Steve looked down at the sleeping Kagome, slightly conflicted, "Should we wake her up?"
Clint shook his head, "No let her sleep, it looks like she needs as much rest as she can get. I'll carry her to the plane, no worries."
Jaken glared at the human, "Don't you dare do anything to hurt her human." Jaken did not like humans. They were loud and messy, they were slowly destroying the earth and they simply didn't care. Humans also had a tendency to betray people they say they care about. He hadn't had to deal with humans for over 300 years. The only humans that he had been around in the past 500 years were those who were mated to demons and they were easier to deal with. When they weren't with their mates they usually stuck together with other humans. He knew how to avoid those spots. There weren't any human mates within Aokigahara though, so the past thirteen years or so had been blissfully human free. Now he was going to have to spend all of his time around them, he was dreading it. He did not trust these humans, not at all.
Clint glared at the green demon, "Kagome is like my little sister, don't think for a second I would do anything to harm her you annoying imp."
Jaken glared but didn't say anything else, he got out of the vehicle and followed the humans that had already left, going towards the plane. Natasha grabbed Buyo and shot Clint a look before getting out of the car. She was going to have a hard time not killing the imp, especially after the stories Kagome had told her. Clint gathered Kagome into his arm and carefully followed Natasha. As he stood up he situated Kagome so she would be more comfortable, he made sure not to wake her up. Within the next moment he felt something land on his shoulder. He looked over to see Kirara balancing there. He gave her an amused look, "You don't plan on letting her out of your sight, do you?"
Kirara shook her head negatively, digging her claws into his shirt slightly. Like she was daring him to make her leave. He chuckled slightly and followed everyone else to the plane. He remembered Kagome saying that Kiara was extremely smart and she would understand everything they said. He hadn't really believed her until now though.
Once he settled Kagome into a chair and strapped her in Kirara jumped off his shoulder landing next to Kagome before making herself comfortable on Kagome's lap. They then took off towards New York. Just under thirteen hours later they landed in JFK international airport.
Kagome woke up as the plane landed feeling more rested than she had in almost a month. She looked around confused when she realized she wasn't inside of the car she fell asleep in. Where was she? When she looked over to see a smirking Clint she realized what had happened, "You didn't wake me up did you?" she looked down to see Kirara curled up on her nap and Buyo snuggled right next to her.
Clint chuckled, "Nope." He said popping the P. He got up and made his way over to her. He scooped her up and she gave a slight shriek of protest. Kirara resumed her perch on Clint's shoulder. This time Bruce picked up the fat lazy cat. He started purring letting his pleasure known. Kagome grinned slightly at the sight, it looks like Buyo likes Bruce. Buyo was a very good sense of character. She should know, the cat had hated Hojo.
She ignored the fact that she had to be carried. She hated the fact that she couldn't do things by herself. She was a very independent person and needing someone to help her was killing her. Even if she trusted that person with her life. She knew as soon as she got to her new home she was healing her ankle. She would finally be able to drop the barrier around the jewel. It wouldn't have to be invisible anymore so that would take the most strain off her powers. She knew that she would have to drop the whole barrier at first. Her powers had been contained to a central spot for so long that once she let her power rest it would release all at once. She knew she could trust Clint and Tasha to stop any possible demons that would come for it. She was worried how far her shockwave of power would go and who it would alert to her location, but she NEEDED her mobility back!
It took another forty-five minutes before they made it back to the tower. Kagome insisted to walk by herself to the elevator as they parked only a few feet from it. Tony had directed his driver, who he called Happy, to park in the underground parking lot. The less people who knew that she was here the better. Clint stayed close by just in case her leg gave out on her but did let her walk by herself.
Tony was positively giddy with excitement as the elevator made it's way down to them. Kagome herself was rather amused at his excitement. He was finally going to introduce her to Jarvis. He practically corralled her into the elevator, everyone else following amused. Tony had never been this excited to introduce Jarvis to anyone before. Then again this was the first time that he was showing something of his to his daughter. Not that Kagome knew that was the reason he was so excited. As the elevator started going up Tony grinned.
"Jarvis, I would like to officially introduce Kagome Taisho. Kagome, meet Jarvis." Tony said, grinning like a madman.
"Nice to meet you Mrs. Taisho, I am pleased to see you are doing well." Jarvis greeted.
Kagome jumped slightly at the sudden voice, not expecting it, but then a smile appeared on her face, "Nice to meet you too Jarvis. Please just call me Kagome."
"Very well Miss Kagome."
"I would like to thank you for helping to save me. I would still be stuck at that hospital if it wasn't for you." She said sincerely. This was kinda like talking to Myoga she thought to herself.
"It was not a problem Miss Kagome. My pleasure entirely." Jarvis commented.
Kagome let out a light laugh, "Well still, thank you." She then turned her attention to Natasha, "So now what?"
Natasha gave her a small shrug, "All of your stuff won't be in until late tonight, so it would probably be best to leave unpacking until tomorrow."
Tony cut in, "When I called Pepper earlier she put in some orders. Your room on Romanov's floor should have all the furniture you'll need. I know she bought you some clothes as well. Not much, just enough to get you through a few days. Sometime tomorrow you could sit down with Pepper and order any clothes that you want. As for today yet, is there anything that you would like to do?"
The elevator doors opened and they walked out into the common room. Kirara looked around the room curiously from her spot, on top of Kagome's head. Jaken scoffed at the interior of the building. Lady Inukimi's castle was much more elegant. This place had 'human' written all over it.
Kagome made her way to a seat by the window. The view was amazing from here. As she sat down she explained, "I want to heal my ankle. To do that thought the barrier I have around the jewel will drop. It may draw any demon's attention around here."
Steve looked art her worriedly, "You still have the jewel with you?" Natasha and Clint had explained all of her adventure on the plane ride back. He hadn't noticed the jewel on her at all though.
"Of course, she would you idiot. She's the only one that can keep it pure." Jaken spat out at him, Kagome gave him a warning glance.
Bruce's mind went on another path, "You're able to heal yourself?" Clint hadn't mentioned anything about that.
The rest looked at her curiously, "Yes I can heal myself, not as well as I can heal others though." Then she looked over to Steve, "Ignore Jaken, yes I do have to jewel. If the shards were anywhere else there would be big trouble."
Natasha raised an eyebrow, "Where did you hide it Gome?" she asked in amusement also giving a silent go ahead to release her barrier.
Kagome looked down and grabbed the invisible jar that held the jewel shards. With a quick flash of pink light, the barrier shattered. A shockwave of pure light power rushed out in every direction, causing the avengers to stumble slightly. When she opened her hand the far was hanging innocently around her neck, "I had to hide it from the police and hospital staff."
Tony approached with stars in his eyes, "You had that necklace invisible for three weeks? How did you manage that?"
Kagome grinned at his eagerness to learn, "Kaede and Miroku taught me. Kaede knew how to do it and Miroku actually had the power to show me how to accomplish it. I spent almost two months learning how to do it. It was really hard but completely worth it. The pros of being able to make something invisible for an extended amount of time was too good to pass up on."
"You seem to have mastered a lot of abilities. You were a normal girl until you turned fifteen, right? What was that like?" Tony asked. He figured it would be the best way to find out more about Kagome without seeming to dig for information.
Buyo jumped up to squeeze himself between her and the chair, Kagome started mindlessly petting him, "When I began it felt like I was drowning in responsibility. I never wanted to become a shrine maiden like Gramps wanted. I wanted to become a doctor, which is why I caught onto the healing ability I have so quickly. Over time things got easier. Sometimes it still feels really surreal that I'm able to do all these things, I was just a normal kid. Other times if feels like I've been doing this forever." She gave him a tight smile, "That was a bit confusing, I don't know if that answered your question, sorry."
"No that made plenty of sense." Tony said, a serious look on his face. He totally understood what she was saying. He felt that way about being Ironman all the time. From what it sounded like she had started her adventure slightly before he had been kidnapped.
Clint looked at the time and frowned, "We should get something to eat. We need to make sure that you are kept well fed." He said with a wink before walking to the take-out brochures. "I'm feeling Chinese what about you guys." When he got murmurs of agreement he nodded and walked off to place the large order.
There was a slightly awkward silence as he walked away. The avengers weren't sure what to say to the girl. Kagome had started to simply stare out of the window, petting her cat. It was almost like she had lost focus on the room around her, getting lost in the scenery outside.
"Shall I put on a movie Sir?" Jarvis asked, breaking the silence.
Tony sighed in relief, thankful for his AI, "Yeah why don't you do that J. We can have a movie day. Play whatever is next on Cap's catch up playlist."
Natasha moved over to Kagome, "Hey Gome why don't you heal your ankle and then we can go watch the movie with the boys. How does that sound?"
Kagome looked away from the view and gave a strained smile to Tasha, "Sure." She leaned down and placed her glowing hands over her ankle. Within a few minutes her ankle was almost completely healed. It would still be a bit sore the next day, but she would be able to walk and even run on it if the need arose. Now that she was somewhere safe and things had calmed down her mind was starting to retreat once again. It had done that daily at the hospital. There were so many things that she just didn't want to think about and her mind kept going to them without her even trying. So, to combat that mental pain she tended to simply shut down. She knew it wasn't a healthy thing for her to do, but she simply didn't care at the moment. She thought things had been bad at the hospital, now that she was out she had learned that it was so much worse. She had had hope for Sesshomaru, Shippo, and Rin. Now she knew that two of them were trapped within a barrier while the other was with the devil himself. She knew that she couldn't do anything, not right now. She had no idea where Sesshomaru and Rin were so she couldn't rescue them. She also couldn't go looking for Naraku, that would be a suicide mission. If she wasn't pregnant than she probably wouldn't have cared, but she had a life growing inside of her to look after. She didn't have anyone to back her up this time. Sure, she had the Avengers. They had no idea how to battle demons though. Demons could have wide ranges of powers and abilities. Naraku himself had a vast number of tricks to fall back on. His miasma alone would be enough to kill them and that was just a single power he contained. He would also have hundreds, if not thousands, of demons to fight for him. Plus, Kanna and her brother. The only reason that she was not giving into the grief was because of her baby. She had to try and stay strong for her baby.
Her mental decline wasn't entirely her fault either however. Mates were not meant to be kept apart from each other. Sesshomaru had lasted a long time before he gave into his beast's sorrow and rage. While Kagome didn't have an inner beast she still felt the loss of her mate within her soul. It was a general rule that mates could go a few weeks apart with not contact and have no side effects, only if the separation was willingly done. If they were split apart against their wills then a strain started to build almost immediately. It wasn't that bad for most mates, however her and Sesshomaru had done a soul bond. That strengthened the mate bond significantly and made separation all that more painful and difficult. So, Kagome being forcefully split from her mate added upon the deaths of both of her families meant the stress built up so much her mind simply didn't want to manage it. The easiest way for her mind to process everything while not breaking down completely was to just shut down.
Kagome glanced over to Jaken and realized that he would most likely be her shadow until the unforeseen future. He knew all about the strain of mates being apart, but he wouldn't know how Kagome herself was dealing with it. When they were alone later tonight she would explain things to him. It would most likely become his job to help her with daily things. Reminding her to eat, telling her to get up and do something, get some exercise, do training with her powers so she didn't get slack with her Ki. He would probably find the whole situation tedious and beneath him, but she knew he would do it. He could complain a lot, but he would do it. It would keep him out of the hair of the others around here as well so that was a plus.
Kagome got up, picking Buyo up, and followed Tasha over the entertainment system. Her and Tasha sat in a chair together. It was just wide enough to hold the both of them. Kagome placed Buyo on her lap and Kirara snuggled into the crook of Kagome's neck. With a content sigh Kagome leaned into Natasha and settled in to watch a movie.
Natasha looked down at Kagome in concern. She was very worried for her little sister. Kagome had gotten lost in her mind very quickly just then. It was easy enough to break her out of it, but she was worried about how often it was going to happen. She would have to keep a closer eye on Kagome than she originally thought. Keep her engaged in a conversation. It seemed that as long as she was talking then she didn't retreat within her mind. "You doing okay Gome?"
Kagome nodded as she stared at the screen, "I'm good for now. It'll be nice to watch a movie. I haven't watched a movie in probably half a year. I never really stayed at home long enough to sit down and watch a movie." She said sadly. Kagome slightly regretted that now. She would never be able to settle onto the couch with her mother and watch a sappy love movie. Or watch a documentary with her grandfather as he picked them apart, he was wrong most of the time but Kagome never had the heart to tell him that. She held onto the hope that she would get to watch a movie with Sota in the future, hopefully the near future.
Clint sat onto the floor in between the legs of his two girls as the movie started. Clint grinned as the Princess Bride started playing, he loved this movie. He knew that Bruce or Tony would pick up the food when it arrived so he got comfortable while taking his chosen position between Kagome and Nat. He felt Nat kick him in the side for his choice of seat but he just chuckled and leaned onto her more. He didn't see her but he knew Nat rolled her eyes at him before accepting that he wasn't going to be moving anytime soon.
A half hour into the movie the food showed up and they paused it as everyone got up and got their food. As soon as they filled up their plates they got back to the same positions everyone had been in before. That movie ended and they started a different one. Halfway into that one he felt someone start playing with his hair. When he heard Nat chuckle slightly he knew it wasn't her. With a grin on his face he felt Kagome start putting tiny braids in hair. If anyone else had tried that he would have probably punched them, well not Nat that would be asking for it. The only other people that he let play with his hair was his wife and his daughter. Thinking of his family he would have to go back and visit soon. He would tell the group that he was assigned a mission and head home for a few weeks. Maybe he would bring Kagome with him, and Nat of course. He knew that his wife had wanted to meet Kagome. He didn't keep any secrets from his family and Laura had felt really bad for all that Kagome had to go through. Laura had said that the way he talked about her he had adopted her just as he had done Natasha. Well she really wasn't wrong.
After another two movies they decided to stop for the night. Kagome wasn't exactly tired as she had slept for thirteen hours already but she knew it would be easiest to get on used to the time zone here. She followed Clint and Natasha to their floor. The entirety of the back of Clint's hair was a mass of little braids. Kirara was in her arms asleep and Clint had hold of Buyo. Jaken was following behind everyone, acting almost like a sentry at the back. The room that Kagome was using was huge and her eyes widened as she looked it over. The bed was king sized and looked extremely comfortable to sleep on. The room was painted and decorated in neutral tones with tans and greens. There was a large cat condo on the one wall that Clint put Buyo down on. Kagome placed Kirara onto a pillow on the side of the bed she wouldn't be using. There was even a small short bed in the corner for Jaken. Kagome laughed slightly when she realized that it was originally a toddler bed that someone had attempted to look less kid-ish. Clint kissed her on the forehead goodnight before leaving the room toward his own which was just down the hall. Natasha stayed to show which drawer Pepper had put the pajamas in before hugging Kagome goodnight and leaving the room herself.
Kagome grabbed a set of pajamas, not really caring what they looked like. She would truly be happy with anything right now as she had practically nothing. She would still find someway to pay Tony back for all of this. Even if it wasn't in money. Ah she would have to think it over. She went to the connected bathroom and changed. Before she went to bed for the night she explained to Jaken what her mental state was like. She got to see a rare case of Jaken looking concerned for her before he told her that he would make sure she stayed healthy. She thanked him with a smile before laying down and turning out the light. Hopefully the coming weeks would be a bit easier on her.
Thousands of miles away in Japan the reaching edges of Kagome's shockwave of power reached a well-hidden barrier. Her Ki rolled around it lovingly before dissipating completely. Along one edge of the barrier a light flashed briefly before a small chunk fell away. A child sized sphere bounced to the ground before shattering. Leaving a white-haired child laying on the ground. He had managed to create a barrier of his own around himself before his master's mother had cast her own barrier upon them, saving him from the full force of the barrier's power. His eyes opened slightly, his thoughts on the power that allowed him to break free. His master's mate had made contact. He would follow his master's order to protect the Miko with all of his ability. With that thought his eyes drifted close as he succumbed to the calling darkness. First, he needed to rest. Hakudoshi had escaped the barrier.