep. He laid her down gently and went out into the main room, where Sango and Miroku were waiting.
Inuyasha told them about Kagome's dream. "I can't leave her." Inuyasha said. "Will you go to Sesshomaru for me and tell him about her dream and see if he knows anything?"
Sango looked to Miroku. "Of course we will go." he said. Sango and Miroku left the following morning.
Kagome was disappointed to awake and find them already gone, but she had slept better that night and wasn't disturbed by the nightmare. She had a dream of a something she vaguely remembered and she knew it was important, but it escaped her.
When she had come out of their room Inuyasha looked at her and found her smiling. He breathed a sigh of relief.
"I should have told you sooner." she said at last. "It's as if that is what was supposed to happen, and now I can be free of that terrible dream. I'm sorry."
"It's all right." he replied. "How many times have I not told you something you needed to know all for reasons that seemed foolish later on?"
She laughed. "We're still not even on that account." she joked.
On the second evening since leaving the village, Miroku and Sango arrived at Sesshomaru's castle. Katsuko met them when they arrived.
"What brings you here?" Katsuko asked.
"We have come on behalf of Inuyasha. We must speak to Sesshomaru." Miroku told her.
"Very well, come inside. I am expecting his return shortly." Katsuko said. "Tell me, how are Inuyasha and his miko?"
"Not well, I'm afraid." Miroku replied. "That is why we have come."
Katsuko stopped walking and turned around. "Welcome home." she said abruptly.
Sango and Miroku spun to see Sesshomaru had joined them. "Where are Inuyasha and his mate?" Sesshomaru asked.
"They have remained at the village." Sango replied. "Kagome has not been well."
"What is wrong with her?" Sesshomaru asked.
"That is why we have come." Miroku told him. "Kagome has been having nightmares, but it is clear to all that they are visions. Inuyasha wished us to come warn your family and see if you could offer any information about the demon in her dreams."
"Very well." Sesshomaru said. They went into the dinning room and sat down. "Tell me monk what you know." Miroku told Sesshomaru about the dream and about the demon, leaving out no detail. Something tugged at the back of his mind. This demon was somehow familiar. Then it came to him. "His name is Kagedoku. Nearly 150 years ago when I was little more than a child he challenged my father as ruler of these lands. He was of course defeated. Badly wounded he was forced to flee in shame, but he swore vengeance. Most believed that he had died from his injuries. Nearly 70 years ago when Ryuukotsei challenged my father, some believed that it was Kagedoku who told him of my fathers weakness. Though most dismissed this theory. Kagedoku was a powerful demon, though no match for my father, myself, or Inuyasha. Though if he were to obtain the miko's power it would be a matter of concern."
"Is there anything else you can tell us?" Miroku asked.
"I have told you all I know."Sesshomaru said. "Thank Inuyasha for his warning and tell him to seek me should he require my assistance."
Sango and Miroku got up to leave. "We will pass on your message." Sango said and she and Miroku took their leave.
Sesshomaru looked to his mate, though he didn't have to, to know she was concerned. His hand went to her barely rounded belly and he stroked it softly. He stood before her. "Do not worry. I will protect you both with my life." he told her. A clawed hand went to her cheek. "Not because it is my duty."
Katsuko brought her eyes to meet his. They burned with a fire he kept buried deep inside. She moaned softly against his lips. Her sound of submission brought his need to the surface. It took all his restraint not to take what he would of her where they were standing. He carried her to their room.
He removed her clothes and waited as she untied the bonds holding his own together. He let them fall away. He growled low and soft. Katsuko stared into the eyes of her mate. She could feel his strength, the depth of his power, as it surrounded them. Were he anyone else, she would have been frightened, but from the moment she had first seen him, felt his presence, she had known. This would be her mate. His strength alone was enough to make him desired but she had sensed something much deeper with in him.
She also knew what she had been told, by her mother, before she was killed. Though she had mated a wolf demon, there was something to be said for male Inu Youkai. For one to chose you as his mate, was for him to give his entire existence over to you completely. Their loyalty to their mates was unmatched by even wolf demons who were loyal even to their brother packs. She had heard stories of those that mated for love, who would fight long past the point of death to ensure the safety of their mates and their children. Though in those cases the mate often died because the connection was so strong and one could not bear to live without the other.
She felt it as his fangs gently pierces again her mark. A rush of heat coursed through her body. His warm breath caressed her ear and he growled. It was a low, visceral sound, completely instinctive, and Katsuko had no trouble discerning it's meaning. The deepest most primitive part of him was declaring his love. Her body responded with a growl of her own.
Sango and Miroku returned to the villages two days later, and told Inuyasha and Kagome what they had learned of the demon. Inuyasha was upset that there was nothing else they could learn about this demon, but his anger was not directed at his friends.
Inuyasha almost never let Kagome out of his sight and made it clear that she was not to go anywhere alone. The only time her left her was when he was working on their house.
Kagome thought about the bits and pieces of the dreams she started having after she told Inuyasha about the threat. She knew that they were supposed to help her, but she couldn't put the fragments together.
Kagome set the bucket of water she had carried from the stream beside Sango, as she prepared lunch. "Sango, I am going to go to the springs for a bath." she said.
"Kagome I can't go now and Inuyasha will kill me if I let you go alone." Sango told her.
"I need to think about things and I can't do that here." Kagome replied.
Sango nodded. "All right, but take Kirara with you." Sango said.
Kagome left the house followed by the fire cat and headed for the springs. She undressed and settled herself into the warm water, soothing away the ache in her back. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back again the rocks.
What could it mean? Kikyou's face, Inuyasha whispering my name, the feeling that I'm losing something important. Kami, please help me to understand. I can't lose him, not now.
Kirara mewed loudly. Kagome jerked her head up and opened her eyes. She watched as Kirara jumped into the trees. She heard the fire cat roar and hurried to get out of the water. She reached for her clothes as Kirara was thrown from the forest and into a tree. He head smacked against the trunk and she untransformed. Kagome opened her mouth to scream and her world went black.
"Inuyasha, is something troubling you?" Miroku asked.
Inuyasha shrugged. They were working, putting the finishing touches on the house, so that Inuyasha could bring Kagome here in the evening. Inuyasha stopped working. "Something isn't right." he said suddenly.
He took of in the direction of Miroku and Sango's house. He went inside to find Sango cooking. "Where's Kagome?" He asked.
"She went to the springs." Sango replied.
"You let her go alone?" he yelled.
"No." Sango said. "I sent Kirara with her."
"How long has she been gong?" he asked.
"Not long." she told him.
He left Sango standing there, looking at him curiously and headed for the springs. She's fine, you're just being paranoid. Kirara will protect her and she is going to yell at you for bugging her. It will be fine. Yeah, say that enough and you might actually start to believe it, baka.
He skidded to a stop at the springs. Kagome had been here recently. His eyes went to her clothes. "Kagome." he called. He sniffed the air again and found Kirara. She was just coming to. She looked at him and mewed sadly. He knew that she was gone.
He picked Kirara up and raced back to the village. Sango and Miroku were standing outside waiting for him."Where is she?" Sango asked, though she could tell by the stricken look on Inuyasha's face that she was gone.
"I don't know." he replied. "But I am going to find her. Tell the kid." He went inside and grabbed Kagome's bag. When he came back out, he turned to leave.
"Inuyasha wait." Miroku said. "You shouldn't go alone."
"You all will just slow me down." he replied.
"Kirara wouldn't." Sango said.
"I can't take her. She was injured." Inuyasha growled anxious to be on his way.
Kirara transformed and let out a roar. "She wants to go and she can help you. She has a good view of things from the sky." Sango told him.
"Fine. Kirara, let's go." Inuyasha said and he and the fire cat took off.
Inuyasha didn't have a clue where to start looking. He couldn't find her scent anywhere and he couldn't even get a sense of her direction, so he went to see the only person, he could think of that might have an idea.
"Sesshomaru." he yelled as he entered the castle.
"Inuyasha." Katsuko said. "He is not here, but will be soon. Come, I will wait with you."
"I don't have time to wait. Kagome is gone." he told her.
Katsuko didn't ask because by his demeanor, she had already known. She could tell he was holding himself together by a very thin thread. She had to swallow back the lump that had built in her throat, when he had voiced, what she had already known. If he failed Sesshomaru would be next and then her and their child. Her mate had tried to hide his concern from her, but she could tell. When the monk and exterminator had left, he went immediately in search of information about Kagedoku.
Inuyasha spun at the approach of his brother. "So, she has been taken." Sesshomaru said.
Inuyasha nodded in response. "Have you found out anything else?" he asked.
"No." Sesshomaru replied. That was all Inuyasha needed to hear. He left them standing there and raced out without a word.
"What will you do?" Katsuko asked.
"I will continue as I have been, and you should try not to worry. It is not good for the pup, or you." he told her. She nodded.
Kagome woke up. She found herself sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall, of a small room. She looked down and just as in her dream, she is wearing a light blue kimono, and her leg is chained to the wall. He's coming. A slightly stooped woman entered the room, followed by man. Kagome studied him closely though she already knew what he looked like. He was tall with long, dark, blue hair and eyes of the same shade. He had a jagged red line marking both sides of his face, and was wearing the same blue robe and red coat from her dream.
"Release her." he commanded the old woman. She bowed and freed Kagome from the chain. "Do not think to purify me Miko. I assure you the attempt will cost you at the very least the life of your child. I am protected with in these walls. Come." Kagome stared at him. "Worry not miko, if I had wanted you dead, I would have killed you already. I simply intend to use you to rid the world of the last of the former Inu no Tashio's line."
Kagome found herself being led to a room where she was forced inside. She looked around. There was a large bed on one side of the room, and a small table on the other. She went over and looked out the single window.
"Excuse me, Priestess." the old woman said. Kagome turned. "I am to assist you. Simply call me if you need anything. I will be in the next room."
"What is your name?" she asked.
"Aiko." the woman replied.
"Aiko, please call me Kagome." she said.
"Do you require anything?" Aiko asked.
"No." Kagome replied. "Thank you." Aiko bowed and left the room.
Each day Aiko brought Kagome her meals and escorted her on brief walks through the castle. The old woman was confused by the girl she was required to care for. She never asked for anything more than a few moments of conversation and was always so polite. Most days she simply sat by the window staring out at nothing. The only thing that would change would be the expression on her face. Mostly it was one of profound sadness, but occasionally a wisp of a smile would appear on her lips and she would whisper a name, always the same. "InuYasha."
"Aiko, why do you serve this demon.? I can feel the pain and distress in your aura." Kagome said.
"I serve because I must, as do all others in the castle." Aiko told her. "Lord Kagedoku has our children and our grand children locked away. If we refuse his wishes, they will be killed."
Kagome felt her anger come to the surface and Aiko stepped back at the flare of power that had come from the Miko. "I'm sorry." Kagome said quietly. "You have served my out of duty, but you did not have to be kind. If my baby is born, before Inuyasha arrives, I would ask you to do something for me in exchange for your freedom."
"My freedom?" Aiko asked.