Act Twenty
Inuyasha swept Kagome up in his arms, not waiting to give the she-wolf a reply. Pausing just long enough to make sure she had the pup wrapped in her arms, he ran out of the cave and into the forest, Kouga hot on his heels and followed by Ginta and Hakkaku. He dared not look back to see if the okami youkai were following, or if Kibami had killed Shitsuren yet. All he knew was that he had his mate and pup in arm and he was getting back to the village as fast as he could.
Slowly Shitsuren picked himself off the ground, facing his daughter with a nasty grin. "I always knew you were trouble, from the very beginning. If I had been smart, I would've kept your brother instead of you…"
Kibami lowered her head, a nasty growl vibrating from her throat. She lifted her tail high into the air as every hair on her back stood on end, staring her father in the eye with her emerald gaze. From the corner, she watched Tsukami and Tobokami rise to their feet, their hackles raised.
"You two stay out of this, it's between me and him." She growled. The two pups stopped advancing, but neither dropped their hackles.
Kibami turned her glare back to Shitsuren. Blood speckled the ground beneath him, seeping through a gap in his shoulder where the Wind Scar had hit him. He panted heavily, obviously tired from the endless fighting of the day.
A smile curled as Kibami's lips. "You know, I don't believe I have been happier a day in my life more so than today. To see you put in your place, by a hanyou."
Shitsuren's face was foul as he leaned against the cave wall. "You have no idea how much pleasure it brought to me when I saw that that pup wasn't yours. I could've cried in happiness."
The okami youkai growled in his throat. "How dare you. I have been good to you. I've trained you, I've feed you, gave you shelter-"
"All you've gave me is torment and suffering!" She barked, her voice threatening. "From the moment I was whelped, I watch you beat my brother to make him meaner, I watched you starve my mother so she would mate with you, then watched you rape her. Then, you had the balls to have me kill her, to bathe in my mother and brother's blood. Your mate, your own pup. For years, I watched you bring in pregnant bitches, then made me whelp the pups, then kill them. I had to do this, five times. Five times too many. And, on top of all that, you beat me into submission." Her teeth shone. Her muscles straining, she crouched near the ground.
"You die by my teeth."
Launching herself into the air, Shitsuren narrowly avoided her snapping teeth, which merely closed in on a few hairs. He landed heavily, clearly favoring three legs, holding his forth front off the ground.
Kibami landed and skidded to a stop, dust rising from the cave floor as her extended claws left clear grooves in the ground. An erotic smile crossed her features, a chuckle echoing from her throat. "Slowing down, old man?"
Shitsuren snapped at the air, saliva flying from his saber-like canines. Nose flaring and eyes glowing menacingly, Shitsuren lowered his head, snarling in what could only be described as a less-than-friendly tone. In a lighting movement, he launched himself at Kibami, who was now running circles around her wounded father.
"What's the matter, cant keep up, Daddy?" Shitsuren made a lung, but missed her by a wide margin.
Kibami smiled. The huge youkai was spent, and the wound was now bleeding profusely from all the movement. His movements were slower and slower, more and more pained.
'Its time.'
Lunging from straight in front of his, teeth bared, Kibami hit her father head-on. Knocking him clear off his feet, the cave shook as the two hit the compact dirt floor. Seconds later, Kibami whirled around and clenched onto Shitsuren's throat. Writhing underneath her like a fish out of water, it was all Kibami could do to keep the beast pinned. Biting harder, she could feel the blood gushing out from between her lips. She squeezed her jaws tighter, and felt something crush. Shitsuren ceased all movement as he gasped for air; she had crushed his windpipe.
"You lied to me…" He gasped. Kibami hesitated, but didn't lessen her grip on her father's neck. Slowly her bottle-green eyes traveled up his black pelt and rested on his face, blood dripping from his muzzle, traveling along his sabers, and dripping onto the cold floor.
"You said he would kill me… To avenge his mate…Said he would kill me…" He paused to breath, but only gaped at the air, resembling a fish.
"But as I die…I find myself gazing upon your face…covered with my…blood…"
The great mass of hair stopped moving, and the brilliant steel-slue eyes glassed over, the last trickle of life streaming out of the body. It was only then that Kibami released her iron bite on his throat. Liking the blood from her cream muzzle, she turned to look at her prey. Indeed, she did feel an inkling of respect for her old man, but it was smaller than a microbe.
"So I did lie…But it was all the better, for both you and me…"
Turning, she shook her coat before padding out of the cave softly. As she exited, she could hear her brothers trotting not far behind her. Looking back, she noticed them both heading west, their tails carried high.
Inuyasha didn't slow his pace until he was safely within the village's confines. He trotted over to their hut before carefully placing Kagome on a futon.
"Kagome, are you OK?"
The woman nodded, her eyes glittering as she met his. "I'm just tired, that's all."
He nodded, trusting her judgment. Slowly his eyes wandered down to the small little blanket in her arms. "So why do you still have Shitsuren's pup?" He said in a confused tone.
Kagome peered out from under her eyebrows, her jaw dropped.
"Keh, cant you smell it, Dog-shit?"
Inuyasha turned to look at Kouga who was leaned against the door frame, a smug and joking smile lining his features.
"Smell what?" He retorted.
Kagome laughed before pushing the baby towards the hanyou. Slowly he put out his arms and excepted the newborn, clutching it to his body as if it would brake.
"Go ahead, take a look at her…" Kagome encouraged.
Inuyasha looked up, but agreed. Taking a hesitant clawed finger, he pushed away at the blanket to see a head of black, shiny hair and the tiniest pair of inu-hanyou ears he had ever seen. Slowly the baby opened its eyes, brilliant golden amber.
"But… But there's no way…" He looked from Kagome to the baby and back, dumbfounded.
Kagome's smile widened. "I made a wish, Inuyasha. On the Shikon no Tama."
As the hanyou gazed at her, she could almost see the small wheels turning inside his head. He turned to gawk at his little daughter.
"I made a wish too…But, I never thought…" He gently played with the pup's hands as the tiny girl reached up to grasp his clawed fingers. Already he could see her fingernails were longer than usual, hinting future claws.
From his place in the doorway, Kouga could see that he was intruding on a private moment. Watching the couple and their baby made him long for his own pregnant mate. Slowly he turned and started away.
"Kouga."
The youkai stopped and turned to look at the hut. From inside, Inuyasha emerged, still holding the little pup. He nodded in acknowledgement and Inuyasha bowed slightly.
"Thank you for helping, Kouga."
The wolf youkai brushed off the thanks with a wave of the hand. "Keh. Whatever. Call me when you need me. Just expecting you to return the favor."
Inuyasha nodded. "Yea, any time."
Kouga offered a weak smile before turning around. In a cloud of dust, he ran off towards the mountains.
Inuyasha watched him retreat before looking at the pup in his arms, still in disbelief. Now whining, she screwed up her face and began to thrash her arms around. Holding her close, he began to growl. Not a vicious one, like he used to intimidate, but rather an affectionate, soothing tone. Turning around to face the hut, he ducked under the door flap, moving beside Kagome. Carefully the pup transferred arms and Kagome lifted up her shirt to allow the pup its first meal.
"I only have one question, Inuyasha."
The hanyou looked up to meat his mate's gaze. "Wuzzat?"
"She's half-demon, right?"
Inuyasha nodded, obviously slightly confused about his mate's question. "Yea…"
"Well, didn't you say that on the night of the full moon, if I was mated, the baby would be a full demon?"
Inuyasha thought it over. "Well, it's a little different with hanyous…"
Kagome frowned slightly. "Then why am I hearing this now?"
Inuyasha ignored her question. "With hanyous, if your mated on the full moon, the pup will be hanyou. If you were mated on the new moon, the pup would be human."
Kagome nodded.
The silence lasted while the baby continued to suckle, Kagome watching her with pride. Slowly Inuyasha sidled up behind her, rubbing her back, her neck, when his fingers brushed over the scar on her neck. Slowly, meticulously, he pushed her hair aside. Carefully he lowered his fangs over the mark, and bit her in a swift movement, puncturing the skin.
Strangely, Kagome felt nothing. 'Because of the blood bond, that I don't feel any pain.'
She turned to look at her mate, but he pressed a hand to her cheek to still her. He watched as the skin bound together, covering over the old scars, leaving only unblemished skin in its wake.
"What was that for?" She asked finally when the hanyou peeked over her shoulder.
Inuyasha shrugged. "Its what mates do when they have a pup together, it seals the deal, so to speak."
Kagome nodded. She felt the weight of her lover's head on her shoulder as he rested it.
"What'll we name her?"
Kagome looked down affectionately at her daughter. "How about Kuchizuke?"
Inuyasha shook his head. "Naw…What about-"
"Kiskoseki."
Inuyasha looked at his mate. "Yea. Kiskoseki. I like it."
Kagome smiled as she pulled her daughter away from her breast and held her against her shoulder, patting her back softly. After a small burp escaped from her lips, Kagome cradled the child in her arms, mother and father watching protectively as their pup slept.
Slowly Inuyasha bent down to kiss the small girl's smooth forehead.
"Kiskoseki."
Kiskoseki: Miracle child of the JewelKiseki: Miracle
Ko: Child
Hoseki: Jewel
A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in a really long time. They keep on shutting down the computer lab at school, finals are killing me, and I haven't had any time to write. And now my life is at a new dilemma! I just realized how much I like one of my best friends, A.J.! But, here's the catch(es). I have a boyfriend who I love very much, and A.J. lives in Salem Oregon, nearly four hours away from my po-dunk town. I've talked to him every night for a while now, and I know he really likes me too. But, he's in 7th grade and I'm in 9th. But he acts like a high-schooler and looks like one two! crys I highly doubt I'll dump my boyfriend for him, though. Because I love Kevin waaaay too much and I've done something stupid like this a while back, and it didn't work out. So here's to my baby, for being here for me always! (Even when I'm being really stupid and thinking about this, like now.) Oh, and just another comment, I find it highly entertaining that all my reviewers call Shitsuren 'Shit-head', LMFAO! And the moon/hanyou reference was once again a Sueric idea! Too Taloo!
