Chapter Two: Family Origins

Authors Note: Here is Chapter Two. I apologize if the chapters are short, I am trying to make them longer but it never works out that way. Please leave a review when you've finished reading.

Asuka P.O.V.

I can't believe what I had said to him. Why would I say something like that?

The sound of sirens echoed and the ambulance rushed by. Running down the stairs, I stopped someone that was walking. "Excuse me, what happened?" I asked, seeing all the traffic stopped.

She looked down the street then turned to me. "I heard there was an accident. Someone on a bike got hit by a truck."

My blood ran cold. Was it Kumori? Without a second thought, I ran down the street, praying to Kami that it wasn't him. I pushed through the crowd, stepping on feet and elbowing people out of the way until I reached the front. Time seemed to slow down as I stood there, frozen in place. Kumori...

Not caring that the paramedics were yelling at everyone to get out of the way, I skidded to a stop beside him and knelt down. I laid my hand on his chest, letting out a sigh of relief when I felt it rise and fall. He opened his eyes and looked up at me. "Asuka...?"

I felt tears sting my eyes as I blinked them away. "I'm right here, Kumori."

He slowly reached his hand up, resting it on my cheek. "You don't need to cry...it's only a scratch..."

I let a forced laugh. Only he would try to crack a joke at a time like this. The paramedics asked me to move aside as they loaded him onto the stretcher and into the ambulance. I climbed in behind them, keeping his hand in mine.

Kumori P.O.V.

Everything was in darkness, there were voices all around but they were distant. I could hear a loud beep, beep right next to me. My eyes opened and were met by bright, flourescent lights. I could smell the cleaning chemicals and knew I was in the hospital. A new, familiar smell caught my attention immediately: cherry blossoms and roses. I turned my head to the side, wincing from the movement. There she was, sitting on the edge of the chair with her head, on the side of the bed, resting on her arms. I gently smoothed her hair down, causing her to stir awake. She saw I was awake and sat up. "Hey," I said, not meeting her eyes.

"Hey," she said, her voice wavering. "Kumori, I am so sorry for what I said. I never meant for this to happen-"

I cut her off by covering her mouth with my hand. "It wasn't your fault, Asuka. This would have happened sooner or later because I wasn't paing attention." When I was sure she wasn't going to argue, I dropped my hand and grabbed hers, lacing our fingers together. "Come here." She moved onto the bed, being careful not to jostle it to much. I chuckled and pulled her closer so she was pressed against my side. "I'm not gonna break so stop acting like that."

"Are you sure?" She finally said, not looking at me. I've been around her long enough to know when something was bothering her. "Kumori, I didn't mean I wanted you to drop dead. I was upset and confused and I just didn't know how respond..."

I turned to her and kissed her, cutting off her words. I felt her stiffen but she relaxed after a couple of seconds and kissed me back. Chuckling under my breath, I pulled away and pressed my forehead against hers. "For a priestess, you're not very bright when it comes to relationships."

I heard someone laugh from the doorway. "I don't want to admit it, but she reminds me of your father when he was your age."

We jumped apart and turned around to see a woman standing there. Her black hair reached her waist and her brown eyes were arm and welcoming but anyone could feel the spiritual power radiating from her. "Mom, what are you doing here?"

Asuka bowed her head and smiled. "Hello, Mrs. Higurashi. It's good to see you."

Mom smiled back and folded her hands in front of her. "It is good to see you again, as well." She turned her attention to me and her expression could have turned me to stone right then and there. "You and I are going to have a discussion when you're discharged from here later."

That seemed to confuse Asuka. "Wait. WHat do you mean later? I thought the doctors said it was going to take a couple weeks for everything to heal properly."

Me and mom shared a look and she nodded. I turned to Asuka. "There's something I have to tell you. Well, I should probably show you." Reaching up, I pulled the beanie off and I heard her gasp.

Asuka P.O.V.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Kumori removed his beanie and right there, on top of his head, were dog ears. I mean pointed, black, fuzzy dog ears. I reached up and one of them twitched slightly as I touched it. Without thinking, I pulled it.

"OUCH!" Kumori yelled, clearly hurting. "What did you do that for?"

I pulled my hand back. "They're real..."

Kumori nodded. "Yeah. I'm a half demon. Half dog demon to be exact. You know my mom, Kagome but you haven't met my dad, Inuyasha, yet."

Mom spoke up. "Kumori, you need to hurry and give it to her. We have to leave very soon."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a rose shaped pendent. He pressed it into my hand. "There's a latch on the side. Open it."

I did what he told me and opened the latch. The pendent sprung open and lying there, in the center, was a pink sphere, almost the size of a marble. "This is the Shikon Jewel, isn't it?" I asked.

Kagome nodded. "I see your family has been studying it's history."

"We have been but I thought the jewel was destroyed." I said.

"It was but it seems history is now repeating itself. I am sorry to say this, Asuka, but you are now the protector of the Shikon No Tama."