I do not own Inuyasha or his wondrously cute ears!
AN-Wow! I got a huge response for the last chapter! Thank you thank you thank you for your wonderful reviews! They really motivate me.
I'm finally back from my sister's. I really enjoy being with her, but I'm super glad to be home.
I'm having trouble choosing the gender of the baby, so I thought that I'd let you guys decide! So either email me or review me and tell me if you want the baby to be a boy or a girl!
I'm going to go back and change Inuyasha's dad to Inutaisho when I get the time . Sorry for the confusion. Now his name will be Inutaisho Shima.
Review Responses-
BakaBokken- I used to not read AU's, but when I started reading them, they became my favorite stories! ( ; I'm glad that you are enjoying my story. Just ignore my typos. I usually write my fanfiction at night, and I tend to be too lazy to double-check over my work.
InuYashaLove- I do tend to add drama in my stories, hence the genre. ( ; I'm happy you liked the chapter.
HPangel589- Yeah, Naraku wanting Kagome is a bit scary. Poor Kag. ( : Thanks for the review!
seida02- Yep, Naraku is a meanie in this fic. Ill's trying to keep him in character. I'm glad you liked the chapter!
MichelleAnneSummers-Naraku is a bit freaky, but that's what makes him such a good bad guy! : ) Thanks for the review, I'll try to update more if possible.
Fruitpeach-I'm happy that you think that my fic is awesome! You are too kind! ; )
Die Kikyo Die- Naraku's your new grudge? Lol! I'm glad you liked the thing with Hojo. I had a fun time writing it.
A.K.- You love my fic? Thank you! You flatter me! Thanks for the review.
Lazy Lady- Your animal names inspired my writing! I just had to add them in there somewhere! --
DraGonMistress704- ::hands you metal pole:: You don't even have to wait until he hurts Kag to hit him. Just do it whenever you please. He deserves it.
Dragon Man 180- Miroku had to do his job! ( : But It still would have been nice to have Inu rip into Naraku...though it wouldn't have gone along with the plot very well.
Seelin- You're so sweet! Thanks. I really do try to keep my them in character. Thanks for the review.
Hinoiri-Maiden- I haven't read any good fanfictions for a while either. Most seem to suck right now. Thanks for reviewing.
The Forgotten Child- I try to have an original plot for the story, but it can be hard when there are so many Inuyasha fanfictions out there. : )
Kikiumetime- I'm not sure about how I'm going to make Kikyo's personality. I don't want her to be too evil, but I don't want her to be too good either...
PeterLeela- I'm glad you liked! Thanks for reviewing.
Dark Inu Fan- Yeah. I didn't get Inuyasha's dad's name right. I didn't know it at the time so I had to put another in its place. ::covers face in shame:: When I get the time, I'm going to go back and edit that. Sesshoumaru will probably make an appearance soon, but I don't know. I'm not quite sure yet.
i-love-inuyasha- I'm glad that you like. I'll definitely keep on writing, just maybe not in as fast of pace as some people would like...
Fierydemonfox-You can't wait for more? ( ; lol. I hope you keep enjoying!
Radhika14024- They'll probably start liking each other more when Kagome gets closer to labor. You love my story? Thank you! You are so sweet! ::blushes::
Snowecat- How in the world? How did you guess?!?! You're right. That's what she's going to be. Woah. That's creepy. ( : Well, that ruins the surprise! Ah well... Thanks for the review. ::curses reviewers who can read my mind:: ( ;
Inuyashasluvforever- Well, here's more for you!
DBZGirl202- Thanks for recommending me to BakaBokken! ;-) I'll probably explain why she had pain somewhere in this fic. Just hold on.
Kostos-I'm glad you understand. I don't want you to feel like I'm dissing you.
Mika-I'm glad you think my story is cool! Thanks for the review.
Brianne-You love my story? Thank you! And I'll put you down as a vote for a boy!
Anechan- I'm happy that you seem to like the way I write! Thanks for reviewing.
The Shikon ChildChapter 6-Kagome's powers
-
Kagome coughed, the smoke that Naraku had produced as a nice farewell present unpleasantly invading her lungs.
Inuyasha glared heatedly at Miroku through the slowly clearing cloud of smoke."Why did you stop me from ripping that filth to pieces!?"
Miroku frowned at him. "It's my job to protect you, Inuyasha. I wasn't going to let you pick a fight with one of the most terrible demons out there." Not waiting for Inuyasha's response, he turned to Kagome, a small smile forming on his face. "Are you okay?"
Kagome tried to smile back, but she was still feeling traumatized, so it came out as more of a grimace. "Yeah. I'm fine."
Inuyasha turned and looked at her. She looked the exact opposite of fine. Her face was extremely pale with a thin layer of sweat covering it. Her legs were starting to shake, and she looked as though she would collapse at any moment. "Come on. I'll take you to your room. You look horrible."
Kagome glared at him, but tried to keep her emotions under control. "Fine," she said huffily, as she headed for one of the many doors, leaving Inuyasha behind, and hoping it led to something interesting. She wasn't planning on going back to her 'cage' anytime soon.
She looked at the ground as she walked to the door, avoiding people's gazes and praying that Inuyasha wouldn't follow her. She didn't expect to run into something very solid.
"Woah!" Kagome almost fell back on impact. She looked at the person she had run into, and gasped. It was as though she were looking into a slightly disoriented mirror.
The woman who looked like Kagome glared at her as she started to wipe the wine that had spilled on her dress with a handkerchief.
"I'm so sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going-."
"Obviously," said her lookalike, staring at her in a superior way.
There was an awkward silence that was suddenly broken when Inuyasha came over to them. "Kagome...this door leads to the training room." He pointed a clawed finger across the room to a different door. "That door leads to the stairs. You're on the third floor, remember?"
Kagome flushed a bit, but nodded.
"And who are you?" Inuyasha asked the woman who looked as though she could be Kagome's twin who had sat across from him during the council meeting.
The woman gave Inuyasha a weird look, and quirked an eyebrow. She looked as though she couldn't tell if he was joking or not. "My name is Kenta. Kikyo Kenta."
Inuyasha's mouth suddenly went dry. She was the one that he was to be wedded to. Though she was quite beautiful, he couldn't quite imagine himself with someone like her. She looked perfect. She stood completely straight with her chin up. Confidence seemed to radiate off of her, making her seem quite intimidating.
He licked his lips, trying to moisten them up a bit. "So you're the one that-,"
"Is to be your mate," Kikyo finished his sentence abruptly, sending Kagome a small glare.
"Oh," said Inuyasha awkwardly. Then, remembering what his dad said about at least trying to get along, he took her milk-white hand in his and brought it to his lips, giving it a soft kiss. Her hand was cold, he noted as he quickly pulled his lips away. "It's a- It's a pleasure to meet you, Kikyo."
Kagome watched the exchange with a twinge of jealousy. He was going to get married? To her? She thought she saw the corners of Kikyo's mouth twitch, as though trying to suppress a small smile.
Kikyo linked her arm in his. "I really do need a tour of the palace. I haven't gotten a chance to look around."
Inuyasha looked back at Kagome uncertainly, a small look of concern in his golden orbs. "I need to get Kagome-"
"I'll escort Lady Kagome to her quarters," said Miroku, who seemed to have popped there out of thin air.
"Okay..." said Inuyasha, feeling slightly put out. He had wanted to get out of giving Kikyo a tour. He would have to remember to pound Miroku later. He looked at the monk warily, before leaning closer and whispering. "You touch her and I'll cut your hands off."
A flicker of worry passed through Miroku's features. Then he smiled widely, giving his master a mock solute.
Inuyasha gave Kagome one last glance, then turned and led Kikyo to one of the many rooms.
"My name's Miroku," said the monk as he put his hand lightly on her back, urging her to walk with him.
Kagome looked at the man in dark violet robes who was currently leading her through a maze of halls and doors. "What's your job? Leading guests to their rooms?"
He chuckled lightly. "Nah. I'm Inuyasha's protector."
"If you're his protector, then why aren't you with him?" asked Kagome as she was pulled into another set of halls.
"When we're at the palace, I usually get sent off to do different jobs unless there's some type of special occasion like today when there are a lot of demons we don't know that are in the castle. But he probably wanted some time alone with Kikyo, so I abandoned my post. I'm always with him when he leaves the castle grounds to go somewhere though."
"Oh. I see."
They came to a door with bars running across it. Kagome could see a large, muscular, dog demon standing on the other side. He opened the door and Miroku pulled her in the enclosed space with him.
"What are we doing?" asked Kagome as the demon slid the door closed.
Miroku ignored her and turned the dog demon who seemed to have muscles on his muscles. "Third floor please."
The demon nodded, and put his arm on a large handle protruding out of the wall. He took the handle and started twisting it in a large circular motion, like a kid would a jack in the box.
Kagome nearly screamed when she felt the floor beneath her beginning to rise. She clutched Miroku's arm tightly. If she had been able to see through walls, she would have seen the large gears turning, making the small room rise higher.
When they made it to the third floor Miroku said thanks to the demon, who hadn't even broken out in a sweat, and pulled Kagome out.
"I've never seen anything like that!" she exclaimed as they walked down a familiar hallway.
Miroku smiled. "It beats going up and down the seemingly endless sets of stairs."
They finally made it to Kagome's room, and Kagome found herself greeted with angry glares from the sibling dog demons who were still stationed in front of her door.
"Well, I'll be leaving you. I've got to go make sure Inuyasha's not getting himself into trouble." He winked at her and turned around, heading in the direction that they had just come from.
Kagome began walking into her room, but was abruptly stopped by a clawed hand.
"Lord and lady Shima sent you a...gift for your arrival," said the female dog demon, who was standing guard against her doorframe.
There, standing in her room, was a woman with long black hair tied in a high ponytail. She had bright pink eyeshadow on, and was wearing a tight black suit. She was leaning on a large boomerang that was propped off of the ground.
The woman stared openly at her. "Hey."
Kagome searched for something intelligent to say, but all she managed was, "Er, hello?"
The lady stood up, crossed the room, and extended her hand out. "The name's Sango."
Kagome took her hand and shook it, noticing the iron-grip the woman possessed. "Kagome."
"I know that," said Sango with a wave of her hand. "Do you know why I'm here?"
Kagome blinked. "No..."
"I was sent by the lord and lady to be your protector."
"My protector?" Kagome's brow knitted in confusion.
"You could call me a bodyguard too. Whatever. They sent me here when they heard that you had 'escaped'."
"Sent you here? How did you get here on such short notice?"
Sango's lips quirked into a half-smile. "I've trained here since before I can remember. I've finally became of age to be somebody's protector."
"Oh," said Kagome, her spirits falling, knowing she would have no more chances of escape, but rising again at the prospect of having some company.
She was about to sit on the bed, but there was already something fuzzy sitting there.
"This is Kirara. She's my pet and assistant."
"She's so cute!" exclaimed Kagome as she reached picked up the small yellow cat and started petting it behind its ears. Kirara purred contentedly in her arms. "How could this kitten be your assistant? She's barely big enough to kill a mouse."
Sango grinned at the pair, glad that Kagome seemed to like her pet. It would be hard to keep Kirara around if she didn't like cats. "You'd be surprised."
Kagome sat on the bed, letting Kirara curl herself into a ball on her lap.
"You're pretty good with animals," said Sango. "Kirara usually doesn't attach herself to people so quickly."
Kagome watched the cat's eyelids close. She had fallen asleep. "I guess so."
-
"What did you find out when you went to Inutaisho's palace? Was the girl really pregnant with a child that contains the jewel?" asked a young woman with short, black hair and dark red eyes. She watched her master thumbed through the crinkled and torn pages of an ancient book.
For a while Naraku didn't answer, but he eventually marked his page in the book, and turned to his servant. "Yes, Kagura. I felt the presence of something very powerful within the fetus. It seems that the jewel is slowly growing as the baby grows, due to that girl's extraordinary power feeding it. That girl is somehow unknowingly making the jewel inside the baby. I don't think that the girl is even aware that she contains any powers."
"So why didn't you kill the girl and the baby, and take the jewel while you were there?" asked Kagura in a voice that barely contained her disgust and dislike for her master. She knew that Naraku would stoop as low as kill an innocent baby without an ounce of regret.
Naraku turned back to his book and started gently flipping through the pages again. "The jewel is miniscule now, only a small fraction of its potential. If I wait until the child is born, the Shikon will be much more powerful."
Kagura frowned. "What happens if someone else gets the same idea that you have? What if they want to steal the jewel?"
Naraku smiled slyly. "That's why I created your sister." He clapped his hands. "Kanna! Come!"
A small girl, who couldn't be older than seven, appeared instantly in front of him. Her clothes were completely white and her eyes were a dark brown. She was carrying a small mirror.
Naraku smiled at her, and motioned for her to come closer, which she did immediately. She kneeled at his feet.
"What do you need, master?" she asked slowly.
"Show me Kagome."
Kanna held her mirror up. At first it showed only Naraku's reflection, but then it turned into a blurred spiral of colors. The colors soon focused into an image of Kagome sitting on her bed, talking to another girl.
Naraku's smile widened as he watched the young girl lustfully. Then he turned his attention back to Kagura. "I don't plan on letting her out of my sight."
-
Kikyo's visit had only lasted a couple of days, though she was scheduled to come back in a month or so. Kagome hadn't seen anything out of Inuyasha. Sango had told her that he was known for leaving the palace with Miroku for days at a time without telling anyone first.
Kagome was put out that she hadn't even gotten to thank him for saving her earlier, but she soon got past that when Sango gave her a tour of the palace. There were rooms of all kinds everywhere, and Kagome didn't think that she would ever memorize where everything was.
She still had morning sickness, and it seemed to be growing into afternoon sickness as well. She was becoming more and more tired, and now she had a small spot on her stomach that was starting to grow out more than the rest. At first she had thought that it was from eating more than she normally ate, but seeing that none of the rest of her body was growing so fast, she knew that it was the baby.
Sango now slept on a small cot in Kagome's room. Kagome insisted that she share the bed with her, but Sango said that she had slept on worse, and she wasn't going to accept the offer.
Sango only left Kagome's side when Kagome was in the bathroom, but even then she would knock on the door every five minutes and ask if everything was all right or even come in and join Kagome if she needed a bath too.
Kagome really enjoyed Sango's company and they were becoming fast friends, but it still got a little annoying to be constantly supervised.
Today was the fourth day since she had been to the palace, and Kagome had been told by a servant that Lady Shima had ordered her to visit Kaede.
"Who's Kaede?" she asked Sango, who was currently guiding her trough the castle.
"She's the castle's healer. She's very good at what she does. I bet you were sent to her for a checkup on you and the baby."
They soon came upon a red wooden door, which Sango stopped at and knocked. "Kaede? Kagome's here."
There was some rustling coming from the room, before an old lady opened the door. She was short and a little overweight. She had a patch across one eye and long hair tied on a very low ponytail. "Come in child, come in."
"I'll wait out here," said Sango as Kagome followed the woman into the room.
Kagome looked around and saw hundreds of jars and boxes full of all different kinds of herbs and healing plants.
Kaede led her to the middle of the room. "Lay down on the mat, please."
Kagome complied, feeling slightly nervous. She looked at the tall, rock ceiling as Kaede started gathering random things from her shelves.
When she was finally done getting what she needed, Kaede sat cross-legged next to Kagome. "Do you know anything of demon pregnancy?"
Kagome searched her mind for anything she might know, but couldn't find anything. "No..."
"Well, it normally takes a demon baby only three to four months to become mature enough to be born." She scratched her head, trying to remember something. "And if I remember correctly, Inuyasha was born after only five months. So, I'm thinking that since you are now slightly over a month along, according on what Kuro said, your child should be due in about five to six more months."
Kagome's eyes widened in shock. "Wha- What?! I'm giving birth that soon?"
Kaede shrugged. "Might be earlier, might be later. I don't really know." She put her wrinkled, leathery hand on Kagome's stomach and closed her eyes.
Kagome watched uncomfortably as Kaede's hand made small semicircles across her stomach. It wasn't as though it hurt her, but it was still weird having someone rub your stomach as they would a puppy.
When Kaede was finished, she lifted her hand and looked at Kagome in amazement. "You contain powers like no other, child."
"What do you mean?"
"It seems that you're somehow making the jewel within your baby. I have no clue how you could possess a power so strong and not notice it."
Kagome scratched her head awkwardly. "I didn't know that I had any powers..."
Kaede looked at Kagome's hand curiously. "What is that mark on your hand?"
"Oh, it's a birthmark," said Kagome as she held out her hand that had the dragon-shaped mark on it.
Kaede took Kagome's hand in hers and instantly felt the power radiating from it. "This is peculiar. This birthmark seems to be the core of your powers, where all of your power is stored." She shook her head and grabbed some kind of plant that she had gotten from a shelf, and handed it to Kagome. "But that's not why we're here. Your baby seems perfectly healthy. You can chew these leaves to relieve the nausea that comes with morning sickness. It also helps cure headaches. I'll send for you to come back for another checkup in a couple of weeks. Until then, take it easy. Don't stress yourself."
Kagome smiled and picked up the plant. "All right. Thanks."
-
Hey. That was shorter than I wanted it to be, but I wanted to get it out today so you all will be able to read it by Sunday. Sorry for not adding much InuKag. I'll try to put a lot in for the next chapter. Don't forget to vote on whether you want the baby to be a boy or a girl! And I don't know if I'm going to be doing review responses anymore. I love talking to you guys, but it kind of cuts a chunk out of my writing time.