Disclaimer: See Chapter One.
Hi, guys! Well, I'm back. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, you were a
glorious inspiration to me, and here is our prize! Ta da! The next
chapter! Hooray! Review it and you'll get more treats, I promise. Enjoy!
Chapter Two
"Kagoooomeeee!"
"Where are you, Kagome?"
"Kagome, you stupid idiot, come back here right now!"
"Kagome!"
The group of friends had been searching for the lost Kagome for several hours, but not even Inuyasha, with his sharp demon senses could find her. She had been missing since that morning, and Inuyasha was sure that she had been kidnapped. But Shippo was convinced that she had changed, somehow. Inuyasha and Miroku did not believe him, but Sango listened to what he had to say.
"I know it was Kagome, she's just more powerful now. I think that's why she was sick yesterday, she was getting her new powers." Sango somehow knew that the little kitsune was right, but the others didn't want to believe them. Especially not Inuyasha. Kagome was his to protect, and by gum, he was gonna do it!
"Kagome, you moron, this isn't funny! Come out now! Kagome!" screamed Inuyasha.
"Somebody call?" the group jumped at the voice from above. They looked up to see the new Kagome sitting in a tree above them.
"You again! What have you done with Kagome?" Inuyasha shouted, drawing Tetsuiga.
"For the last time, dog-boy, I am Kagome!"
"Oh, yeah?" the hanyou sneered, "Then prove it!"
"You bring this on yourself." Kagome sighed.
"Sit!!!" Inuyasha fell flat on his face, squirming and writhing. It was Kagome! But she smelled a bit different. Shippo latched onto Kagome's neck, and Sango had her arms around her dear friend.
"I knew it was you!" Shippo shouted joyfully, "But only Sango believed me. What happened to you?" Kagome laughed as she ruffled his fur. Miroku came forward slowly.
"I am sorry that I doubted you. Can you forgive me?"
"Yes, Miroku, I can, but only if you remove your lecherous hand from my body this instant! Unless, of course, you also would like a necklace of prayer beads?" Miroku quickly removed his errant hand from Kagome's rear and blushed. Later on, when they had set up camp, Kagome told her story.
"I am an Elf," she began, "And Elves are created a bit differently from most other creatures. The soul of a person who will become an Elf is almost always born in a human body. Then, normally at the age of eighteen, the human body goes through a metamorphosis and becomes that of an Elf, giving the person full access to their powers. But the transformation is often painful. That is why I was," she paused," uncomfortable yesterday."
"But you aren't eighteen!" Shippo piped up. Kagome smiled.
"I know. But for some the transformation comes early. It just depends on the person, I guess. I must admit, though, I had hoped that it was just another false alarm, and that I wasn't really transforming yet."
"You mentioned powers?" said Miroku. Kagome grinned.
"I did. It will not take me long to master them."
"Could you show us?" Inuyasha requested.
"I can try. What would you like me to do?"
"Fly!" yelled Shippo. Kagome ruffled his fur agreeably, then got up and asked, "How high and how far, Shippo-chan?"
"Over the trees and back here." Kagome nodded. Her friends gasped as she changed into a falcon and soared away over the trees, returning to land on Inuyasha's arm. Then she shocked them again as she turned into Shippo's female double. She rushed over and tagged the little kitsune.
"You're it!" she cried joyfully as she bounded away. Shippo laughed and joined her in a rambunctious game of tag. The others stared as the normally sober and proper Kagome rolled in the leaves and dirt with little Shippo. She eventually changed back, and they went to bed. The next morning, they went through their usual routine of searching for shards of the Shikon non Tama.
They had heard rumors of a great spider-demon ravaging a town nearby, and suspected that it was in possession of several shards. While Miroku went to work convincing the local lord that there were bad omens over his house, (other than the spider-youkai, of course), Kagome, Sango and Inuyasha went to see the damage that the youkai had wrought.
"This is pretty bad." said Sango calmly. Kagome agreed.
"I can sense several shards, but it's difficult to say exactly where." she stated factually. Inuyasha huffed.
"Well, you'd better hurry up and root him out, wench, before he attacks again. I'm ready for him."
"Inuyasha." Kagome's voice was dangerously low, and she had that look on her face that meant she was about to 'sit' him, "If you call me one more bad name, I will sit you until your great-grandchildren are old and gray. Do you understand me?" Inuyasha gulped and nodded quickly. Kagome morphed into a falcon again and soared above the small town, feeling for the shards.
"Why do you treat her so poorly?" Sango demanded as soon as Kagome left, "Why can't you just admit that you love her and tell her so? It's obvious to us all that you like each other."
"I.. I, uh..." Inuyasha stuttered, "D.. do I really treat her that badly?" he asked contritely.
"Yes, you do. Just treat her like a lady, Inuyasha, like you care." Inuyasha mulled over this for a while. Kagome returned an hour later on foot, and bearing a tiny bundle.
"What's that?" Sango asked.
"Our demon. I caught him unawares. He had five shards, and they're big ones, too! He sure isn't much to look at, though."
"Hey!" squeaked a tiny voice from inside the parcel.
"Well, you're not!"
"You.. You mean that you took him out all by yourself? And he had five shards?" gasped Sango.
"Kagome! You shouldn't have done that! What if you had gotten hurt? We wouldn't have even known where to begin to search for you. You should be more careful, we need you to locate the shards for us." Inuyasha practically yelled. He was beyond furious! Kagome shouldn't have fought the youkai by herself, she should've come back and gotten the rest of the gang to help. But she seemed fine, she wasn't even scratched. Sango sighed, and thought to herself that Inuyasha needed many lessons on how to treat a lady and decided that she was going to make him a gentleman if it killed him.
"A little touchy, aren't we Inuyasha? Really, I was in no danger. It wasn't a problem."
Kagome knew that what she was doing would upset Inuyasha. He seemed to be getting more protective of her instead of less since her Transformation a week before, and would rarely let her out of his sight. She needed more herbs, however, for her medicine bag, and since only she knew where they grew and how to cut them she decided not to bother the others, and only took Shippo with her, for company.
She laughed as she watched the little kitsune chase butterflies and pounce on grasshoppers. He was so sweet, and so full of life! She loved to play with him, to hear him tell her his funny little stories, or to see him nose-to-nose with Inuyasha, positively bristling with wrath.
Suddenly both Shippo and Kagome froze. There was a youkai coming, and a powerful one at that. The small fox-demon huddled up against Kagome and in a voice quivering with terror he whispered two words. "It's her."
"Who is it?" Kagome whispered back, seemingly undaunted by the power of the unseen foe.
"The Great Demon of the South." murmured Shippo fearfully, "The Lady Asako. She doesn't like kitsunes very much. She's like Inuyasha, a dog-demon. A hound-dog-demon. Kagome, I'm scared!" Shippo was trembling from ears to paw, his little hands clutched tightly around Kagome's neck.
"Hush, now." Kagome whispered soothingly, "No fear! I've got you, Shippo and I won't let anything hurt you. I can protect us now, remember? Just stay calm and do exactly as I say."
The demon of the South, Asako, was itching for a fight that day. The people in her realm, human and youkai alike, were all too frightened of her to be much sport any longer, so she decided to hop over into the West to see if any creature wanted a duel. Who knows, it might even lead to a full-scale war, and those were always such fun, so long as she won. No game was worth playing unless she won.
When Asako stumbled upon what appeared to be a strange youkai girl and her young cub, she silently thanked the gods for her great luck. Asako strode purposefully into the meadow.
"Well, well, well, what have we here?" Asako did not even attempt to hide the scorn and arrogance in her voice, "A young mother and her little cub. Where's your mate, dearie, it's not safe in these woods, you know, all kinds of nasty creatures here." Her eyes glinted at Kagome, who calmly stood, holding Shippo.
"You mean creatures like yourself? Or maybe just your face, since the only thing that could be nastier than one of it is two." Asako bristled at Kagome's smooth insults, "But to answer your question, dearie, I don't have a mate, and the little one here is my adopted son. Do you have any more stupid questions to bombard me with, or is it safe to return to my work now?"
Asako snarled at Kagome and leapt for her throat, but the Elf was too fast for her. In the blink of an eye Kagome had dodged the angry demons attack, given Asako a long, deep scratch on her cheek, and stuffed Shippo into a safe hiding place. Recovering from her attack, the vengeful dog-demon whirled to charge. Kagome neatly side-stepped her, however and landed a harsh kick to the Lady's backside, bruising more than just her tail. Now Asako was really angry.
"Just for that I shall make you eat your child's entrails!"
"Enough." said Kagome quietly, "I don't want to kill you, but I will if I have to. Do not provoke me. If you make one more attempt on my life, I shall be forced to reduce you to a pile of bones with ribbons of flesh fluttering in the breeze." Asako growled and charged blindly ahead. Kagome looked genuinely sad as she slashed and cut the youkai. Soon nothing remained but a pile of smashed bones and thin strips of flesh.
Shippo leapt out of the niche where he had been hiding and hugged Kagome fiercely.
"You did it! You did it!" he cried, over and over, as Kagome hugged him close.
"C'mon, Shippo-chan, I've got all the herbs I need. It's time to go face Inuyasha's wrath. Oh, and Shippo?"
"Yes, Kagome-chan?"
"Don't mention this to anyone, okay? It's our little secret." Shippo nodded happily, and squeezed Kagome's hand all of the way back to the camp.
"Where have you been?" thundered a very unhappy Inuyasha, while a very frightened Shippo hid behind Kagome, peering through her legs at an extremely disgruntled hanyou. "I've been worried sick about you! Why can't you just do as you're told and stay at the camp, so I don't have to worry all of the time?"
"Inuyasha, I didn't know you cared."Kagome retorted sarcastically. Turning to the kitsune she said gently, "Shippo, go and help Miroku, please" Facing the dog-demon she said "Inuyasha, you're being waaaay too overprotective. I can take care of myself, now. You don't have to worry."
"But..." Inuyasha murmured, "I want to take care of you." Kagome blushed slightly.
"Inuyasha, you have to understand something. I need to branch out, to discover my new boundaries, to see what I can and cannot do. You've got to let go and trust me a little, okay?"
"I only trust one person with you,"Inuyasha replied with a slight growl, "and that's me. You have to tell me where you're going every time from now on. Do you understand me, Kagome?" The Elf just smiled and patted his arm before going to take care of the herbs she had gathered.
Meanwhile, the Great Demons of the North, East and West had all gathered for an Emergency Council. Their sources had informed them that Lady Asako had been defeated in battle, but no victor had yet appeared to claim the rights to the Southern realm.
"Perhaps," suggested Takahashi, who was the Lord of the North, hesitantly, "They were both killed?"
"No," replied Sesshomaru, "There was only the scent of Asako's blood, the winner didn't have so much as a scratch."
"We must locate this victor before tomorrow." said Tae, who, it turned out, was the Demon of the East. The Lords all agreed to this, and they set out to find the new Ruler of the Southern lands.
Inuyasha was awakened out of a peaceful sleep by the smell of his half-brother, Sesshomaru. 'What's he doing here?' thought Inuyasha irritably, 'What does he want now?' Inuyasha jumped down and stood protectively over Kagome, whose eyes were half-open while she slept under the tree that he had been resting in.
Sesshomaru walked into the clearing followed by three other youkai, whom Inuyasha had never seen, but knew instinctively from their regal bearing to be the other Great Demons.
"What do you want?" Inuyasha growled.
"We want the person responsible for the demise of Lady Asako. Who did it? We traced their scent here."
"Why do you want whoever killed whats-her-face? You gonna glare them to death?" Inuyasha scoffed.
"No, little brother. Whoever did it is now the ruler of the Southern Lands, and by law must shoulder that responsibility."
"Feel free to search, none of us have killed anyone, lately." Sesshomaru nodded to Inuyasha, silently thanking him for his cooperation. The youkai smelled each of Inuyasha's comrades, sniffing Kagome last. They exchanged glances and nods before turning to Inuyasha.
"It seems, my boy," said Tae gently, "That your mate was the one who killed Asako, and is now the Lady of the Southern Lands." Inuyasha's face contorted with disbelief. He was so shocked that he forgot to protest the comment that Tae had made about Kagome being his mate.
"You're lying." he sputtered.
"No, she's not." came Kagome's voice. They all turned to see the Elf in the exact same position, with her eyes half-closed. She spoke again.
"I killed her in self-defense, it was not a challenge. Also, I'm not Inuyasha's mate. We're just good friends." Her eyes remained half- closed, and she still appeared to be sleeping.
"Whether it was self-defense or not has no importance." replied Takahashi, "I'm afraid that there is no hope for it. The Southern Realm is yours whether you like it or not."
"I don't like it, but I'm afraid I have no choice. Where is Asako's stronghold?"
"I will escort you there." Takahashi offered generously.
"Thank you, Demon of the North. I would be much obliged. Inuyasha, I'm afraid this takes priority over our quest. Think you can handle a couple of days without me? Before you go into Kagome-withdrawal, that is." Inuyasha glared at Kagome for one whole minute before responding.
"You're not going." Kagome sighed and shook her head.
"Inuyasha, I have to do this. Please don't make a fuss."
"I said you're not going." Inuyasha snarled, grabbing her arm possessively. Kagome begged and pleaded a bit longer, while the other Great Demons watched, trying not to appear interested in what seemed to be a lover's quarrel.
"Kagome, you wench, you're staying here with me, where I can keep an eye on you." Kagome looked hurt, and began to whine.
"You question my fidelity? Inuyasha, I won't be gone long, just..."
"No!" Inuyasha said, more sharply than he intended. Then Kagome's lower lip began to tremble.
"Kagome, don't do that." said the hanyou, trying to sound stern, and failing miserably. Kagome's silver eyes filled with tears.
"Kagome, that won't work, stop it now!" A quiet whimper escaped her throat, and Inuyasha's defenses began to crumble.
"Kagome, I... Just... Stop it, Kagome! Please don't cry! I said stop crying!" A single tear crept down the Elf's pale cheek. Inuyasha sighed in defeat. "All right, but I'm going with you." Kagome's face lit up with a brilliant smile, but she soon frowned slightly.
"Inuyasha, please be a darling and stay with the others. They need your protection. I'll be fine, and I promise to return in three days, or else I'll send a messenger with a full explanation, all right?" 'Feh' was the demon's only response. She then gently stole over to Shippo's bed.
"Shippo-chan? Sweetheart?" The kitsune mumbled in his sleep, before completely waking up.
"Kagome? What's wrong?"
"I have to go on a trip, love, but I'll be back in three days, so you behave yourself, and keep Inuyasha out of trouble for me, okay?"
"Okay." Shippo muttered groggily, his eyes half closed in sleep, "I love you, Mama." Kagome paused with surprise. Had he just called her 'mama'? But then she had said that she'd adopted him.
"I love you, too, my son. Now go back to sleep." Kagome turned and walked back to the youkai Lords and Lady. She graciously took Takahashi's proffered arm, and allowed herself to be led to his tamed dragon and taken to the stronghold of the Southern Lands. Inuyasha had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach as he watched them go.
*Gasp!* whats going to happen? Why is Inuyasha so worried? Will Kagome officially adopt Shippo-chan? Find out next week! And don't forget to review! If I get ten reviews by Wednesday then I'll update on Thursday. Thanx for reading!
Chapter Two
"Kagoooomeeee!"
"Where are you, Kagome?"
"Kagome, you stupid idiot, come back here right now!"
"Kagome!"
The group of friends had been searching for the lost Kagome for several hours, but not even Inuyasha, with his sharp demon senses could find her. She had been missing since that morning, and Inuyasha was sure that she had been kidnapped. But Shippo was convinced that she had changed, somehow. Inuyasha and Miroku did not believe him, but Sango listened to what he had to say.
"I know it was Kagome, she's just more powerful now. I think that's why she was sick yesterday, she was getting her new powers." Sango somehow knew that the little kitsune was right, but the others didn't want to believe them. Especially not Inuyasha. Kagome was his to protect, and by gum, he was gonna do it!
"Kagome, you moron, this isn't funny! Come out now! Kagome!" screamed Inuyasha.
"Somebody call?" the group jumped at the voice from above. They looked up to see the new Kagome sitting in a tree above them.
"You again! What have you done with Kagome?" Inuyasha shouted, drawing Tetsuiga.
"For the last time, dog-boy, I am Kagome!"
"Oh, yeah?" the hanyou sneered, "Then prove it!"
"You bring this on yourself." Kagome sighed.
"Sit!!!" Inuyasha fell flat on his face, squirming and writhing. It was Kagome! But she smelled a bit different. Shippo latched onto Kagome's neck, and Sango had her arms around her dear friend.
"I knew it was you!" Shippo shouted joyfully, "But only Sango believed me. What happened to you?" Kagome laughed as she ruffled his fur. Miroku came forward slowly.
"I am sorry that I doubted you. Can you forgive me?"
"Yes, Miroku, I can, but only if you remove your lecherous hand from my body this instant! Unless, of course, you also would like a necklace of prayer beads?" Miroku quickly removed his errant hand from Kagome's rear and blushed. Later on, when they had set up camp, Kagome told her story.
"I am an Elf," she began, "And Elves are created a bit differently from most other creatures. The soul of a person who will become an Elf is almost always born in a human body. Then, normally at the age of eighteen, the human body goes through a metamorphosis and becomes that of an Elf, giving the person full access to their powers. But the transformation is often painful. That is why I was," she paused," uncomfortable yesterday."
"But you aren't eighteen!" Shippo piped up. Kagome smiled.
"I know. But for some the transformation comes early. It just depends on the person, I guess. I must admit, though, I had hoped that it was just another false alarm, and that I wasn't really transforming yet."
"You mentioned powers?" said Miroku. Kagome grinned.
"I did. It will not take me long to master them."
"Could you show us?" Inuyasha requested.
"I can try. What would you like me to do?"
"Fly!" yelled Shippo. Kagome ruffled his fur agreeably, then got up and asked, "How high and how far, Shippo-chan?"
"Over the trees and back here." Kagome nodded. Her friends gasped as she changed into a falcon and soared away over the trees, returning to land on Inuyasha's arm. Then she shocked them again as she turned into Shippo's female double. She rushed over and tagged the little kitsune.
"You're it!" she cried joyfully as she bounded away. Shippo laughed and joined her in a rambunctious game of tag. The others stared as the normally sober and proper Kagome rolled in the leaves and dirt with little Shippo. She eventually changed back, and they went to bed. The next morning, they went through their usual routine of searching for shards of the Shikon non Tama.
They had heard rumors of a great spider-demon ravaging a town nearby, and suspected that it was in possession of several shards. While Miroku went to work convincing the local lord that there were bad omens over his house, (other than the spider-youkai, of course), Kagome, Sango and Inuyasha went to see the damage that the youkai had wrought.
"This is pretty bad." said Sango calmly. Kagome agreed.
"I can sense several shards, but it's difficult to say exactly where." she stated factually. Inuyasha huffed.
"Well, you'd better hurry up and root him out, wench, before he attacks again. I'm ready for him."
"Inuyasha." Kagome's voice was dangerously low, and she had that look on her face that meant she was about to 'sit' him, "If you call me one more bad name, I will sit you until your great-grandchildren are old and gray. Do you understand me?" Inuyasha gulped and nodded quickly. Kagome morphed into a falcon again and soared above the small town, feeling for the shards.
"Why do you treat her so poorly?" Sango demanded as soon as Kagome left, "Why can't you just admit that you love her and tell her so? It's obvious to us all that you like each other."
"I.. I, uh..." Inuyasha stuttered, "D.. do I really treat her that badly?" he asked contritely.
"Yes, you do. Just treat her like a lady, Inuyasha, like you care." Inuyasha mulled over this for a while. Kagome returned an hour later on foot, and bearing a tiny bundle.
"What's that?" Sango asked.
"Our demon. I caught him unawares. He had five shards, and they're big ones, too! He sure isn't much to look at, though."
"Hey!" squeaked a tiny voice from inside the parcel.
"Well, you're not!"
"You.. You mean that you took him out all by yourself? And he had five shards?" gasped Sango.
"Kagome! You shouldn't have done that! What if you had gotten hurt? We wouldn't have even known where to begin to search for you. You should be more careful, we need you to locate the shards for us." Inuyasha practically yelled. He was beyond furious! Kagome shouldn't have fought the youkai by herself, she should've come back and gotten the rest of the gang to help. But she seemed fine, she wasn't even scratched. Sango sighed, and thought to herself that Inuyasha needed many lessons on how to treat a lady and decided that she was going to make him a gentleman if it killed him.
"A little touchy, aren't we Inuyasha? Really, I was in no danger. It wasn't a problem."
Kagome knew that what she was doing would upset Inuyasha. He seemed to be getting more protective of her instead of less since her Transformation a week before, and would rarely let her out of his sight. She needed more herbs, however, for her medicine bag, and since only she knew where they grew and how to cut them she decided not to bother the others, and only took Shippo with her, for company.
She laughed as she watched the little kitsune chase butterflies and pounce on grasshoppers. He was so sweet, and so full of life! She loved to play with him, to hear him tell her his funny little stories, or to see him nose-to-nose with Inuyasha, positively bristling with wrath.
Suddenly both Shippo and Kagome froze. There was a youkai coming, and a powerful one at that. The small fox-demon huddled up against Kagome and in a voice quivering with terror he whispered two words. "It's her."
"Who is it?" Kagome whispered back, seemingly undaunted by the power of the unseen foe.
"The Great Demon of the South." murmured Shippo fearfully, "The Lady Asako. She doesn't like kitsunes very much. She's like Inuyasha, a dog-demon. A hound-dog-demon. Kagome, I'm scared!" Shippo was trembling from ears to paw, his little hands clutched tightly around Kagome's neck.
"Hush, now." Kagome whispered soothingly, "No fear! I've got you, Shippo and I won't let anything hurt you. I can protect us now, remember? Just stay calm and do exactly as I say."
The demon of the South, Asako, was itching for a fight that day. The people in her realm, human and youkai alike, were all too frightened of her to be much sport any longer, so she decided to hop over into the West to see if any creature wanted a duel. Who knows, it might even lead to a full-scale war, and those were always such fun, so long as she won. No game was worth playing unless she won.
When Asako stumbled upon what appeared to be a strange youkai girl and her young cub, she silently thanked the gods for her great luck. Asako strode purposefully into the meadow.
"Well, well, well, what have we here?" Asako did not even attempt to hide the scorn and arrogance in her voice, "A young mother and her little cub. Where's your mate, dearie, it's not safe in these woods, you know, all kinds of nasty creatures here." Her eyes glinted at Kagome, who calmly stood, holding Shippo.
"You mean creatures like yourself? Or maybe just your face, since the only thing that could be nastier than one of it is two." Asako bristled at Kagome's smooth insults, "But to answer your question, dearie, I don't have a mate, and the little one here is my adopted son. Do you have any more stupid questions to bombard me with, or is it safe to return to my work now?"
Asako snarled at Kagome and leapt for her throat, but the Elf was too fast for her. In the blink of an eye Kagome had dodged the angry demons attack, given Asako a long, deep scratch on her cheek, and stuffed Shippo into a safe hiding place. Recovering from her attack, the vengeful dog-demon whirled to charge. Kagome neatly side-stepped her, however and landed a harsh kick to the Lady's backside, bruising more than just her tail. Now Asako was really angry.
"Just for that I shall make you eat your child's entrails!"
"Enough." said Kagome quietly, "I don't want to kill you, but I will if I have to. Do not provoke me. If you make one more attempt on my life, I shall be forced to reduce you to a pile of bones with ribbons of flesh fluttering in the breeze." Asako growled and charged blindly ahead. Kagome looked genuinely sad as she slashed and cut the youkai. Soon nothing remained but a pile of smashed bones and thin strips of flesh.
Shippo leapt out of the niche where he had been hiding and hugged Kagome fiercely.
"You did it! You did it!" he cried, over and over, as Kagome hugged him close.
"C'mon, Shippo-chan, I've got all the herbs I need. It's time to go face Inuyasha's wrath. Oh, and Shippo?"
"Yes, Kagome-chan?"
"Don't mention this to anyone, okay? It's our little secret." Shippo nodded happily, and squeezed Kagome's hand all of the way back to the camp.
"Where have you been?" thundered a very unhappy Inuyasha, while a very frightened Shippo hid behind Kagome, peering through her legs at an extremely disgruntled hanyou. "I've been worried sick about you! Why can't you just do as you're told and stay at the camp, so I don't have to worry all of the time?"
"Inuyasha, I didn't know you cared."Kagome retorted sarcastically. Turning to the kitsune she said gently, "Shippo, go and help Miroku, please" Facing the dog-demon she said "Inuyasha, you're being waaaay too overprotective. I can take care of myself, now. You don't have to worry."
"But..." Inuyasha murmured, "I want to take care of you." Kagome blushed slightly.
"Inuyasha, you have to understand something. I need to branch out, to discover my new boundaries, to see what I can and cannot do. You've got to let go and trust me a little, okay?"
"I only trust one person with you,"Inuyasha replied with a slight growl, "and that's me. You have to tell me where you're going every time from now on. Do you understand me, Kagome?" The Elf just smiled and patted his arm before going to take care of the herbs she had gathered.
Meanwhile, the Great Demons of the North, East and West had all gathered for an Emergency Council. Their sources had informed them that Lady Asako had been defeated in battle, but no victor had yet appeared to claim the rights to the Southern realm.
"Perhaps," suggested Takahashi, who was the Lord of the North, hesitantly, "They were both killed?"
"No," replied Sesshomaru, "There was only the scent of Asako's blood, the winner didn't have so much as a scratch."
"We must locate this victor before tomorrow." said Tae, who, it turned out, was the Demon of the East. The Lords all agreed to this, and they set out to find the new Ruler of the Southern lands.
Inuyasha was awakened out of a peaceful sleep by the smell of his half-brother, Sesshomaru. 'What's he doing here?' thought Inuyasha irritably, 'What does he want now?' Inuyasha jumped down and stood protectively over Kagome, whose eyes were half-open while she slept under the tree that he had been resting in.
Sesshomaru walked into the clearing followed by three other youkai, whom Inuyasha had never seen, but knew instinctively from their regal bearing to be the other Great Demons.
"What do you want?" Inuyasha growled.
"We want the person responsible for the demise of Lady Asako. Who did it? We traced their scent here."
"Why do you want whoever killed whats-her-face? You gonna glare them to death?" Inuyasha scoffed.
"No, little brother. Whoever did it is now the ruler of the Southern Lands, and by law must shoulder that responsibility."
"Feel free to search, none of us have killed anyone, lately." Sesshomaru nodded to Inuyasha, silently thanking him for his cooperation. The youkai smelled each of Inuyasha's comrades, sniffing Kagome last. They exchanged glances and nods before turning to Inuyasha.
"It seems, my boy," said Tae gently, "That your mate was the one who killed Asako, and is now the Lady of the Southern Lands." Inuyasha's face contorted with disbelief. He was so shocked that he forgot to protest the comment that Tae had made about Kagome being his mate.
"You're lying." he sputtered.
"No, she's not." came Kagome's voice. They all turned to see the Elf in the exact same position, with her eyes half-closed. She spoke again.
"I killed her in self-defense, it was not a challenge. Also, I'm not Inuyasha's mate. We're just good friends." Her eyes remained half- closed, and she still appeared to be sleeping.
"Whether it was self-defense or not has no importance." replied Takahashi, "I'm afraid that there is no hope for it. The Southern Realm is yours whether you like it or not."
"I don't like it, but I'm afraid I have no choice. Where is Asako's stronghold?"
"I will escort you there." Takahashi offered generously.
"Thank you, Demon of the North. I would be much obliged. Inuyasha, I'm afraid this takes priority over our quest. Think you can handle a couple of days without me? Before you go into Kagome-withdrawal, that is." Inuyasha glared at Kagome for one whole minute before responding.
"You're not going." Kagome sighed and shook her head.
"Inuyasha, I have to do this. Please don't make a fuss."
"I said you're not going." Inuyasha snarled, grabbing her arm possessively. Kagome begged and pleaded a bit longer, while the other Great Demons watched, trying not to appear interested in what seemed to be a lover's quarrel.
"Kagome, you wench, you're staying here with me, where I can keep an eye on you." Kagome looked hurt, and began to whine.
"You question my fidelity? Inuyasha, I won't be gone long, just..."
"No!" Inuyasha said, more sharply than he intended. Then Kagome's lower lip began to tremble.
"Kagome, don't do that." said the hanyou, trying to sound stern, and failing miserably. Kagome's silver eyes filled with tears.
"Kagome, that won't work, stop it now!" A quiet whimper escaped her throat, and Inuyasha's defenses began to crumble.
"Kagome, I... Just... Stop it, Kagome! Please don't cry! I said stop crying!" A single tear crept down the Elf's pale cheek. Inuyasha sighed in defeat. "All right, but I'm going with you." Kagome's face lit up with a brilliant smile, but she soon frowned slightly.
"Inuyasha, please be a darling and stay with the others. They need your protection. I'll be fine, and I promise to return in three days, or else I'll send a messenger with a full explanation, all right?" 'Feh' was the demon's only response. She then gently stole over to Shippo's bed.
"Shippo-chan? Sweetheart?" The kitsune mumbled in his sleep, before completely waking up.
"Kagome? What's wrong?"
"I have to go on a trip, love, but I'll be back in three days, so you behave yourself, and keep Inuyasha out of trouble for me, okay?"
"Okay." Shippo muttered groggily, his eyes half closed in sleep, "I love you, Mama." Kagome paused with surprise. Had he just called her 'mama'? But then she had said that she'd adopted him.
"I love you, too, my son. Now go back to sleep." Kagome turned and walked back to the youkai Lords and Lady. She graciously took Takahashi's proffered arm, and allowed herself to be led to his tamed dragon and taken to the stronghold of the Southern Lands. Inuyasha had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach as he watched them go.
*Gasp!* whats going to happen? Why is Inuyasha so worried? Will Kagome officially adopt Shippo-chan? Find out next week! And don't forget to review! If I get ten reviews by Wednesday then I'll update on Thursday. Thanx for reading!