All standard disclaimers apply.
Chapter 13
Now to Explain This All…
Tsunade almost died of a heart attack when they came in with Naruto slung over Kurama's shoulder. She almost died again when Hiei tossed two heads – that were still leaking blood – onto her desk, one with long black hair the other with tufts of bloodied silver. The news that three strangers and the jinchuuriki had killed off the most threatening traitor of their generation soon spread through the village like wildfire.
Kurama had been drafted by his friends to give the Hokage a report – mainly because neither Hiei nor Yuusuke could think of a reason as to why they should bother with the medicnin-Hokage. His report was concise and to the point, leaving out nothing important – that she should, or at least was licensed, to know.
Naruto was admitted into the hospital with minor wounds – most of them made by the forcing of mass amounts of youki through unconditioned pathways – and chakra drain. He was out and bouncing around town in two days, much to the amusement of his friends. He refused to allow his friends to treat him any different now that he had killed Orochimaru, much to the amusement of the Spirit Detectives.
Kurama had rented an apartment in the upscale part of town with the bounty money he had gotten from Itachi as well as his share from both Orochimaru and Kabuto. Yuusuke moved in with the former avatar, saying that since it was only going to be a couple of months until they could get back to work, they might as well have some fun. But he later admitted it was because he just didn't want to cook for himself. Hiei, on the other hand, disappeared for a couple days, presumably to give his report to Koenma and to check up on their friends in the Ningenkai.
Naruto and Kurama spent much of their time hanging around the Village – with Yuusuke as a 'bodyguard' – as their female alter egos Sachiko and Koyoko. Yuusuke had a lot of fun poking fun at the easy way Kurama slipped into femininity but Kurama only said, nose in the air, that he had been trained to become a master thief and as such should be able to slip into any guise. Yuusuke, of course, pointed out that Yoko probably had not counted on the redhead actually being able to switch genders with the seal of a hand.
Overall, life on this sub-world was doing pretty well for the time being.
"Oi! Sachiko-chan!" waved an overenthusiastic Lee. Naruto cringed and Yuusuke grinned.
"Hey, you brought this upon yourself you know," he said unsympathetically.
"Hey!" Naruto defended, "It's called the Sexy no jutsu for a reason, you know,"
"Which is why it's your fault. You made the technique,"
"Sachiko-chan!" Lee gushed, "How are you doing? I haven't seen you in weeks!"
"Hello Lee. I'm fine. I have been out of town on business. A very distant cousin of an aunt's roommate died and I just had to attend the funeral," she lied outright. Lee did not catch it but Yuusuke and Kurama snickered behind their hands. "I'm sorry that I have to cut this short but Koyoko-chan promised to take me shopping and it's better if we get a head start on that. By the way, have you seen Sakura?"
The stars in Lee's eyes were enough to answer that question so Kurama snatched Naruto by her collar and fled.
"Close call," Naruto panted when they finally ground to a halt.
"That guy is creepy," Yuusuke stated, "I mean, what's up with those eyebrows?"
"I still haven't figured out why he doesn't pluck them," Kurama agreed.
"While having that much hair of an youkai's upper face is nothing special on a human it is definitively disturbing," Hiei seconded as he stepped into the sub-world.
"Hey Hiei," Kurama and Yuusuke said at the same time.
"How are things back home?" Kurama asked.
"About the same," Hiei shrugged, "Kagome's nearing her due date and your mothers send their regards. Koenma is trying to overwork the idiot and me because you two are stuck here but other than that nothing new,"
"How many more months does Kagome-chan have?"
"Depending on what side of the family the kit takes after, anywhere up to three,"
"There is that," Kurama conceded.
"So what are you planning on doing to occupy your time here?"
Kurama shrugged, "I have been trying to talk one of Naruto's old sensei into training me in the local techniques. All I need is a whirlwind apprenticeship so that I can get a better understanding of what the books are explaining. After that I can work straight out of the texts," Hiei nodded.
"I don't understand you, Kurama," Yuusuke complained, leaning lazily against a wall, "You finally get some time when His Royal Shortness can't call you out for work and you want to study. I can't wait to spend this vacation sunning on some beach or ripping off a pachinko parlor. Anything to get away from the Old Hag of Pure Evil,"
"Old hag of…oh. Genkai-sama," Kurama nodded, "But you know went you get back she's only going to train you even harder to make up for lost time,"
"Not the point. I'm planning on taking this time easy. Sure, I'll spar but I'm not getting up before dawn to do handstands on a needle,"
Naruto's eyes widened, "Handstands on a needle?"
"With one finger," Yuusuke grinned, holding up his abused pointer finger.
"What is the point of that?"
"Ki control. In order to stay balanced and not skewer your hand you need a steady flow of reiki through your finger and into the needle," Yuusuke explained. Naruto nodded.
"Like walking on water or up trees,"
Yuusuke was impressed, "You can walk on water? Cool! You have got to show me how to do that!"
"The theory is simple," Kurama scratched an itch behind her ear, "Just maintain a steady flow of ki from the soles of your feet that harmonizes with the water's surface. Too little and you sink. Too much and you push the water away,"
Naruto nodded, "That's about it. But it's harder than it sounds, especially when you're trying to do it in the middle of a fight,"
"Hold on," Kurama said, her mind shifting directions, "Naruto, have you spoken with your teammates since we got back?"
Naruto paused, standing stalk still for a second, then wilted. "Crap. I knew I was forgetting something,"
"You're on a team?" Yuusuke asked, interested. Naruto nodded.
"Yeah, Sasuke and Sakura. And Kakashi sensei too. Sakura's really pretty but she's always hanging all over Sasuke who's such a jerk,"
"I've met them," Kurama tossed in, "I don't know how well they fight but it's true that Sakura-chan is always hanging onto Sasuke-kun much in the way that my fanclub would like to hang off of me," she shuddered. Yuusuke cracked up at the expression on his friend's face.
"I'm starting to pity the guy. No one deserves a fate like that," the toushin laughed.
"I thank you for the sympathy," Kurama said sarcastically.
"No sweat. Anything for a friend, you know," was the equally sarcastic reply.
So went the two Spirit Detective's 'vacation' in the Village hidden in the Leaves. Naruto introduced – actually formally introduced rather than a passing introduction – Yuusuke to his teammates and their sensei. The toushin had decided not to worry about his hair that day, leaving it free of any gel, making the battle youkai appear younger and softer, almost gentle.
For some reason beyond anyone's comprehension him and Sakura just hit it off from the start. Love at first sight, such a wonderful thing. Needless to say it left some very confused friends as the battle-trained toushin and medicnin in training both blushed like schoolchildren when they first clapped eyes on each other. Now that they weren't confined to the Hokage's office with an imminent battle looming over their heads they could finally take notice of one another.
And notice they did!
It was probably even stranger for the Konoha natives to see the pink-haired kunoichi blushing over someone who was not Uchiha Sasuke. Ino, of course, rejoiced that the competition had been removed from the running. Meanwhile Sakura and Yuusuke were making eyes at each other whenever they could.
But they weren't getting away with it. All of their friends teased the two mercilessly. Hiei remarked that it was about time that he had gotten over Keiko even if it was for some cotton-candy-haired human kunoichi. Kurama just commented that he was amazed that Yuusuke allowed himself to fall in love.
Yuusuke protested at that one. Why shouldn't he? He asked.
Sakura, on the other hand, had to endure the public's disbelief that she had fallen for someone so…rough, so wild.
"He's like Naruto," Ino commented watching the toushin laugh at something Kurama said, "Only darker,"
"He's not like Naruto," Sakura protested, "Naruto's such a child while Yuusuke-kun is…"
"A goofball?"
"Shut up, Ino-pig!"
"Why should I, Forehead-girl?"
And so on and so forth.
The months passed with surprising ease and speed. Soon Hiei brought word that Kagome had gone into labour and had given birth to a girl. And that she was planning on coming with Yoko to Konoha in order to bring Kurama and Yuusuke home.
"They're coming," Hiei warned, pooping into the forest where the welcoming part had gathered. Along with the spirit detectives and Team seven there was also Tsunade and a handful of masked ANBU.
"They?" Tsunade asked. The Spirit Detectives all shot her a look.
"What? You think that Yoko's just going to let her go gallivanting around the Worlds the day after she gave birth to their first kit? And you call yourself a Medic," Yuusuke rolled his eyes. The ANBU shifted uneasily. They had not been informed about this 'Yoko.'
"Why is she coming now if she's just given birth?" Tsunade inquired, confused greatly.
"Because she was forbidden from doing any spellcasting while she was pregnant in case her mikoki adversely affected the kit," Kurama explained as if the fact was glaringly obvious, "it's difficult enough for a youkai and a miko to have a relationship without loosing kits in the process,"
A burst of pink ki distracted the waiting group. ANBU reached for their weapons. Tsunade tensed. Team seven took a step back. The Spirit Detectives smiled, holding their ground.
"Kurama!" Kagome cried when the light faded. She rushed forward as quickly as her labour abused body could move and threw her arms around his neck. "How have you been? We've missed you,"
"Kagome-san," Kurama smiled and hugged the little miko back.
"Brat," Yoko interrupted, somewhat distracted by a) the plants, b) the present shinobi and c) the amazing plants, "unhand my mate before you loose an arm,"
"Nice to see you too Yoko,"
"I see you have been doing fairly well for yourself. Made some friends?" he nodded at the natives, his silver hair falling over the human ears of his illusion. The tail, ears, fangs and claws were all he had to change in order to appear human. He didn't even bother to darken his silver hair to black.
"Friends, employer, and their various henchmen," Kurama shrugged.
"Hey!" Naruto protested. No one paid him any attention.
"Yuusuke!" Kagome moved on to her cousin, "You haven't been causing any trouble here, have you? No unnecessary fighting, no extorting, nothing like that?"
The young toushin backed away from her, hands held up defensively, "Hey, is that any way to greet me after all these months? Gee, thanks,"
"Which means you were a pain in the tail, right?" Spot on.
"Probably," he conceded.
"Oh!" she whirled back to her husband, relieving him of a bundle of multicoloured blankets he had been holding carefully in the crook of his strong arm, "Look who we brought! It's her first trip, and it's to another world at that! How lucky," Kurama and Yuusuke moved closer to get a better look at the infant. All they could see was a round face and tufts of feathery silver hair since everything else was covered by blankets.
"What is it?" Yuusuke asked, joking. Kagome smacked him over the head with her fist.
"Her name is Koyoko-chan. She's your new cousin,"
Kurama and Naruto almost died of pure shock. What are the odds?
"Koyoko? How did you come by that name?" Tsunade asked, knowing why the aforementioned boys were choking.
"Well," Kagome smiled brightly, "She's the child of a Spirit Fox, so Koyoko-chan is perfect, don't you think?"
"Oh, it's a wonderful name," Tsunade assured with a grin, "And I'm sure that Kurama-san agrees, don't you?"
"Why wouldn't I?" Kurama asked smoothly, recovered.
"Anyways," Kagome continued blithely, "Kurama, you really should introduce us to your friends,"
"Oh! Forgive me," Kurama apologized, "Kagome, Yoko, this is Naruto, who I wrote you about, his teammates: Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura and their sensei Hatake Kakashi. And this is the leader of the village, Tsunade-sama. Everyone, this is Kagome, resident miko of the Higurashi Shrine and one of the last living Traditional Miko in the whole of the Ningenkai, and her husband and Mate, Yoko,"
Yoko frowned at his former avatar, "What? Not going to tell them about me? Where are your manners, Kit?"
"Kitsune already have a bad reputation here without you adding to it," Kurama teased. Yoko frowned some more at the redhead.
"Watch your tongue, brat," he scowled.
"What?" Kurama asked innocently, "It's the honest truth. Although the problem they have with kitsune stems from a rash misunderstanding from one violent encounter two decades ago…"
"Misunderstanding," Tsunade groaned, rubbing here temples. Kagome nodded.
"Kurama told me all the details in his letters about what Chitose-san did and all I can say is yes, it was a misunderstanding. Kitsune are tricksters, not warmongers. She was only trying to do what any mother in her place would have done. I admit that if it were me in her place I would have done something along those same lines," Kagome nodded, smiling down at her child, "No one harms my family and gets away with it,"
"Ain't that the truth," Yuusuke grinned, "the last two who tried are going to regret it for a very long time,"
"Well," Kagome smiled a little, not a nice smile but the hard smile of a blooded fighter, "that was the whole point you know. It's nice to have favors that I can call in at any time,"
"You mean having the Lord of the Afterlife under your thumb for something you did for him five hundred years ago as well as having the Lord of all the Makai as your brother?"
"Exactly," she smiled at her cousin, "And people say that toushin can't understand anything outside of warfare,"
"Well," he shrugged, "I am only a hanyou,"
"Kagome," Yoko interrupted, "Enough. I won't allow you to strain yourself,"
Kagome nodded, "Sorry. Standing isn't bothering me right now but you're right. Kurama, is there anywhere we can go to talk? I did give birth just yesterday and the midwife said that I should avoid any strain while I heal. As much as I hate taking it easy I don't feel like crippling myself for the rest of my suddenly extended life,"
"Not a problem. I've rented an apartment in the Village. We can go there if you wish,"
"Sounds wonderful,"
Yoko insisted on carrying his mate and their child to Kurama's apartment. Tsunade dismissed the ANBU guard and Sasuke and Kakashi decided to leave for their respective homes. Sakura opted to tag along, holding Yuusuke's hand the whole time.
Kagome had to raise an eyebrow at that.
"Nice place, Kurama," Yoko commented, sitting Kagome down at the kitchen table. Kagome smiled up at her handsome kitsune and he dropped a kiss onto the top of her head.
"Glad you approve," Kurama smiled. He was truly glad that Yoko had found someone, and that he had a body of his own so that he and Kagome could be together without a captive audience.
"Now, Sakura-chan? When did you meet my cousin?" Kagome asked. Sakura blushed.
"Well, Kagome-san, I was there when he first came with Hiei-san but we didn't really meet until a couple weeks after that," she explained. Kagome smiled.
"Ah, love at first sight, eh?"
Sakura nodded, blushing even harder.
"And it looks like Yuusuke's fallen too," Yoko tossed in, teasing. Yuusuke scowled at the silver kitsune.
"Of course he has," Kagome smacked Yoko's arm lightly, "How could he not? Just look at her. She's just his type. Bet she could hold her own in an argument too,"
"Better than that," Hiei tossed in, smirking a little.
"Kagome-san?" Sakura asked, "Can I hold…" she motioned to Koyoko, who was still sleeping. Kagome nodded and passed the child over. Sakura took her as gently as she could and smiled down at the sleeping face.
Yoko frowned. Kagome took his hand, reassuring him that all would be well.
"How long until you can attempt another move, Kagome?" he asked. Kagome shrugged.
"Not until tomorrow, at least," she guessed, "But I want to go to Makai and visit Sesshoumaru and Shippou,"
"Should we warn them?" Yoko eyed Hiei.
"Probably a wise idea. It is rude to drop in unannounced after all," Kagome nodded absently. Hiei scowled and vanished, presumably to the Makai.
"How long have you been married, Kagome-chan? You don't look much older than me," Sakura asked. Kagome smiled at her.
"Yoko and I have been married for almost a year and a half now,"
"And you guys are the same age," Yuusuke pointed out.
"Wow," Sakura said, "Why did you get married so young?"
An amused silence followed her question. Then: "Like Yoko could wait any longer?"
"Shut up, Kurama," Yoko scowled.
"Okay, this is obviously a story I have to hear,"
"Well," Kagome began, "Where to begin,"
"I have heard that it is always best to being at the beginning," Kurama advised. Kagome frowned at him.
"The problem being when the beginning begins. Well, let's start on my birthday,"
"Your birthday?" Sakura shifted Koyoko-chan, trying to relieve the strain her arms were feeling from holding the little weight for so long.
"Yes, my sixteenth birthday at that. I kinda got pulled down a magical well that was in out family shrine and was dragged five hundred years in the past,"
"The past?"
"Yes. And believe me I did not like it at first. There I was, a modern girl, accustomed to microwaves and hot showers and suddenly I had waves of youkai breathing down my neck. Thankfully, Sesshoumaru happened to be passing by at the time. He rescued me and dropped me off at a nearby village so that I could be trained in my miko powers. Kaede-sama was a good sensei and she taught me a lot about herbs, combat and mikoki control and spellcasting. Later I managed to pick up Shippou-chan, who was just a baby at the time, and after that Sesshoumaru offered to adopt me into the House of the Moon. It was grand until I was kidnapped by an evil hanyou named Naraku," she paused, shivering. Yoko held her hand. "Thankfully he's Bound now. When Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha – that's Sesshoumaru's half brother – and Inuyasha's friends finally got to me I wasn't in very good condition. I had retreated so far into my mind that I was able to pull my soul from my body. It was very disconcerting, but that's when I met Enma-sama, the Lord of the Afterlife. He asked me to do him a favor and I agreed on the condition that Naraku's soul would be bound for eternity, denying him reincarnation. Enma-sama agreed and I was helped back into my body. That's when I created the Barrier of Worlds,"
"What's that?" Tsunade asked.
"Well," Kagome bit her lip, "back before I set it up there were roughly two worlds, but the line that separated them was very fuzzy. There was the mortal world and the spirit world. Unfortunately, because the border was fuzzy, the spirit world was loosing many passed on souls to the mortal world. And the mortal world couldn't progress because the two native populations were always at odds with each other. The humans who procreated like rabbits and the Youkai who preyed upon them, both of them loving war far too much for their own good. One was too plenteous and their sheer numbers were a threat to the other who loved bloodshed as a way of life. They were killing each other. The Barrier basically set up another world, mirror to the human world, for the youkai, and strengthened the veil between the mortal worlds and the Afterlife. So, for the past five hundred years the humans, spirits and youkai have been living separately, for the most part. Although, it seems when I created the Worlds I did not make the division between the Ningenkai and the Makai definite enough since this sub-world resulted," she frowned.
"That's why we have both human and youkai?" Naruto asked. Kagome nodded.
"But back to my story. After finishing my training under Sesshoumaru – which was no picnic, I'll tell you that – I returned to my own time for my little brother's birthday. Everything was fine until he got kidnapped in the middle of the night. Oddly enough, Yuusuke and his team had been put on the case that dealt with his kidnapper by Enma-sama's son, Koenma. When I insisted on joining them they all protested,"
"You can't blame us, Kagome," Yuusuke sighed, "How were we to know that you had been extensively trained by a Taiyoukai as well as a miko and a priest? You were always so innocent when we were growing up,"
"The toushin has a point," Yoko admitted.
"Anyways," Kagome broke in, "I finally convinced them to let me come and from there we hooked up with Sesshoumaru and Shippou – who Sesshoumaru had raised for me while I was gone for five hundred years. What a good brother. Kouga-kun and Ayame-chan tagged along as well and Sesshoumaru resurrected Miroku-sama, who had been one of my sensei in the past and we all went hunting down Souta's kidnapper. We killed him and all of his minions when we found him, rescuing Souta and another boy along the way. Then everyone came over to my family shrine to regroup and get their wounds treated. It was only a couple weeks after that that Yoko proposed and a few months later we were married,"
"Whirlwind engagement?" Sakura asked, amused.
"It's a kitsune thing," Yoko shrugged. Kurama and Naruto nodded.
"What? Whirlwind engagements?"
"No dear," Kagome corrected gently, "Kitsune have an inborn ability granted to them by Inari-sama for being his messengers that allows them to know at a glance who they are meant to Mate with. Although that's only the first step after that they tend to fall in love very quickly. Yoko felt that I was his One at least a day or two before he started to fall in love with me. If it weren't for the fact that I'm a human Yoko and I would have been bound together within days of his declaring his suit,"
"Provided Sesshoumaru and Shippou allowed that," Yoko amended.
"Like they could have stopped me?" Kagome snorted.
"Maybe not but they would have been less than pleased with me,"
"Not that your waiting for their permission made much of a difference," Kurama pointed out, "Shippou-san still dislikes you,"
"I can't blame him," Yuusuke frowned at Yoko.
"What'd Yoko do?" Naruto asked.
"He kissed me," Kagome grinned. Sakura blinked.
"That's it?"
"Well…" Kagome grinned.
"Kagome," Yoko sighed.
"Yes dear?" she looked up at him with innocent blue eyes. He gave her a pointed look. "What? I like her. I have a feeling she will be the best thing that happened to him," she said, as if she had read his mind. Apparently she had because the silver kitsune rolled his eyes and leaned against a handy wall.
"You said that you had been trained in combat," Tsunade commented. Kagome nodded.
"By the best,"
"Did you…" the Hokage looked uncomfortable, her eyes moving between Yoko and Kagome, "Did you have any trouble conceiving?"
Kagome paused, her eyes flicking over to her mate, who was glaring at the overly endowed blond medicnin. "Yes, because I had what we call athletic amenorrhea,"
Tsunade's eyes widened in recognition, "Yet you could still carry?"
"Let me guess," Yoko cut in, "it is a condition all too common in your village?"
She nodded. Kagome smiled. "The solution is fairly simple. Just decrease the exercise time and allow the body to regain some of its fat content. That's what the doctor told me to do and it worked," she motioned to Koyoko-chan who was just now starting to stir. Kagome stood and gathered her child back into her arms and excused herself from the room.
"But that's a problem, isn't it Hokage-san?" Yoko asked seriously. Tsunade nodded.
"As much as I hate it, it is. We are a Village of fighters. That is our way of life,"
"Then spread the word so that when couples want to have a brat they should come talk to you," Yuusuke advised.
"Brat?" Sakura exclaimed, sounding offended. Tsunade cracked a smile. "What a thing to call them!"
"What?" Yuusuke asked, confused as to what he said wrong. Sakura punched him in the arm. He yelped in real pain. "Hey! That hurt!"
"Good. They're not brats,"
"Whatever,"
"Now children," Tsunade chided, "Calm down. You can flirt later,"
"Hm," Yoko mused, contemplating the toushin and the kunoichi, "perhaps you two are right for each other,"
"The problem being that we come from different worlds," Sakura sighed, slumping in her chair. Yuusuke nodded unhappily.
"Ah, but you forget one thing,"
"What?" Yuusuke narrowed his eyes at the kitsune thief.
"Kagome-chan," Yoko answered as if that explained everything. He got nothing but blank looks. So, sighing, he elaborated, "She can probably still tweak the Barrier Scroll to allow another talisman like Sesshoumaru-sama's and Shippou's,"
Understanding dawned bright on Yuusuke and Kurama. Everyone else remained in the dark.
"I don't understand," Sakura complained quietly.
"He means that Kagome might be able to make something for me to allow me to cross through the Barrier without needing anyone else," Yuusuke grinned madly. Yoko nodded.
"But not now," he cautioned, "She's running low from the birth as well as all this traveling. Since she wants to visit the Makai as well it's going to take at least a month before she will be able to attempt enchanting an amulet to cross the Barrier,"
"A month?" Yuusuke thought about it, "you think I could stay here for that time?"
"Not a chance," Yoko snorted, "If it fails then I refuse to allow Kagome to go traipsing around the Worlds again just to rescue your sorry hide,"
"You jerk," Yuusuke shook his fist dangerously.
"Yuusuke can take care of himself," Kurama defended his friend halfheartedly. Yoko shot his former avatar a sharp look.
"Yuusuke, for a human, your mother is one terrifying woman. She is Kagome's mother's sister and as such is family. I don't feel like dealing with the repercussions that would occur if you were to leave her alone in the Ningenkai," Yoko growled. Yuusuke paused.
"You're right. Mom wouldn't take it well if I just up and vanished. It would be worse than the time I died," he whispered, "It'd kill her,"
"You care about her, don't you?" Tsunade asked with a small smile.
"Of course I do. She's my mom. Sure she's a drunk and completely unreliable but she's still my mom," he shrugged.
"And Yuusuke's a softie, even if he's rough around the edges," Kagome declared as she reentered the kitchen. Yuusuke scowled at her even as she handed him the cooing Koyoko-chan. He held the child awkwardly as she showed him how to position his arms to keep her head from falling back. Sakura leaned over and tickled the hanyou child's nose earning a little frown and sneeze.
Yuusuke peered down at the child with thinly veiled wonder. This was the first baby he had even been allowed to hold in his entire life. With his youkai senses he could smell the child's fresh, innocent scent, he could hear her breathing and heartbeat. He fell in love.
"Hey there," he said gruffly, "Guess I'm your cousin. Go figure. Never thought your mom would have a kid. Ever,"
Kagome smacked him. "Jerk,"
He grinned at her and stuck his tongue out. "What did Shippou say? He thought you'd end up the world's youngest virgin grandma?"
"And I promptly tossed that idea out of the window," she stuck her own tongue out at him. "His fault for not Mating before me,"
Yoko rolled his eyes at their antics, "Children," he sighed. Kagome smiled and kissed him on the cheek.
"Yeah, but you still love me," she giggled.
"Cradle robber," Yuusuke tossed at the kitsune.
Kurama grinned at the expression on Yoko's face. "He's got you there, you know,"
"I don't get it," Naruto complained. Kagome took pity on him.
"Yoko's over a thousand years old," she said matter-of-factly. The blond's eyes unfocused as he listened to something Chitose had to say. He nodded.
"Alright then, I get it,"
"Well," Kagome decided, "I think I'll be ready to move us in the morning. Kurama-san, Yuuske-kun if you two could be ready by them I would appreciate it. I want to have plenty of time to visit with Sesshoumaru, Shippou and Himeno as well as enough time to recover during the day there,"
"Don't want to spend the night?" Yoko teased. Kagome shuddered.
"The last time I stayed in the Makai it almost drove me insane. You don't think I get like that in every fight, do you?" she rubbed her hands up and down her arms.
"Morning it is then. And if these boys aren't up by dawn I'll get them up," Yoko grinned evilly, showing off inhuman fangs. Yuusuke and Kurama shared a wary glance.
For some inexplicable reason Kagome was not surprised that Sakura was there, packed and ready to come along as well when she got up in the morning. According to Kurama she had arrived half an hour before, backpack in hand, declaring that she was coming and there was nothing Yuusuke could say that would stop her. She had talked to her parents and told them that she was leaving with the toushin whether they liked it or not, declaring that it was her life and ever since she had graduated from the academy they no longer had a say in what she could do.
Kagome shrugged, asked Sakura if she was serious in her feelings about Yuusuke, then declared that the girl would be sleeping in the guest room back home at the shrine. Sakura looked like she wanted to protest that but Kagome forestalled anything she would say by telling her that it was inappropriate for a girl to spend the night at a boy's home unless she was sleeping in his sister's room, which she could not, for the simple reason that he was an only child, and Kagome refused to allow any stigma to enter into their relationship before the marriage.
The new couple blushed profusely when she said this but she refused to allow them to dwell upon the matter as she expertly set up the Traveling Spell she had come up with during her pregnancy. She pulled out a scroll and unrolled it on the floor. Yoko told everyone to stay in contact as Kagome poured her holy energy into the written word.
A flash of prickling pink light and suddenly they were surrounded by youki.
"Welcome to the Makai," Kagome said, hunching over as she squashed down her ability to sense ki. She had brought them right to the gate of Sesshoumaru's palace. Already the guards on duty had their weapons out, ready to fight. When she straightened the little miko led her party over to the gate, "Inform Sesshoumaru-sama that his sister, her Mate and their companions have arrived," she demanded imperiously, pushing up her sleeve to reveal a vivid crescent moon emblazoned on her forearm. The guards almost dropped their weapons in shock, stammering out apologies and swiftly allowing them in.
Kagome grinned. "I love doing that to them,"
"Sadistic," Yuusuke laughed.
"Only in the morning," she joked.
"Kagome ba-chan!" a child cried, streaking towards them. She latched onto Kagome's legs, "Kagome ba-chan has come to visit!"
"Hey Himeno-chan, how have you been?" Kagome asked, tweaking the little youkai girl's ear.
"Himeno missed you ba-chan, so did Shippou and Baba. They'll be so happy that you're here! Who are these people?" she asked.
"Well," Kagome started pointing to people, "You met Yoko. He's my Mate now. He's holding Koyoko-chan, who's our baby, our kit. You've also met Kurama and Yuusuke. The girl holding onto Yuusuke is Sakura-chan. She and Yuusuke are sweet on each other," the last was whispered, as if a secret. Himeno giggled and twirled around.
"Come see Baba! He'll want to see you too," she said, excited.
"You're right, Himeno-chan," said a smooth, deep voice from on the porch. Kagome looked up and smiled at her elder brother.
"Sesshoumaru!" She exclaimed. He nodded.
"Kagome it is a pleasure to see you again, and under less stressful circumstances. I trust Yoko has been treating you well?"
"Of course he has," Kagome mock frowned at the Taiyoukai, "like I would stand for anything less,"
"Good," Sesshoumaru cracked a smile, "If I thought that he was abusing you in any way this Sesshoumaru would be forced to rid the Three Worlds of his presence," he turned to gaze at the people behind his sister and nodded again, "Fox, Fox, Toushin…Human…this Sesshoumaru welcomes you into his home,"
"Oh!" Kagome exclaimed, "That's right. Sorry Sesshoumaru, this is Sakura-chan. She's a very good friend of Yuusuke's. Sakura-chan, meet my elder brother, Sesshoumaru, Lord of all the Makai,"
"Don't forget me!" Shippou cried, pouncing on his mother, "Momma! How have you been?"
Kagome laughed and hugged her kitsune son, "Like you need to ask, Mister Master Spy,"
"Ooo! Is this my little sister?" he scampered over to coo over Koyoko, much to Yoko's displeasure.
"Sure is," Kagome placed a calming hand on her Mate's arm, "Sesshoumaru, Shippou-chan, I want you two to meet Koyoko-chan,"
"Koyoko, eh?" Shippou asked slyly, "Pretty name,"
"How long are you planning on staying?" Sesshoumaru asked. Kagome shrugged.
"A couple of hours, if that's alright with you,"
"That is not a problem with this Sesshoumaru," the Taiyoukai said.
"Wonderful!" Kagome clapped her hands together, "Now, have you seen Hiei? He was supposed to have come over yesterday to warn you that we were coming,"
"The hybrid has been called into duty by the Toddler,"
"Ah," Kagome nodded. That explained the absence of the little black shadow.
Their stay in the Makai was brief since the strain of the ambient youki was more than Kagome could comfortably handle for long periods of time in her condition. Since they had to go sooner than expected Shippou offered to use his talisman to ferry them to the Ningenkai.
They found the shrine much as they had left it, a few more leaves decorating the courtyard and steps but nothing else changed. Mrs. Higurashi welcomed Sakura into their home and soon had the kunoichi set up in the guest room. Yuusuke 'happened' to stay late enough that he was relegated to sleeping on the living room sofa. Shippou stayed for a couple hours but had to get back to the Makai because he was working on a project for Sesshoumaru.
And Kurama called his mother. It was the first time in approximately six months that he had been able to speak to her so he patiently promised to be home in an hour to prove that yes, he was really still alive and this wasn't a ghost with his cell phone number. Shiori only let her son go after he promised that he would be over at her home as quickly as the trains would allow.
In the meantime, since he had a few minutes before he had to leave for the train station he headed out to the shrine proper to offer up a prayer. He fished in his pockets and pulled out some small coins. Tossing them into the shrine he clapped his hands three times and prayed.
Thank you Inari-sama for allowing me to return home safely, for keeping mother well, for staying with Yoko and Kagome-san. Thank you for protecting me during my travels. Please, Inari-sama, now I have to go talk with mother and I ask that I be able to keep up the story that Hiei and my friends have been telling her about where I have been…
AN: WOO HOO! It's done! And the whole thing clocks in at approximately 100 pages! How do you like them apples! And now that it's done I'm tossing around the idea of starting a fourth book in this 'trilogy' for Yuusuke and Sakura, of course. (Can you see why I passed math class?) Pure romance with enough violence tossed in to make it taste right for a toushin/kunoichi relationship. - What a match. I wonder if anyone out there has ever hooked those two up…
Anyhoo, Blood and Circumstance is now finished. If anyone can point out anything I left obviously unexplained tell me and I'll write something up to explain it away. Deal? Deal.
I have to admit that I loved how I started out this chapter, bloody heads on Tsunade's desk and all. All I could think was "NO! Don't get blood all over the important documents Hiei! What are you thinking!" of course, Hiei doesn't care, and why should he? It's not like he'd have to clean up the mess! -'
Love you all!
Sessha-chan