If I owned
Inuyasha, there would be no hair left on his ears by the time I got
done rubbing them.
Hello my good people. I was trying to get
some progress on my other stories, but bits and pieces of this story
kept floating through my head and haunting me until I finally forced
myself to write this one. I really enjoy writing this one, so that's
okay! For the people who're reading my other stories, I'm really
sorry! I'll get to them, but I seem to be having one writer's block
after another and it's driving me insane! Wah!
Note on review
responses- jeez guys! I got so many reviews last chapter that I was
almost in tears! Thank you so much! The reviews really motivate me. I
used to do review responses for everyone, but now that would just
take up too much space. So I will still acknowledge everyone who
reviewed, but I'll only respond to a couple people.
Review
Reponses-
Thank you OceanBreeze777, FieryDemonFox(I like your
name!!!), Rushyuo, Kim, seida02, Inu-babe666, Leslie Batts,
fruitpeach, Mini Nicka, and DraGonMistress704 for
reviewing!!!!
Arianna233- Thank you! I try to make my plots at
least a little different from other stories, though it's hard when
there are tens of thousands of Inuyasha stories out there!
Morlana-
You were the only one to comment on the linkage! It took me a long
time to make it all fit in just right.
Dragon Man 180- You
review like every chapter of all of my stories! Lol! I appreciate it!
Yeah, Inuyasha isn't the happiest puppy right now.
KC and IC-
You think my story is interesting? Yay! You're right, there will be
some huge conflicts, just keep reading and find out what they are.
Frost Fae- I totally agree. I hate it when a story is so
good, but there are only one or two chapters out. It makes me so
mad...especially if there aren't frequent updates. Ah well, I hope
you like this chapter!
Lazy lady- I'll have to check your
story out sometime! You just have to type it out first! Good
luck!
Degeneratebeerwench- I'm glad you like my story. Good
job! You figured out what Kuro did! She's sure stirring things
up!
The Shikon Child
Chapter 2- Meet the Parents
-
Kuro
Ignored Inuyasha, and looked at Kagome. Besides breathing heavily,
she seemed to be in good condition. She walked up to the raven-haired
girl and put her hand lightly over her belly, checking to see if her
spell had worked.
Kagome's eyes widened as she felt the
prophet touching her stomach. She wanted to back away, but was unable
to for some reason. She felt a small burst of power going through her
body from where Kuro's hand lay. The power traveled through her
veins, as though searching for something.
Smiling, Kuro lifted
her hand from Kagome's stomach. "It worked."
"What
worked?!" Inuyasha asked angrily. He cracked his knuckles,
preparing to attack if she tried to do one of her tricks on them
again.
Kuro gave Inuyasha a look of impatience. "I
already told you. This young woman will bear your child. I made sure
of that."
Inuyasha's face paled. He knew that she wasn't
joking around; he saw the truth in her eyes. He had heard of Kuro and
her extreme powers, and knew that she could easily do a spell of this
nature. He turned to Kagome, whose face was even paler than his. He
looked at her belly and could sense, just barely, the new presence
within her.
The crowd around them stood in an awed silence,
looking at them in great surprise.
Kagome's bottom lip
quivered. "W-why?"
Kuro's smile wilted at the sad
and hopeless look on Kagome's face. She suddenly felt horrible for
what she did, but she knew that it had to be done. The prophecy had
to put into effect. "Don't worry, young one. This was foretold;
it had to happen. Your pregnancy has been sped up slightly, due to
the magic. You will be a little over one month along by the looks of
things." She paused and looked at Inuyasha. "You will need
to protect her, and your child. If you don't, unimaginably horrible
things will come of this. If you have any troubles, you can contact
me, and I'll try to help. For now, I must go. I have spent way too
long searching. There are things I must do."
There was a
loud crack she was gone.
The crowd gasped, amazed at the
sorcery they had just witnessed. Some children started crying, while
others were bursting with excitement.
Inuyasha didn't know
what to do. He hadn't exactly been in one of these situations before.
He looked at Kagome, who seemed to be in a state of deep shock. She
was just staring ahead blankly, her bottom lip still quivering.
He
knew that he couldn't just leave her there, so he walked over to her
and scooped her up bridal style. He would take her to the castle for
now, and explain what had happened to his parents. They weren't going
to be happy...
Kagome squealed loudly when she felt him pick
her up. "Put me down! Now!"
He lowered his ears
against his head, shielding them from the horrible noise emitting
from her. "Calm down, girl! I'm taking you to my castle to see
if we can get this problem sorted out."
Her anger
flaring, Kagome slammed her fists into his chest. Although she wasn't
particularly fond their predicament, she wouldn't call the child a
problem! "How dare you!"
Obviously he had said
something wrong. Inuyasha didn't let her go though. He only held on
tighter. He looked around for Miroku. 'He's probably off with some
girl.'
Not wanting to push through the crowd, he jumped high
into the air, trying to ignore the loud screeching coming from the
girl in his arms. He landed right next to his horse, which was a
large black stallion, and put her on it.
Kagome immediately
tried to get off, but Inuyasha grabbed onto her shirt, preventing her
from escape. "Hold still, girl!"
She sent Inuyasha a
glare that would have sent most running for their lives, her brown
eyes full of a fire that burned intensely. He seemed unaffected. "I
have a name! Kagome! Use it!"
"Fine! Okay, Kagome,
will you please just hold still? My castle is only up the hill a
ways."
Crossing her arms in a huff, Kagome sat obediently
on the horse.
Inuyasha released a sigh of relief at her
compliance. It would be hard to get to his home if the girl was
constantly diving off of the horse.
He jumped on the horse,
behind Kagome, and grabbed the reigns. He scooted closer to her,
making sure to be in close proximity in case she decided to try to
get away again.
Kagome blushed, not used to being so close to
a man. She could feel the heat radiating off of his body.
Inuyasha
kicked the horse's sides, making it start their journey to the
castle.
They made it to the palace in about a quarter of an
hour, which was fairly good timing. Kagome gawked at it, never having
realized how large it was. It was an old castle. Large vines lined
the sidings, making it look even more ancient. Even with its age, it
was still a sturdy and beautiful castle. The only windows were made
of stained glass, which held intricate designs. There was no mote or
any other form of protection, like most palaces had. There was just a
huge garden that spread in a circle all around the giant castle,
giving it a comfortable and homey look. Many maids were wandering all
about, all with happy smiles on their faces.
Inuyasha led the
horse to the stables. He got off, and offered Kagome his
hand.
Kagome looked at the hand warily. No one, as far as she
could remember, had ever offered their hand to assist her. Being a
parentless, homeless commoner, she was almost always ignored or
shunned. She decided to decline his offer, and got off of the horse
on her own, stumbling slightly on impact with the ground.
He
gave her a strange look as he lowered his rejected hand to his side.
Following Inuyasha out of the stable, Kagome couldn't help but feel out of place. This place was simply beautiful, and she had always figured herself to be sort of ugly. No one had ever told her any different. There was also the fact that her clothes were horribly dirty, and her body was no better. Her long hair was in tangles, and there was a dab of mud splotched across her face.
They didn't go through the large front door, as Kagome thought they would. Inuyasha led her to a door on the side of the castle, where all of the maids went in and out. It led into a kitchen, which was bustling with people going in every direction.
Before opening the door to the dining room, Inuyasha turned to Kagome. He looked stressed and slightly confused. The same feelings were racing through her too. "Okay, I'm going to try to explain this to my parents. My mom will probably take it the easiest...but my dad isn't exactly friendly with strangers. If he says anything offensive, try to ignore him."
Inuyasha found his gaze continually falling to her stomach. He tried not to, but it was like his eyes were magnetized.
"So, after this little discussion, can I leave?"
Kagome didn't know how to raise a child. She had no experience in motherhood. She couldn't remember her own mom. All she knew was her parents had died in some sort of accident and she was put in the care of a rich couple from the village. They weren't exactly the nicest of all people, so Kagome ran away and never came back. After that she had gone from village to village and job to job, never staying in a place for long. She was a free spirit and didn't take well to being caged.
Inuyasha scratched the back of his head uneasily. He didn't know what would happen. Demons mated for life, but she wasn't his mate. She was just having his child...He highly doubted she would be able to even leave the castle after his parents found out though. "We'll just have to see."
Inuyasha pushed the door open, revealing a large dining room. There was a long wooden table with at least twenty chairs around it. There were two people sitting at the end of the table, opposite of where they were standing. One was a tall woman with long black hair, rosy cheeks and friendly brown eyes. She was smiling at them, and motioning them to sit down. The other was an even taller man with extremely long, white hair. He had three purple streaks across both cheeks and the same streaks across his wrists. His eyes were a rich golden color, but unlike the woman beside him, they were glaring coldly at them, or rather, at Kagome.
He turned down his mother's request and gave his parents an uneasy look. Although he was reaching manhood, he still feared his father's wrath. "Well...you see..."
His father interrupted him. He glared at Kagome, his golden eyes boring into her brown. "Kuro came by the house a minute ago. We were quite shocked to be receiving a visit from her."
Kagome felt like hiding behind Inuyasha. His dad seemed murderous. But she wasn't one to back down, so she stood her ground and put on her poker face, making her appear totally fearless.
Inuyasha slowly looked between the two. They seemed to be having a hardcore staring contest, as though trying to see which one would back down first. His dad knew what had happened down at the market. He wouldn't be acting so harsh if he didn't.His dad continued. "She said something rather interesting. Do you know what she told me, Inuyasha?"
Resisting the temptation of running, Inuyasha chewed the inside of his cheek hesitantly. For some reason, his dad always made him feel like he did something wrong, even when it wasn't his fault. "She put to work a prophecy- "
"Yes," his father interrupted once again. "And apparently, we are grandparents now."
Inuyasha didn't say anything. He stood perfectly still, waiting for his dad to continue.
"You don't want her as your mate, do you?"
Inuyasha's face heated slightly as he shook his head. He had barely met the girl for God's sake.
"Then we'll have to get rid of it. We can't have something like that ruining the Shima reputation. I know a fine healer that could easily do an abortion-,"
Kagome, frightened beyond belief at his words, sped out of the room, towards the kitchens again.Inuyasha shot his dad a withering look as he ran from the room, trying to stop the girl from getting far.
Inuyasha spotted Kagome in the kitchen, and jumped over two chiefs to get to her. He grabbed her around the waist to try to restrain her.
Kagome screamed and kicked, trying to free herself from his grasp. "Let go of me!"
She was fighting so hard that even he, a half demon, was having an extremely hard time holding on to her. "Hold still, girl!"
She only fought harder. She slammed her foot on his, making him reel back in pain, and giving her an opportunity to get away.
Kagome managed to get out of the kitchen and into the garden. She stopped for a second, not sure where to go. She spotted the stables and headed that way.
She had gotten halfway there, when a livid Inuyasha landed in front of her, blocking her from reaching her destination.
Inuyasha grabbed her arms, preventing her from escape. "Would you just listen to me?"
Kagome wasn't listening. Her maternal instincts were kicking in. The only thing on her mind was getting away from here, away from the man who wanted to kill her baby. She tried to get her arms free, but the hanyou's grip was too tight. Panic swept over her and tears started falling from her eyes. She looked at Inuyasha desperately. "Please...please-,"
Inuyasha was taken back by the sudden change of her mood. He didn't like it when women cried, it always made him extremely uncomfortable. He put his hands on her shoulders, trying to comfort her. "Just listen, okay?"
Kagome began shaking. She nodded her head, tears of terror still falling freely from her chocolate orbs.
"I will do everything within my power to keep the pup-" he paused for a second. "To keep our pup safe."
She nodded again, believing him. She had always had a knack for telling if someone was being truthful. Her knees felt wobbly, and her head was pounding, making her feel nauseated. She didn't think that she could hold herself up much longer.
He looked at her in slight pity. She seemed exhausted and slightly sick, and she was dirty. She was definitely underfed. 'Well, I'll have to fix that.'
Inuyasha picked her up carefully, grateful she didn't make a fuss. He looked up and spotted his balcony. With the gracefulness of a cat, he jumped up to his elegant third story balcony. He opened the door that led to his room and walked in. He set her down on the bed. "Hey maid!"
A slightly timid girl with short black hair, who had been dusting the shelves in his room, turned his way. "Yes my Lord."
"This girl needs a bath, food, and some sleep. I expect you to make sure she gets all of that. I'm going to lock the door, and you are to let no one in, understand?"
If she was startled by the request, she didn't let it show. "Yes Lord Inuyasha."
He turned to Kagome. "I'm going to go have a...talk with my father. I'll be back in a while."
Again, she only nodded, feeling like she would vomit if she opened her mouth.
Inuyasha left his room, getting ready for what he knew would be one of the biggest fights he and his father would ever have.
-
Whew! I'm
so tired, you guys. But I'm happy to have another chapter ready for
you all. I hope that you enjoyed! If I get another great batch of
reviews like last time, you guys might get a quick update! Well, I'm
going to attempt to get some work done on Survivor. (Sorry FLIW
people, I'll get to that after Survivor.) Oh, and I'm also
considering getting an editor, or beta reader. Would anyone like to
apply for the job? I'm not sure about the whole process, so if you
all would like to fill me in, I'd be extremely thankful.
Lima
S.