A/n Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and friends. Ok? Ok.
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I was on my way to see if Kagome was packed. Inuyasha was in a hurry and a bad mood. I knocked on the door.
"Come in!"
I opened the door and saw Kagome rushing about.
"Almost done?" I asked.
"Yes.." She said as she stuffed one last thing into her bag, "Done."
"Good let's go. Inuyasha's in a hurry."
"Ok."
We raced up to Inuyasha's room.
"Wait here." I said as I opened the door.
"Gladly." She replied.
Inuyasha was sitting on his bed looking over tetsusaiga's blade.
"Ready?" I asked.
"Do you have to ask? I have been ready for an hour!"
"Right then, let's go."
He led us outside and to a path. I looked over a map to see what villages we had to pass through.
"Oh, god!" I muttered.
"What?" Inuyasha asked.
"Nothing, nothing. I thought I had forgotten something."
The fact was that one of the villages we had to go through was mine. I just prayed that we wouldn't have to stay there.
Unfortunately we did. By the time we reached the village, it was midnight. Oh, well. At least my brother was home for the night and, if we left early enough, I wouldn't have to see him at all. We got two rooms in the Inn. one for Kagome, and one, of course, for Inuyasha and me. We fell asleep as soon as our head hit the pillow. The next morning, Inuyasha was not in bed. I assumed he went down to get something to eat, but when I got down there, Kagome was there, but Inuyasha wasn't.
"Hey, where's Inuyasha" I asked her.
"He went to get some supplies." She told me.
'Great, by this rate, my brother will hear I'm back in town and come looking for me.' I thought. Unfortunately, I spoke too soon. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see my brother enter the Inn. I stood up quickly and left out the back door. Kagome must have assumed I went to look for Inuyasha and didn't follow. I looked behind me to see if my brother was following, but, when I looked around again, there was my brother.
"Speak of the devil." I muttered.
"Ha, I thought you were never coming back."
"That must've been a pleasant thought for you."
"As a matter of fact it was."
I drew my sword.
"Oooo, big bad Laquisha has a sword."
"Yah, and you better be scared. Believe it or not, I know how to use it."
"Well, it won't do ya any good, being that if you kill me, you'll be hunted down and killed."
"Yah, IF they can find me, and IF they can kill me."
But I knew the law. I wasn't fool enough to kill my brother. I changed the sword into a staff. just to be safe.
"Ha! You know the law, no magic inside city limits. I'm gonna have to take you in." My brother scoffed.
"Over my dead body." I said coolly
"That can be arranged." He replied, pulling his sword out.
He swung his sword at me; I dodged it and hit him over the head with my staff. He fell to the ground with a howl. He tried to get up, but I knocked him back down again. He pulled out a knife and threw it at me. I caught it, but, to my misfortune, the blade went deep into my hand. The scent of my blood and scorpion venom filled my nostrils.. He had doused the blade in the venom. The searing pain shot up my arm, and my vision got blurry. I didn't even see the next punch that came at me. Now that I was disabled, he had no use for his sword. He gave me the most severe beating I had ever had in my life. It didn't take long for me to pass out. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
I was just returning to the Inn with supplies when I caught the scent of blood in the air. Shit, what did she do now? I dropped the supplies off with Kagome and went to find Laquisha. though; it didn't take very long to find her. The scent off her blood was heavy in the air. When I found her, some man was attacking her.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" I asked.
"This is none of your business, stranger. This hanyou was breaking the law." The man replied.
"The hell it ain't my business! That hanyou just happens to be my mate!" I exclaimed, pulling tetsusaiga out.
"Whoa, I'm chief of law enforcement. If you kill me, you'll be hunted down."
"I don't care if you're the ruler over all the humans, you have no right."
Before I finished my sentence, there was a loud crack and smoke appeared out of nowhere. When it cleared, the man was gone. Not caring to go after him, I knelt beside Laquisha. There were numerous gashes over her body and the scent of scorpion venom filled my nose. She was breathing, but barely. She had a heartbeat, but it was weak. I picked her up, being careful of her broken arm, and carried her back into the inn. I set her on the bed, strapped the supplies and her bag onto my back, picked her back up, grabbed Kagome, and left. This village was halfway between the old hag's village and the palace. I decided to go to the Lady Kadae. She probably had a very good remedy for scorpion venom. We reached the village in record time; I had had Kagome trailing behind many times, but she got there in one piece.
Kadae was very hospitable. It seemed that she was used to having to tend to injured people. She was a bit reluctant when she saw that we were both hanyous, but Kagome change her mind real quick when she mentioned something about a gem. What gem? Was it a human code or something?
Kadae tended to Laquisha's expertly and quickly, but she said she could not give her any antidote until Laquisha awakened.
I sat next to Laquisha's mat for what seemed like hours. Finally, she woke up. She opened her eyes, looked around the room, saw me, gave a half smile, and closed her eyes again.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I've been waiting for you for an hour. You are not going back to sleep." I said.
"I feel like shit." She muttered, not opening her eyes
"Yah, I can imagine. That guy was wailing on you pretty good. What did you think you were doing, picking a fight with a guy like that?"
"Ok, that was my brother and I had nothing to do with it." She said, sitting up to look me straight in the eye. Being beaten within an inch of her life had still not gotten rid of her attitude.
"So. he just came up to, stabbed you with a knife drenched in scorpion venom, and started wailing on your ass?"
"Not exactly. you see, when I left to come and work for Sesshomaru, he threatened to poison me with scorpion venom."
"So?"
"I'm deathly allergic to scorpion poison!"
"Oh, well why did he threaten you in the first place?"
"Something to do with me runnin' my mouth again. And the part that he hates my very existence helps too."
"Feh, your mouth is writing checks that your body can't cash."
"Yah, I can feel that."
At that moment, Kadae came in and asked me to leave. Grumbling, I did as told. Even if I didn't like it, I was grateful for the hag's help. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
I had just gotten done talking with Inuyasha and someone I assumed was Kadae came in to give me an antidote. My arm was broken, my eye felt a bit puffy, my ribs were bruised, every inch of me ached from the beating and the venom, and I had a headache the size of Japan. Nice, huh?
After I had taken the antidote, I remembered something I had to tell her.
"Thank you for the care, but there is something else." I said
"Yes?" she asked.
"Danger comes to those who seek the gem and have hearts filled with hatred and greed. Instead, I seek to protect it with a heart of love and generosity." I replied.
She looked at me for a moment, surprised, and then replied,
"If to protect the gem you seek, then I can help. You need knowledge as much as you need strength. I have what information is needed."
"Thank you. I need to know about my mother's curse. Her name was Kagaia. Surely you knew her?"
"Ay, there wasn't a demon, demon slayer, or priestess that did not."
"Intriguing."
"Yes, she was very well known. There wasn't a demon slayer that wasn't out for the price on her head. Everyone feared her and every demon child worshiped her. She came from a very powerful family. Purebred wolf demon, to be exact. Usually, the father will pick out only the strongest of wolf demon males for their daughters, when they come of age, of course."
"How old is of age?"
"Thirteen years. That is when the Esfera de las Hembras was passed down to the oldest female and then have a mate chosen."
I gaped at her. When I was thirteen, I was barely even thinking about guys, let alone mates.
"That seems kind of young."
"That it does, but demon ways have always been strange. Now. about your mother, when she had the orb given to her, she didn't wait around much longer. She ran away from home and began her own life free of rules and a mate. She told me once that under no circumstances was she going to be someone's mate. I guess she thought of human males as more loving. Anyway, after she ran away, she began to make a name for herself. She killed mercilessly. Anyone who got in her way. had to go. That's how she got such a price on her head. Also, every male demon ever heard of sought her as a mate. But. as I told you, she wanted no part of the mating business. Eventually, when she was about twenty years of age, she was befriended by a dog demon named Sesshomaru. She was severely weakened one night after a particularly long and gory battle. But the attacker's village sent another attack on her. Just when it looked like she was about to lose, Sesshomaru came to the rescue. He befriended her and helped heal her wounds, though, of course, she didn't need too much help. After that, they were very close friends and probably would have become mates if it weren't for the curse placed on her."
I gaped at her in sheer horror. Sesshomaru? The demon that purchased me? Oh, god. If my mom had gotten together with him. Inuyasha would be my uncle. Gross.
"That curse is performed by splashing a potion on the victim. That potion's main ingredient is scorpion venom. That is why you're deathly allergic to scorpion poison. After that, the victim is paralyzed until swearing an unbreakable promise to protect a certain person. in your mother's case, Kikyo. Now, this curse also gave the victim extra powers, but she couldn't use them for evil. The extra abilities are: lightning, fire, control of the weather, ect. Because of these abilities, most of the victims were never released from the curse. Now, descendents of those who had the curse placed on them didn't have this limitation. Because of this, most of the descendents were killed as babies, even though the curse was passed down to them and they would be forced to protect. Kikyo died, unfortunately, a year after the curse was performed. That left Kagaia a free woman, but she still couldn't use her abilities for evil. She married a strong human warrior and had you. As you know, your mother was killed seven years after your birth by demon slayers. Kagaia was weakened in the heart towards humans and the attack came as a surprise to her. If you hadn't been elsewhere at the time, they would have killed you too."
I growled. Just when my mother had stopped causing trouble, they killed her.
"Now, of course you have the curse, but Kikyo is dead." She started.
"But I've found Kikyo's reincarnation." I said.
"Yes, I had a feeling you had. That girl you came with looked much like Kikyo. She tells me that you know where the gem is."
"How did she know? Oh well."
I pulled the gem out of the leather pouch around my neck. Kadae looked at me in horror.
"You have it with you?! Do you know what would happen if anyone found out that you had it?"
"Jack squat is going to happen while I have it. My mother told me to protect it with my life and I intend to do just that."
"There are many powerful demons out there that want that jewel."
"Yah, well, I'd like to see them get through me. Besides, if they did kill or hurt me in any way. Inuyasha hunt them down and gut them like a fish."
"Why? I've never heard of Inuyasha protecting someone like that."
"That's because he's never had a mate before."
Kadae looked at me, shocked.
"He finally chose a mate? Why have I not heard about this earlier?"
"Because, we've only been mates for. about three days. And just why is everyone so exited that I'm his mate?"
"Inuyasha swore never to take a mate after. well, one of his loved ones died. This was not good for the kingdom, however, because Lady Rin cannot produce heirs. So. as much as you may hate it. it's pretty much up to you and Inuyasha."
It was my turn to gape at her in horror. I was torn between hurling and laughing. So. I did neither. I just sat there in pure agony. Why had I made that deal with Inuyasha? Why? Now I couldn't do anything about the pup thing. I was a woman of my word, so I didn't think more on it. There was nothing to do.
Kadae got a sad look in her eye. Though, It wasn't sorrow, it was pity.
"Why the sad look?"
"I told you your mother was killed by demon hunters, yes?"
"Yes."
"That is not entirely the truth."
"Then what is?!"
"When I told you that demon hunters killed your mother, that was true and that is all anyone knows, but what they don't know is a demon was behind the attack. His name was Naraku. He led the attack, though he did not fight. He stood by, in a safe area and watched. Your mother fought bravely, but eventually she lost."
I was almost at the breaking point of my anger. I could feel my eyes going red.
"How do you know all this?"
"I was visiting your mother when it happened. She taught me most of things I know. She was my mentor and my friend. That day your father had taken you out hunting, though you really didn't need lessons, and you were not there. You can imagine Naraku was not happy about this."
"Why weren't you killed?"
"Your mother saved me."
"Oh." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
I was listening outside the door.
So.. Laquisha's mother was taken from her? No doubt she'll want revenge. Hell, I'd want revenge for my mother's death. But why did the name Naraku sound so familiar? The thing I really didn't get is how they could compare Kagome with Kikyo. Kikyo looked intelligent AND pretty. But even I had to admit that there were certain similarities.
I could smell my bitch's rage through the door. She really needed to cool down and talking to Kadae was not helping. I decided to go in and try to cool her down.
As I entered, both turned to me.
"Do you have no patience at all?" Laquisha asked. It was more teasing than disrespectful.
Well, at least she had calmed down some. She put something into a leather pouch. I noticed that she was doing better, but she still could not sit up strait. She looked down right exhausted.
"Are you two done talking? Laquisha looks very tired."
She looked at me with gratitude.
"You're right. We'll finish our discussion tomorrow, Laquisha. Get some rest." Kadae said.
She yawned, showing her sharp, white fangs, and laid back down. I lay next to her.
"Laquisha, there's something I've been meaning to ask you."
"Yes?" she asked sleepily.
"About that sword, why do you feel so strongly about it?"
"Do you mean, why did I turn my back on you to get it?"
"Yah."
"That's not the reason I did it. When I got into the crypt, a memory of my mother, persevered for all these years, showed up and talked to me. She told me all about what powers this sword holds and stuff. It was the closest I've come to seeing my mother in a long time."
"Oh."
"Is that all?"
"No. I was kind of listening to your conversation and, well, about the curse thingy."
"You were listening to my conversation?!"
"Yah."
She reached over and smacked me on the head.
"OW! What was that for?!"
"Don't I get any privacy at all?!"
"Not if I don't fell like giving it to you. It's my right as your mate to hear what's going on."
She growled weakly. She was way too tired to be arguing with me.
"Listen. About your mom, I'm truly sorry. I lost mine when I was young too."
"Yes, but was she stolen from you?"
There was bitterness in her voice.
"Yes and no, and I don't blame you for wanting revenge on that Naraku guy, but you've got to heal first. The venom in your blood is slowing your healing. Even with the antidote."
She growled softly and turned to face me.
"I can't beat Naraku alone. As much as I hate to admit it, I need training. This demon has caused trouble in my village before. Not much, but enough to show that he is powerful. Even without training, if no one helps me, Naraku will pay. I promise you that."
Even in the darkness, I could see the crazed determination in her eyes.
"I wouldn't expect anything less. I will help you and I'll try to get Kadae to help you as well."
A smile spread across her lips.
"Thank you." She said, snuggling closer to me. In moments, her breathing got deeper and she fell asleep. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
(An ugly creature entered its master's quarters, yet again.)
"Well? What have you found?" came a cold voice.
"My lord, we have found that the Shikon Jewel is under the protection of a hanyou."
"Where?"
"In the village where Lady Kadae lives."
"Who is this hanyou? How did she obtain the jewel?"
"We believe it is the daughter of Kagaia. We know not how she got the jewel."
"I know how, but I thought Kagaia's daughter was killed."
"As did I, my lord, as did I. But I have more bad news."
"What is it?"
"They have found Kikyo's reincarnation."
"WHAT?"
(The creature sunk to its knees and covered its head.)
"How did this happen? After all the work I went through to get rid of that bitch, turning her against the one she loved and all that."
"We do not know, all we know is she's been a slave most of her life. And please don't kill me, but I have more bad news."
"Tell me."
"Inuyasha has taken a mate."
*sigh* "Who?"
"Kagaia's daughter."
"What?!"
"As unbelievable as it might seem, he has."
"I thought he would never take a mate after what I did with Kikyo. I mean, I made it look as though she betrayed him. Not to mention, taking Inuyasha's form and killing that miko bitch. She died hating him and he's forced to live the rest of his miserable life hating her. The plan was perfect, but it STILL didn't work. She was supposed to KILL Inuyasha, and then wish upon the jewel to live. That would have made it impure and evil. But NO. the stupid bitch had to die peacefully, leaving the jewel under the protection of Kagaia. Kagaia, of course, couldn't refuse or use the jewel for evil, being that the curse was still active. Damn that bitch, I hope she's burning painfully in hell! And even after Kagaia died, I STILL couldn't find that jewel."
The creature was now quivering in fear of its master's rage.
"M-my lord, have you forgotten that the jewel is no longer hidden? You can easily obtain it. It's only a hanyou after all."
"YOU FOOL! Have you forgotten this girl's bloodline?! Hanyou or not, she's still a threat. And, need I remind you; she has Inuyasha to protect her. Not that HE is any threat, but. never mind. Get out of my sight so I can think of a plan."
"Yes, my lord."
The creature practically crawled out of the room. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I woke up to the sounds of birds. I groaned.
"I don't remember going to sleep in a tree." I mumbled stupidly.
I cracked one eye open and saw that there was a tree right outside the window. I growled at the incoming sunlight.
"Who asked it to be morning?" I muttered rubbing my eyes.
I rolled over to see Inuyasha was gone.
"Son of a gun. Of course, HE can leave the bed without my knowledge, but I CAN'T?"
I growled as I got up and got dressed. As I was strapping my sandals on, something made my ears flick back. Inuyasha and Kagome were arguing about something, but I classified it as not important and went about my business. But when I heard the words bitch and other such, er, profanity, I decided to hurry down there.
When I got down there, Kadae was sitting cross-legged, looking as though she had no clue on what to do. I sat next to her and asked,
"What happened?"
She just shook her head and replied,
"They got in an argument, I'm not sure on what it was about. Nor am I sure on what to do."
"I'm sure that doesn't happen very often."
She gave me a look.
"Ok, ok, hmmmmm, do you have something with a subduing spell? Like, prayer beads, or something?"
"As a matter of fact I do, but I don't think it wise to use that on him."
"Oh, well, I'll take the chance. I'll take the blame. Besides, isn't it my duty to protect her?"
"I see your point. Here, take these. You're probably a much better shot than I."
She handed me the prayer beads. I aimed, shot, and they landed perfectly around Inuyasha's neck.
"Child, call out any word in which to subdue him." Kadae said.
"But, I don't know any." Kagome replied.
"It matters not which, just pick a word."
"Um, sit!"
Inuyasha crashed about a foot into the floor. The thing was, I had suggested, "sit" about the same time she had said it. It caused the spell to go into double-time. He let out a muffled sort of ow and that was followed by cursing. I jumped up and helped him out of his crater.
"Are you ok?" I asked with concern.
He grumbled something I couldn't make out, so I took that as a no.
"What the hell is this?" Inuyasha asked, tugging at the beads.
"It's a subduing spell. It means every time Kagome or Laquisha says "sit", you fall face down. It's only meant for one person, but since they said the word at the same time, they both can use it. And don't try to take it off. Nothing you can do will release you." Kadae replied.
"You HAG!" he yelled, lunging at her.
"SIT!" Kagome screamed.
Inuyasha landed, face down, just feet away from Kadae. I waited a moment before going to help him up.
"Chill, Inuyasha. It was my idea. It was in the best interest of Kagome. I can't protect her if you two are at each other's necks all the time. She needs SOME protection from you when I can't help."
"Yes, but you can use it too."
"What? You mean the sit thing?"
Inuyasha crashed to the floor.
"Oh, sorry!"
"What else would I be talking about?"
"I don't know, but when I said sit, it was only a suggestion."
Inuyasha crashed to the floor for a third time.
"I am sooooooo sorry! I just can't ever say the word sit again, can I?"
Inuyasha was kissing the floor, yet again.
"You're doing that on purpose!"
"No, I'm not. I swear! Come on, I'll take you upstairs and give you something for that headache I know you have GOT to have"
When we got halfway up the stairs, we heard the uncontrolled laughter of Kagome and Kadae shushing her. Inuyasha growled, but didn't make a move to do anything about it. When we got to the room, he lay on the futon and I got a cold, damp rag for his head. Then he finally noticed I wasn't supposed to be out of bed when I was limping.
"Hey, what are you doing out of bed anyway?"
"I would still be in bed if YOU had been with ME when I woke up."
"Oh."
I placed the rag on his head and hummed him a song my mother used to sing. When I was done, he was out like a light.
"Works like a charm." I said with a grin.
I went back downstairs.
"Where's Inuyasha?" Kadae asked.
"Sleeping. I kinda accidentally, on purpose, hummed him to sleep."
"Like your mother used to do to you when you were mad?"
"Yes, hey. how did you know about that?"
"I told you, I used to visit your mother. Don't you remember the priestess- in-training that came by and took your mother's attention away from you?"
"Ah, now that you mention it, I do. I can't believe that was you."
"Yes, you've grown nicely yourself. I remember you as a small child with a short temper, but you were well behaved."
"Ah, but good girls are bad girls who don't get caught."
"I couldn't agree more." Came a voice. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
A/n: Dum, dum, dum. do you know whom the voice is? Well, neither do I! Tune in next week to find out! Hee, hee. (I know, I know, I'm weird, but that's ok. I LOVE being weird!)
I was on my way to see if Kagome was packed. Inuyasha was in a hurry and a bad mood. I knocked on the door.
"Come in!"
I opened the door and saw Kagome rushing about.
"Almost done?" I asked.
"Yes.." She said as she stuffed one last thing into her bag, "Done."
"Good let's go. Inuyasha's in a hurry."
"Ok."
We raced up to Inuyasha's room.
"Wait here." I said as I opened the door.
"Gladly." She replied.
Inuyasha was sitting on his bed looking over tetsusaiga's blade.
"Ready?" I asked.
"Do you have to ask? I have been ready for an hour!"
"Right then, let's go."
He led us outside and to a path. I looked over a map to see what villages we had to pass through.
"Oh, god!" I muttered.
"What?" Inuyasha asked.
"Nothing, nothing. I thought I had forgotten something."
The fact was that one of the villages we had to go through was mine. I just prayed that we wouldn't have to stay there.
Unfortunately we did. By the time we reached the village, it was midnight. Oh, well. At least my brother was home for the night and, if we left early enough, I wouldn't have to see him at all. We got two rooms in the Inn. one for Kagome, and one, of course, for Inuyasha and me. We fell asleep as soon as our head hit the pillow. The next morning, Inuyasha was not in bed. I assumed he went down to get something to eat, but when I got down there, Kagome was there, but Inuyasha wasn't.
"Hey, where's Inuyasha" I asked her.
"He went to get some supplies." She told me.
'Great, by this rate, my brother will hear I'm back in town and come looking for me.' I thought. Unfortunately, I spoke too soon. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see my brother enter the Inn. I stood up quickly and left out the back door. Kagome must have assumed I went to look for Inuyasha and didn't follow. I looked behind me to see if my brother was following, but, when I looked around again, there was my brother.
"Speak of the devil." I muttered.
"Ha, I thought you were never coming back."
"That must've been a pleasant thought for you."
"As a matter of fact it was."
I drew my sword.
"Oooo, big bad Laquisha has a sword."
"Yah, and you better be scared. Believe it or not, I know how to use it."
"Well, it won't do ya any good, being that if you kill me, you'll be hunted down and killed."
"Yah, IF they can find me, and IF they can kill me."
But I knew the law. I wasn't fool enough to kill my brother. I changed the sword into a staff. just to be safe.
"Ha! You know the law, no magic inside city limits. I'm gonna have to take you in." My brother scoffed.
"Over my dead body." I said coolly
"That can be arranged." He replied, pulling his sword out.
He swung his sword at me; I dodged it and hit him over the head with my staff. He fell to the ground with a howl. He tried to get up, but I knocked him back down again. He pulled out a knife and threw it at me. I caught it, but, to my misfortune, the blade went deep into my hand. The scent of my blood and scorpion venom filled my nostrils.. He had doused the blade in the venom. The searing pain shot up my arm, and my vision got blurry. I didn't even see the next punch that came at me. Now that I was disabled, he had no use for his sword. He gave me the most severe beating I had ever had in my life. It didn't take long for me to pass out. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
I was just returning to the Inn with supplies when I caught the scent of blood in the air. Shit, what did she do now? I dropped the supplies off with Kagome and went to find Laquisha. though; it didn't take very long to find her. The scent off her blood was heavy in the air. When I found her, some man was attacking her.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" I asked.
"This is none of your business, stranger. This hanyou was breaking the law." The man replied.
"The hell it ain't my business! That hanyou just happens to be my mate!" I exclaimed, pulling tetsusaiga out.
"Whoa, I'm chief of law enforcement. If you kill me, you'll be hunted down."
"I don't care if you're the ruler over all the humans, you have no right."
Before I finished my sentence, there was a loud crack and smoke appeared out of nowhere. When it cleared, the man was gone. Not caring to go after him, I knelt beside Laquisha. There were numerous gashes over her body and the scent of scorpion venom filled my nose. She was breathing, but barely. She had a heartbeat, but it was weak. I picked her up, being careful of her broken arm, and carried her back into the inn. I set her on the bed, strapped the supplies and her bag onto my back, picked her back up, grabbed Kagome, and left. This village was halfway between the old hag's village and the palace. I decided to go to the Lady Kadae. She probably had a very good remedy for scorpion venom. We reached the village in record time; I had had Kagome trailing behind many times, but she got there in one piece.
Kadae was very hospitable. It seemed that she was used to having to tend to injured people. She was a bit reluctant when she saw that we were both hanyous, but Kagome change her mind real quick when she mentioned something about a gem. What gem? Was it a human code or something?
Kadae tended to Laquisha's expertly and quickly, but she said she could not give her any antidote until Laquisha awakened.
I sat next to Laquisha's mat for what seemed like hours. Finally, she woke up. She opened her eyes, looked around the room, saw me, gave a half smile, and closed her eyes again.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I've been waiting for you for an hour. You are not going back to sleep." I said.
"I feel like shit." She muttered, not opening her eyes
"Yah, I can imagine. That guy was wailing on you pretty good. What did you think you were doing, picking a fight with a guy like that?"
"Ok, that was my brother and I had nothing to do with it." She said, sitting up to look me straight in the eye. Being beaten within an inch of her life had still not gotten rid of her attitude.
"So. he just came up to, stabbed you with a knife drenched in scorpion venom, and started wailing on your ass?"
"Not exactly. you see, when I left to come and work for Sesshomaru, he threatened to poison me with scorpion venom."
"So?"
"I'm deathly allergic to scorpion poison!"
"Oh, well why did he threaten you in the first place?"
"Something to do with me runnin' my mouth again. And the part that he hates my very existence helps too."
"Feh, your mouth is writing checks that your body can't cash."
"Yah, I can feel that."
At that moment, Kadae came in and asked me to leave. Grumbling, I did as told. Even if I didn't like it, I was grateful for the hag's help. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
I had just gotten done talking with Inuyasha and someone I assumed was Kadae came in to give me an antidote. My arm was broken, my eye felt a bit puffy, my ribs were bruised, every inch of me ached from the beating and the venom, and I had a headache the size of Japan. Nice, huh?
After I had taken the antidote, I remembered something I had to tell her.
"Thank you for the care, but there is something else." I said
"Yes?" she asked.
"Danger comes to those who seek the gem and have hearts filled with hatred and greed. Instead, I seek to protect it with a heart of love and generosity." I replied.
She looked at me for a moment, surprised, and then replied,
"If to protect the gem you seek, then I can help. You need knowledge as much as you need strength. I have what information is needed."
"Thank you. I need to know about my mother's curse. Her name was Kagaia. Surely you knew her?"
"Ay, there wasn't a demon, demon slayer, or priestess that did not."
"Intriguing."
"Yes, she was very well known. There wasn't a demon slayer that wasn't out for the price on her head. Everyone feared her and every demon child worshiped her. She came from a very powerful family. Purebred wolf demon, to be exact. Usually, the father will pick out only the strongest of wolf demon males for their daughters, when they come of age, of course."
"How old is of age?"
"Thirteen years. That is when the Esfera de las Hembras was passed down to the oldest female and then have a mate chosen."
I gaped at her. When I was thirteen, I was barely even thinking about guys, let alone mates.
"That seems kind of young."
"That it does, but demon ways have always been strange. Now. about your mother, when she had the orb given to her, she didn't wait around much longer. She ran away from home and began her own life free of rules and a mate. She told me once that under no circumstances was she going to be someone's mate. I guess she thought of human males as more loving. Anyway, after she ran away, she began to make a name for herself. She killed mercilessly. Anyone who got in her way. had to go. That's how she got such a price on her head. Also, every male demon ever heard of sought her as a mate. But. as I told you, she wanted no part of the mating business. Eventually, when she was about twenty years of age, she was befriended by a dog demon named Sesshomaru. She was severely weakened one night after a particularly long and gory battle. But the attacker's village sent another attack on her. Just when it looked like she was about to lose, Sesshomaru came to the rescue. He befriended her and helped heal her wounds, though, of course, she didn't need too much help. After that, they were very close friends and probably would have become mates if it weren't for the curse placed on her."
I gaped at her in sheer horror. Sesshomaru? The demon that purchased me? Oh, god. If my mom had gotten together with him. Inuyasha would be my uncle. Gross.
"That curse is performed by splashing a potion on the victim. That potion's main ingredient is scorpion venom. That is why you're deathly allergic to scorpion poison. After that, the victim is paralyzed until swearing an unbreakable promise to protect a certain person. in your mother's case, Kikyo. Now, this curse also gave the victim extra powers, but she couldn't use them for evil. The extra abilities are: lightning, fire, control of the weather, ect. Because of these abilities, most of the victims were never released from the curse. Now, descendents of those who had the curse placed on them didn't have this limitation. Because of this, most of the descendents were killed as babies, even though the curse was passed down to them and they would be forced to protect. Kikyo died, unfortunately, a year after the curse was performed. That left Kagaia a free woman, but she still couldn't use her abilities for evil. She married a strong human warrior and had you. As you know, your mother was killed seven years after your birth by demon slayers. Kagaia was weakened in the heart towards humans and the attack came as a surprise to her. If you hadn't been elsewhere at the time, they would have killed you too."
I growled. Just when my mother had stopped causing trouble, they killed her.
"Now, of course you have the curse, but Kikyo is dead." She started.
"But I've found Kikyo's reincarnation." I said.
"Yes, I had a feeling you had. That girl you came with looked much like Kikyo. She tells me that you know where the gem is."
"How did she know? Oh well."
I pulled the gem out of the leather pouch around my neck. Kadae looked at me in horror.
"You have it with you?! Do you know what would happen if anyone found out that you had it?"
"Jack squat is going to happen while I have it. My mother told me to protect it with my life and I intend to do just that."
"There are many powerful demons out there that want that jewel."
"Yah, well, I'd like to see them get through me. Besides, if they did kill or hurt me in any way. Inuyasha hunt them down and gut them like a fish."
"Why? I've never heard of Inuyasha protecting someone like that."
"That's because he's never had a mate before."
Kadae looked at me, shocked.
"He finally chose a mate? Why have I not heard about this earlier?"
"Because, we've only been mates for. about three days. And just why is everyone so exited that I'm his mate?"
"Inuyasha swore never to take a mate after. well, one of his loved ones died. This was not good for the kingdom, however, because Lady Rin cannot produce heirs. So. as much as you may hate it. it's pretty much up to you and Inuyasha."
It was my turn to gape at her in horror. I was torn between hurling and laughing. So. I did neither. I just sat there in pure agony. Why had I made that deal with Inuyasha? Why? Now I couldn't do anything about the pup thing. I was a woman of my word, so I didn't think more on it. There was nothing to do.
Kadae got a sad look in her eye. Though, It wasn't sorrow, it was pity.
"Why the sad look?"
"I told you your mother was killed by demon hunters, yes?"
"Yes."
"That is not entirely the truth."
"Then what is?!"
"When I told you that demon hunters killed your mother, that was true and that is all anyone knows, but what they don't know is a demon was behind the attack. His name was Naraku. He led the attack, though he did not fight. He stood by, in a safe area and watched. Your mother fought bravely, but eventually she lost."
I was almost at the breaking point of my anger. I could feel my eyes going red.
"How do you know all this?"
"I was visiting your mother when it happened. She taught me most of things I know. She was my mentor and my friend. That day your father had taken you out hunting, though you really didn't need lessons, and you were not there. You can imagine Naraku was not happy about this."
"Why weren't you killed?"
"Your mother saved me."
"Oh." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
I was listening outside the door.
So.. Laquisha's mother was taken from her? No doubt she'll want revenge. Hell, I'd want revenge for my mother's death. But why did the name Naraku sound so familiar? The thing I really didn't get is how they could compare Kagome with Kikyo. Kikyo looked intelligent AND pretty. But even I had to admit that there were certain similarities.
I could smell my bitch's rage through the door. She really needed to cool down and talking to Kadae was not helping. I decided to go in and try to cool her down.
As I entered, both turned to me.
"Do you have no patience at all?" Laquisha asked. It was more teasing than disrespectful.
Well, at least she had calmed down some. She put something into a leather pouch. I noticed that she was doing better, but she still could not sit up strait. She looked down right exhausted.
"Are you two done talking? Laquisha looks very tired."
She looked at me with gratitude.
"You're right. We'll finish our discussion tomorrow, Laquisha. Get some rest." Kadae said.
She yawned, showing her sharp, white fangs, and laid back down. I lay next to her.
"Laquisha, there's something I've been meaning to ask you."
"Yes?" she asked sleepily.
"About that sword, why do you feel so strongly about it?"
"Do you mean, why did I turn my back on you to get it?"
"Yah."
"That's not the reason I did it. When I got into the crypt, a memory of my mother, persevered for all these years, showed up and talked to me. She told me all about what powers this sword holds and stuff. It was the closest I've come to seeing my mother in a long time."
"Oh."
"Is that all?"
"No. I was kind of listening to your conversation and, well, about the curse thingy."
"You were listening to my conversation?!"
"Yah."
She reached over and smacked me on the head.
"OW! What was that for?!"
"Don't I get any privacy at all?!"
"Not if I don't fell like giving it to you. It's my right as your mate to hear what's going on."
She growled weakly. She was way too tired to be arguing with me.
"Listen. About your mom, I'm truly sorry. I lost mine when I was young too."
"Yes, but was she stolen from you?"
There was bitterness in her voice.
"Yes and no, and I don't blame you for wanting revenge on that Naraku guy, but you've got to heal first. The venom in your blood is slowing your healing. Even with the antidote."
She growled softly and turned to face me.
"I can't beat Naraku alone. As much as I hate to admit it, I need training. This demon has caused trouble in my village before. Not much, but enough to show that he is powerful. Even without training, if no one helps me, Naraku will pay. I promise you that."
Even in the darkness, I could see the crazed determination in her eyes.
"I wouldn't expect anything less. I will help you and I'll try to get Kadae to help you as well."
A smile spread across her lips.
"Thank you." She said, snuggling closer to me. In moments, her breathing got deeper and she fell asleep. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
(An ugly creature entered its master's quarters, yet again.)
"Well? What have you found?" came a cold voice.
"My lord, we have found that the Shikon Jewel is under the protection of a hanyou."
"Where?"
"In the village where Lady Kadae lives."
"Who is this hanyou? How did she obtain the jewel?"
"We believe it is the daughter of Kagaia. We know not how she got the jewel."
"I know how, but I thought Kagaia's daughter was killed."
"As did I, my lord, as did I. But I have more bad news."
"What is it?"
"They have found Kikyo's reincarnation."
"WHAT?"
(The creature sunk to its knees and covered its head.)
"How did this happen? After all the work I went through to get rid of that bitch, turning her against the one she loved and all that."
"We do not know, all we know is she's been a slave most of her life. And please don't kill me, but I have more bad news."
"Tell me."
"Inuyasha has taken a mate."
*sigh* "Who?"
"Kagaia's daughter."
"What?!"
"As unbelievable as it might seem, he has."
"I thought he would never take a mate after what I did with Kikyo. I mean, I made it look as though she betrayed him. Not to mention, taking Inuyasha's form and killing that miko bitch. She died hating him and he's forced to live the rest of his miserable life hating her. The plan was perfect, but it STILL didn't work. She was supposed to KILL Inuyasha, and then wish upon the jewel to live. That would have made it impure and evil. But NO. the stupid bitch had to die peacefully, leaving the jewel under the protection of Kagaia. Kagaia, of course, couldn't refuse or use the jewel for evil, being that the curse was still active. Damn that bitch, I hope she's burning painfully in hell! And even after Kagaia died, I STILL couldn't find that jewel."
The creature was now quivering in fear of its master's rage.
"M-my lord, have you forgotten that the jewel is no longer hidden? You can easily obtain it. It's only a hanyou after all."
"YOU FOOL! Have you forgotten this girl's bloodline?! Hanyou or not, she's still a threat. And, need I remind you; she has Inuyasha to protect her. Not that HE is any threat, but. never mind. Get out of my sight so I can think of a plan."
"Yes, my lord."
The creature practically crawled out of the room. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I woke up to the sounds of birds. I groaned.
"I don't remember going to sleep in a tree." I mumbled stupidly.
I cracked one eye open and saw that there was a tree right outside the window. I growled at the incoming sunlight.
"Who asked it to be morning?" I muttered rubbing my eyes.
I rolled over to see Inuyasha was gone.
"Son of a gun. Of course, HE can leave the bed without my knowledge, but I CAN'T?"
I growled as I got up and got dressed. As I was strapping my sandals on, something made my ears flick back. Inuyasha and Kagome were arguing about something, but I classified it as not important and went about my business. But when I heard the words bitch and other such, er, profanity, I decided to hurry down there.
When I got down there, Kadae was sitting cross-legged, looking as though she had no clue on what to do. I sat next to her and asked,
"What happened?"
She just shook her head and replied,
"They got in an argument, I'm not sure on what it was about. Nor am I sure on what to do."
"I'm sure that doesn't happen very often."
She gave me a look.
"Ok, ok, hmmmmm, do you have something with a subduing spell? Like, prayer beads, or something?"
"As a matter of fact I do, but I don't think it wise to use that on him."
"Oh, well, I'll take the chance. I'll take the blame. Besides, isn't it my duty to protect her?"
"I see your point. Here, take these. You're probably a much better shot than I."
She handed me the prayer beads. I aimed, shot, and they landed perfectly around Inuyasha's neck.
"Child, call out any word in which to subdue him." Kadae said.
"But, I don't know any." Kagome replied.
"It matters not which, just pick a word."
"Um, sit!"
Inuyasha crashed about a foot into the floor. The thing was, I had suggested, "sit" about the same time she had said it. It caused the spell to go into double-time. He let out a muffled sort of ow and that was followed by cursing. I jumped up and helped him out of his crater.
"Are you ok?" I asked with concern.
He grumbled something I couldn't make out, so I took that as a no.
"What the hell is this?" Inuyasha asked, tugging at the beads.
"It's a subduing spell. It means every time Kagome or Laquisha says "sit", you fall face down. It's only meant for one person, but since they said the word at the same time, they both can use it. And don't try to take it off. Nothing you can do will release you." Kadae replied.
"You HAG!" he yelled, lunging at her.
"SIT!" Kagome screamed.
Inuyasha landed, face down, just feet away from Kadae. I waited a moment before going to help him up.
"Chill, Inuyasha. It was my idea. It was in the best interest of Kagome. I can't protect her if you two are at each other's necks all the time. She needs SOME protection from you when I can't help."
"Yes, but you can use it too."
"What? You mean the sit thing?"
Inuyasha crashed to the floor.
"Oh, sorry!"
"What else would I be talking about?"
"I don't know, but when I said sit, it was only a suggestion."
Inuyasha crashed to the floor for a third time.
"I am sooooooo sorry! I just can't ever say the word sit again, can I?"
Inuyasha was kissing the floor, yet again.
"You're doing that on purpose!"
"No, I'm not. I swear! Come on, I'll take you upstairs and give you something for that headache I know you have GOT to have"
When we got halfway up the stairs, we heard the uncontrolled laughter of Kagome and Kadae shushing her. Inuyasha growled, but didn't make a move to do anything about it. When we got to the room, he lay on the futon and I got a cold, damp rag for his head. Then he finally noticed I wasn't supposed to be out of bed when I was limping.
"Hey, what are you doing out of bed anyway?"
"I would still be in bed if YOU had been with ME when I woke up."
"Oh."
I placed the rag on his head and hummed him a song my mother used to sing. When I was done, he was out like a light.
"Works like a charm." I said with a grin.
I went back downstairs.
"Where's Inuyasha?" Kadae asked.
"Sleeping. I kinda accidentally, on purpose, hummed him to sleep."
"Like your mother used to do to you when you were mad?"
"Yes, hey. how did you know about that?"
"I told you, I used to visit your mother. Don't you remember the priestess- in-training that came by and took your mother's attention away from you?"
"Ah, now that you mention it, I do. I can't believe that was you."
"Yes, you've grown nicely yourself. I remember you as a small child with a short temper, but you were well behaved."
"Ah, but good girls are bad girls who don't get caught."
"I couldn't agree more." Came a voice. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
A/n: Dum, dum, dum. do you know whom the voice is? Well, neither do I! Tune in next week to find out! Hee, hee. (I know, I know, I'm weird, but that's ok. I LOVE being weird!)