Tony looked at his sleeping daughter with a worried look on his face. This was a lot to take in. He was prepared to take in his traumatized daughter from the death of her family. What he wasn't mental prepared for was everything else. He had gotten thrown in the deep end before learning how to swim. Not only was his daughter pregnant, but she was pregnant with a demon's child. Kagome had explained that they weren't demons from hell, they were more like demons of the earth. They were demons of animals, plants, and elements. That eased his mind a bit that his daughter wasn't having a hell spawn. She was also married, and he hadn't had a single clue about it. He had never even met the guy so he had no idea whether he was a guy worthy of marrying his daughter! All of that personal business wasn't the worst part though.
No, the worst part was his daughter has been through a war. A war so bad that she had gotten used to the scent of blood, rotting flesh, and burning bodies. That thought made him so pissed off that it made him want to punch something. She wasn't even part of the civilian part of the war. Her group was one of the main two sides of the war so she was in the middle of it the entire time. Kagome has been going through war for the past four years and he had no idea about it. When the updates on Kagome had started slowing down to one only every couple months he didn't take it too seriously. Kun-Loon had given him the excuse of Kagome hanging out with friends all of the time and that she wasn't home much. Or that she hadn't been doing anything new or noteworthy, though she had taken up archery. For being one of the smartest people of his time he really was stupid. He had taken Kun-Loon's excuses hook, line, and sinker.
He looked to the side and saw Clint napping in the hallway next to Kagome's door. He knew that he wasn't really in a deep sleep and could be awake at a moment's notice. Mostly everyone was catching up on some rest. The past day and a half had been extremely long. Natasha was resting next to Kagome herself, they were laying on Kagome's bed together and Natasha was idly playing with Kagome's hair. While she wasn't sleeping this was the most relaxed Natasha would get not outside of her own room at the tower. Bruce and Steve were resting downstairs, he was sure that Steve had been cleaning up a bit downstairs a bit.
He looked back at Kagome a frown coming over his face, he couldn't sleep. Since he couldn't sleep he may as well make himself useful. A determined look on his face as he descended the stairs.
Kagome woke up with a scream, her nightmare crawling through her mind. She felt somebody touch her shoulder and her mind went into the defensive. She twisted to attack whoever was in her personal bubble. Whoever was near her didn't attack though, they simply deflected her attack and held her close. Kagome's mind slowly registered curly red hair that her mind remembered as belonging to Natasha. After a few moments that seemed to stretch for eternity Kagome came to her senses. She looked to Natasha with tears in her eyes and Natasha gave her an understanding smile. Before Kagome could say anything, her hand shot to her mouth and she shot out of bed. Thankfully Natasha let her go without question. As she shot out of her room to the bathroom across the hall she noticed that Clint was in the process of getting up from sitting on the floor outside of her room. From her peripheral vision she saw Steve and Tony coming up the stairs, worried expressions on their faces. She didn't pay attention to anyone though, as her only target was the toilet. Within seconds she was in front of the toilet emptying her stomach. She almost flinched when she felt someone hold her hair back from her face but held herself back. She was extremely grateful to whoever was helping her. After about a minute of her puking violently she finally felt the nausea pass. She turned to see who had helped her and saw Clint looking at her with a knowing look. She sent him a thankful grin before she went to the sink to wash her mouth out.
"Thanks Clint, I really appreciate it. Apparently having a demon baby means your stuck with morning sickness until eight months in, the last four months will be blissful with no more morning sickness." She said with a shaky smile.
Clint gave her a smirk, "We'll help you through anything Kags, don't you doubt that. Now let's get you downstairs so you can eat something." He gave her a wink, "Now that you have some room. You are eating for two you know."
They walked downstairs and Kagome idly noted that everyone that had been coming up the stairs had all made their way back downstairs. When she made it into the kitchen she saw a small breakfast waiting for her. That wasn't the only thing that was waiting for her however.
Kagome's eyes went wide, "What is all this?" she asked in wonder at the dozens upon dozens of boxes strewn about her living room and kitchen.
A very tired looking Tony gave her a grin, "I couldn't sleep last night, I'm used to working on something. I figured that you would want as much from here as possible. So, I had Jarvis send a bunch of boxes up here and I recruited Steve and Bruce to help pack stuff up. We got pretty much everything from down here and outside around the shrine. All photos and family stuff are packed up."
Steve started up when Tony trailed off, "We didn't know how much you wanted from you mom or grandpa's room. But we did pack up all of your grandpa's books, scrolls, and trinkets in his room that we could get. His room was part of the bit where the roof collapsed. We took as much from your mom's room as well; the pictures she had in there, books, jewelry, and come clothes. We packed up almost everything from your brother's room besides the big stuff like the bed, desk, and bookcases."
"What?" Kagome asked in a small voice. She had a small idea of what was going on but her mind didn't want to register it.
Natasha put her hand on either side of Kagome's face to make her look into her eyes, "You will be leaving with us Mladshaya sestra. Where we can keep you safe from Naraku and any other demons that will come for the jewel. You will live in New York with all of us and everything that you want will be coming with us. We can keep the Shrine if you want, but I don't think it will be the best idea for you to stay here. Not only will the cops here not leave your family's death alone, but Naraku will know exactly where to come back to. You can come back here one day, just please promise me not until Naraku is dead." Natasha said seriously.
Kagome thought it over for a moment as Natasha dropped her hands before nodding, it really would be best and even being here now was a struggle for her, "Alright, then it's just my stuff we need to pack then… right?"
Tony nodded, "Yup and anything else that we didn't think was needed. You'd know best. Then as soon as we rescue your brother he'll come live with us too." He made sure to insinuate that rescuing her brother was a when, not an if.
She sent him a bright smile, "Thanks Mr. Stark."
Tony flinched, "Tony, please. We've been over this."
Kagome gave a nod, "Right… Tony. Sorry I forgot, Mama made sure manners were drilled into since I was little."
"It's alright kid, just remember from now on. Just call me Tony." He said with a note of finality.
Kagome sat down and Steve put a plate of breakfast in front of her and he gave a shrug, "Breakfast is pretty much the only meal I know how to make." He said.
"Thanks Steve it looks good." Kagome said sincerely.
They all heard Tony mutter, "Sure he's Steve." And lite laughter went throughout the room.
After they all ate a bit Kagome spoke up, "There isn't much of my stuff I need to bring with. Only my baggiest clothes fit me anymore and I really didn't keep all that many outfits over here to begin with. I spent most of my time over in the feudal era, especially after I finished high school. And my baby bump really grew since the last time I was over here. All I need is my decorations and keepsakes. There is a trunk in my closet that I can't forget, it has a bunch of memories from the feudal era." She looked thoughtful for a moment before she said, "Also if around here you find a yellow backpack and a red bow those need to come with as well. The backpack is the bag I brought with me to and from the feudal era and it has all of my essentials in it. The bow isn't a normal bow, it's got a mystical property to it and it has abilities that people shouldn't get their hands on. I'm pretty sure the bow was blessed by the Kami's, there are also rumors that it might have been the bow owned by Midoriko, the priestess who created the Shikon jewel." She explained.
"Right we can get on that after we are done eating. I'll have people pack it all up and send it to the tower, we'll beat everything there but it'll get there much quicker than it would normally." Tony told her.
"Thank you, I really mean it." Kagome said honestly. She didn't know what she would have done if they hadn't come. Still being stuck in the mental hospital was a pretty good guess.
"You speak really good English Kagome." Bruce commented after everyone had been quiet for a while.
She looked over to him and nodded, "My mom told me it was something I had to learn, something about the future. She never was super direct about why me learning English was so important. I always just assumed it was to talk to tourists that stopped by the Shrine. We were a pretty popular shrine. English was actually the only thing I didn't nearly fail at in school." She finished with a small giggle.
Tony's eyes widened, "You didn't do good in school?" he remembered her being a straight A student up until middle school. Kun-Loon had told him that she was doing as good as she always did.
Kagome gave shrug, "I never had time to study and I cannot tell you how many times my school books got destroyed. Usually by Inuyasha who didn't want me to split my dedication between the jewel and my studies. Eventually I just kinda gave up. I could tell Mama was a bit disappointed as I used to do really good in school, there were just more important things to worry about. Like not dying."
"Um…" Steve blurted out suddenly, his face kinda pink.
"Yes Steve?" Kagome asked patiently.
"Do… do you know the sex of your baby?" he asked quickly, like he was curious but also super embarrassed to ask.
Kagome shook her head, "No." she frowned slightly and Steve's look turned panicked, he hadn't meant to make her sad. "Sesshomaru and I were going to go back to his castle at the end of this month to find out. We aren't able to do a scan here as technology isn't able to see past the amniotic sac, there is a type of magic blocking it. Only a demon healer would be able to find out, and I don't exactly know how to get into contact with one of those in this time period. Though if Sesshomaru isn't here to find out with me I don't want to know, I'll let it be a surprise." She said with determinedly.
The rest of the meal passed with light conversation and talk about what needed to be packed up yet. After they were done eating they split up to pack up the rest of the house. They spent the next two hours making sure that Kagome had everything she wanted to save from her house. It had been decided, mostly by Kagome and Natasha, that Kagome would be sharing the floor with Natasha and Clint. Natasha and Clint's floor wasn't the most decorated as they weren't actually in it all that much so Kagome decided to practically bring the entire inside of her house.
Kagome headed outside to check and see what she could salvage from out there. Steve had mentioned that he had found her backpack that morning when he went for his morning jog. She had been extremely grateful and had given him a quick hug. What she hasn't been able to find yet was her bow, she really hoped that the police didn't take it as evidence or something. As she walked outside she looked up at the sky, she hadn't been outside since the night Naraku attacked. She didn't really count yesterday as she wasn't really paying attention, she was just glad to out of the hospital yesterday. Today was a new beginning though and she was going to enjoy it even if she had to force herself. Her mental state was not good and that in turn wasn't good for her baby. She needed to calm herself, being outside would help. It reminded her of being out in the forests in the feudal era.
An idea suddenly sprouted in her mind, forests. Aokigahara, she could go to Aokigahara. Why hadn't she thought of that earlier? It was only a little over two-hour drive to get there. Aokigahara had become a demon sanctuary within the last 500 years. It was where Bokuseno lived. If anyone could tell her what happened back then it would be Bokuseno. His roots stretched far and he heard many things. A small ball of hope started forming in her chest, maybe she could find out where Sesshomaru was. First of all, though she needed to find her bow. She did not go through all the trouble of almost dying to get it from Mount Azusa simply to lose it in a mental breakdown. She noticed that Clint was outside with her, a just in case bodyguard. Something that she knew would be a constant for quite a while.
She searched for almost a half hour when a lazy meow caught her attention. Kagome's eyes went wide, she would know that meow anywhere. Buyo?! She rushed to where the meow had come from, behind the house somewhere. When she got behind the house she heard it again and changed her direction slightly. What she found shocked her. Buyo was laying on top of her red bow, like he was protecting it. She had thought Buyo was dead or had at least wandered away to find food in the past three weeks. As Buyo saw her he got off the bow and Kagome picked it up slung it over her shoulder. Then she leaned down and picked up the lazy fat cat and hugged him to her. Buyo was definitely coming with her, Buyo was her Mama's cat.
She rushed back into the house, a large smile on her face as she cuddled the cat into her. Buyo was purring up a storm, apparently happy to be with his family member again. She got into the living room where everyone was gathering the last of the boxes together for whoever was picking them up later.
"Tasha look I found Buyo!" Kagome said excitedly, not letting go of her precious pet.
Natasha raised a slender eyebrow, "And your bow it seems."
Kagome blushed, "Right and my bow." Natasha let out a small chuckle as Kagome continued, "He can come with us, right? He was Mama's cat."
"Of course, he can." Tasha said sending Tony a warning glare, knowing he didn't like animals in his tower.
Tony nodded in agreement, "Right the cat totally come's with." He would be good for Kagome he added silently.
They all noticed Kagome's face harden into a determined look, "We need to go to Aokigahara before we leave Japan."
"Why do you need to go there?" Bruce asked, a worried tilt in his voice.
"What's so special about Aokigahara?" Steve asked confused, he didn't like the tone Bruce had asked in.
"Aokigahara is the most internationally known suicide forest in Japan. Hundreds of people go there each year to commit suicide." Tony said seriously, he had a slightly hard look in his eyes. He was suddenly very concerned for his daughter's health.
Kagome's eyes went wide in realization, they thought she wanted to commit suicide? God no she would never, "No, no. It's not that I swear. Aokigahara is where an old friend lives and I really need to talk to him." A small smirk appeared on her face, "How would you all like to meet your first demon?" she saw the interested looks on their faces and she shrugged slightly, not wanting to jostle Buyo too much "Well Tasha and Clint have met Inuyasha before."
"He was an idiot." Natasha said with a tilt of her head and Clint burst out laughing.
Kagome simply nodded in agreement, "Yes, but a lovable idiot." She looked around at all the boxes and she noted that her trunk from her closet was there with the boxes. "Is everything gathered up then?"
Clint nodded, "Yeah we got everything packed up that you want to take with us. Do you want to head over to Aokigahara then?"
Kagome nodded and started heading towards the door, with a shriek of fright her feet suddenly left the floor. She turned to glare at whoever scooped her up only to see Clint's smirking face. "What princess? It's not like you can make it down all those stairs."
She was actually not freaking out about Clint holding her so she huddled down in his arms and continued petting Buyo. She figured it was because she thought of Clint like a brother, family, pack. She figured that was why she was so comfortable around Tasha and wanted to be close to her all the time, she was pack as well.
They made it back into the car that they had taken yesterday and everyone piled in. Tony told the driver where they were headed and they headed off in comfortable silence for a while.
It was Bruce who broke the silence, his curiosity getting to him. "What kind of demon are we going to see?"
"Bokuseno is a tree demon. A very, very, very old tree demon. I'm not sure if anyone actually knows how old he is. He is very wise and he hears a lot. He might know what happened to Sesshomaru and the others." Kagome answered before thinking for a bit and continued talking, "Aokigahara is a demon sanctuary, mostly for lower level demons. Demons who don't have a human form and can't hide in society. Or other demons who don't want to hide their true selves."
"What are they like?" Tony asked, his curiosity taking over as well. There were times Tony's and Bruce's curiosity synced and this was one of them.
"Demons?" Kagome asked.
Tony nodded, "Yes. How do they differ from us?"
Kagome thought carefully, it was a difficult question to answer. "It depends on the demon really. Lower level demons are usually more primal mentally. They can be vicious when they want to be. Though they can have intelligence. Medium level demons can have human forms, but not very often. They usually have more animal or monster like appearance, but they do have intelligence. For instance, Jaken, he is a medium level demon. Though I don't know how smart he is. Kirara is also a medium level demon and she is really smart. High level demons have a human form, but also have an inner beast that they can transform into. Both of their forms can be very dangerous. They are just as smart as us, if not smarter.
"But like I said it depends on the demon, just like it depends on which human you meet. Some are mean and evil, some are so kind and love to help others. Most are neutral, guarded but won't attack first. They will defend themselves though. They are like us but with animal attributes and abilities." Kagome explained as best as she could.
The rest of the ride was spent talking amongst themselves and getting to know Kagome. They asked questions about her adventures that they weren't sure about and she answered to the best of her ability. After what seemed like forever they made it to the forest. Kagome got up, set Buyo down on the seat, and told him to stay. Buyo simply curled up and proceeded to take a nap.
"Do you need someone to help you?" Clint asked, looking down at her ankle.
Kagome shook her head as she took her bow off her back, holding it by her side. She had it hanging there casually but would be ready to pull it up at a second's notice. The Avengers noticed and suddenly became slightly nervous. "I'm not expecting a fight, but some of the lower demons might sense my Ki and decide to attack with no reason. There could also be old demons in here with a long memory and holding a grudge against me or my group."
"Won't you need arrows?" Steve asked confused looking at her lack of said weapons.
"No, I can use my Ki to form an arrow. I learned how to do it last year from an old priestess." Kagome explained before taking a breath and started her plunge into the think forest. She noticed that Tasha was right behind her, but the rest made a quick grab for some of their weapons.
"How many knives do you have on you right now?" Kagome asked casually.
"Seventeen, plus two handguns." Tasha said with a tilt of her lips.
Kagome laughed quietly as the rest of them caught up with them. They almost made it all the way without meeting a single demon. They were about half a kilometer away from Bokuseno when a small deer demon stepped into their path, a determined look on her young face. This was one of the high-level demon families that didn't want to hide their true self.
She couldn't have been older than twelve years old. She had short dark brown hair and freckles covered her face. The most prominent feature however were the antlers growing on her head. She stepped into their path and held her arms out, blocking their way. "You can't come any farther." She said determinedly.
Kagome saw the Avengers tense up at the age of the girl standing in front of them, "Why not?" Kagome asked casually.
"I won't let you get to Grandpa Bokuseno. You humans will hurt him." She growled at them.
Kagome felt warmness swell in her chest, this little girl was just trying to protect the ancient tree. She knelt down and put the bow around her shoulder to make her seem less threatening, "Bokuseno is an old friend of mine, I have no intentions to hurt him."
"Humans aren't allowed this far into the forest." She protested.
Kagome decided to change tactics a bit, "My name is Kagome Taisho, what is your name."
The girl looked put out for a second before saying quietly, "Aiko Yamaguchi."
"How old are you Aiko?" Kagome asked.
"I just ten." Aiko said, looking a bit confused.
Kagome nodded thinking about it, that would make her about a hundred years old. Too young to know anything about Miko's. She was going to explain it that way, but she probably wouldn't understand. Alright she could go a different way then, "I'm not a normal ignorant human Aiko, I'm mated to a demon."
Aiko's eyes went wide, looking at the Kagome's obvious baby bump, "Really?" she asked sounding a bit excited. "I've never met a human mated. Can I see your mark?" Kagome knew the subtle test that was being asked. Kagome nodded and pulled down the hem of her shirt. There sitting right above her heart was a crescent moon and the girl's eyes lit up. "I've never seen a mark like that before."
Kagome gave a sad smile, "It's a very old family, not many of them around anymore."
"Why are you here to talk to Grandpa Bokuseno?" she asked cautiously.
"Well you see my mate is missing and I would very much like to find him. I think Bokuseno might know where he is."
"That's horrible." The little girl cried out before rushing forward and grabbing Kagome's hand, pulling her forward. "Grandpa Bokuseno will help you out."
Kagome glanced behind her and smiled at the Avengers following behind her. They all had different reactions to the little girl pulling Kagome along. Kagome decided to ask the girl some questions before they got to Bokuseno. "Aiko are the lords still around?"
Aiko was quiet for a moment before answering, "They are, but they aren't very active anymore. It's hard for them to do much with so many humans around now, we are so outnumbered now. Mommy and Daddy tell me that a long time ago we were greater in numbers and there had been a reason for the lords to be leading. They do look over their districts though and help when they can. Each lord has a sanctuary in their territory that they send demons to if they need help. This is the western lord's sanctuary."
"Who are the lords now?" Kagome asked as casually as she could.
Aiko frowned, "You don't know?"
"My mate didn't find a need to tell me, but I might need to talk to them for help finding my mate." Kagome lied slightly. She knew who the lords were 500 years ago, but some of those had been old then and could very well be dead now. Plus, Sesshomaru was the western lord but he was missing, so who was ruling for him?
Aiko seemed to accept that answer, "The Southern lord is a bear demon called Hiromori Ando. Lady Yumiko Harada is the Northern lord, she's a raven demon. The eastern lord is Koga Okami, a wolf demon. The western lord is a bit more difficult as the true lord has been missing for the past 500 years apparently. It's currently being run by Lady Inukimi, the mother of the western lord. She is adamant not to name a new leader saying that the lord and heir would come back eventually."
That was a lot to process for Kagome. Hiromori Ando was the same as 500 years ago. She had never heard of Lady Yumiko before though, she was a new one. 500 hundred years ago the north was run by a badger demon. She wasn't surprised about Inukimi running the west however, she just didn't know what happened to Sesshomaru. She knew something had happened, otherwise he would have been there the day she was thrown back into the future. What shocked her the most was Koga. Koga was the eastern lord?! When had that happened?
"Koga Okami is the eastern lord?" Kagome practically screeched.
Aiko nodded, "Yup for the past 300 years he's been the eastern lord. He mated the granddaughter of the previous Lord."
Stars appeared in Kagome's eyes, "Koga and Ayami mated? Finally!"
Aiko looked at her with wide eyes, "You know Lord Koga and Lady Ayami?"
"They are old friends of mine." Kagome answered, "I'm not sure where they are living now though. Do you know where the lords live?"
Aiko shook her head, "No we live pretty isolated here. I've heard Lord Koga comes by occasionally comes to visit Grandpa Bokuseno. Grandpa Bokuseno would probably know though." Kagome was about to answer when they suddenly walked into a small clearing that held the great demon Bokuseno, "Here we are." She let go of Kagome's hand and skipped over to the old tree. "Hey Grandpa wake up, there are some people here to talk to you." She turned back to the group she had led there, "It was nice to meet you. I'll give you some privacy, good luck finding your mate." Then she skipped away and disappeared into the woods.
They all turned their attention to the tree that slowly opened his eyes, there was silence before Bokuseno spoke. "Ah Shikon Miko, it has been a long time. I feared we would not meet again. It is good to see you and Sesshomaru's little one well."
Kagome smiled, "Hello Bokuseno, I need your help."
Bokuseno smiled back at her, "I do believe I can give you the answers you seek."