Jaken frowned at the barely touched plate of food. Nearly a month had passed since they moved into the tower and his charge had been doing fairly well. Now it was like she was starting to lose her fight, which was simply unacceptable. She had night terrors every single night, but that was nothing new from what he had heard. She had been having those since the day she had come back from the feudal era. They have started getting worse lately however. She had taken to laying down for a nap in the middle of the day as her energy seemed to disappear from her. She had started having nightmares then as well in the past week, which she had never had before. For the past week she had started staying in her room where as before she would make her way up to that common room and simply look out over the view. Now she was starting to eat less, no matter how much he nagged her to eat more. It was time to do something. If this continued she just might lose her fight and he would not let that happen.
He made his way to the elevator and demanded that the electronic person take him to wherever Clint was. The elevator stopped on the common floor so Jaken was grateful for that. With his luck he might have been out again. A few weeks ago, he had left for a few days, saying he had a mission to go on. Jaken was suspicious as the red head didn't go with him. From what he gathered they usually did missions together. But that was human business and didn't concern him. Right now, he just needed that human to actually do something for once. He saw the whole group sitting around the TV watching one thing or another.
"Human!" he barked out, glaring right at Clint.
Everyone gave a sigh as they heard the green imp. The thing was really annoying and none of them knew how Kagome dealt with him all day without killing him. They were pretty lucky as he usually stayed down on Clint and Natasha's floor with Kagome. Even when Kagome came upstairs he would stay down on that floor, only coming up to give Kagome some food or something. Every time they had to deal with him in the past month they had ended up wanted to bash the loud-mouthed demon who didn't seem to posses a filter on his mouth. They looked over to him and saw he was looking at Clint and he sighed his misfortune. Why couldn't the demon have been looking at Tony?
"What do you want Jaken?" Clint asked calmly. No need to start this conversation off on a bad note, though it would probably end on one.
"It is time you stepped up and do something."
Clint raised an eyebrow, "And what am I supposed to be doing?"
"She has started eating less and you need to intervene. She is starting to lose her battle." Jaken said. They were all surprised at the slightly worried look that formed on his face. They hadn't seen anything other than annoyed or angry the past month.
Tony frowned, "What do you mean she's losing?"
Jaken looked at all of them with slightly wide eyes. She hadn't told them? "You don't know?"
"Know what demon?" Natasha asked harshly. Natasha and Jaken did not like each other. They had gotten into a very large disagreement the third day he was here and they tended to tray and avoid each other if possible.
Jaken let out a huff, humans were so ignorant. If he wasn't here Kagome probably would be dead by now. Honestly, he wished Inukimi would just come out of hiding and take both of them up to her castle. He guessed that the cats could come as well, the Miko seemed to like them for some reason. But, he guessed that she liked these humans as well.
"Jaken, what is going on?" Steve asked in a voice that demanded an answer. It was his Captain America voice, which meant he meant business.
Jaken growled, annoyed that he was going to have to explain things to humans, "Listen mates aren't meant to be apart from each other. It's not usually that dire of a problem as mates can usually be apart up to a month before starting to feel the strain of their other's absence. That is only if they part willingly. The Miko and Lord Sesshomaru did not part on their own terms, so the strain started after a few days instead of a month. Mi Lord lasted a few days past a month before losing the battle to his beast and Inukimi was forced to trap him. The Miko is going on two months, which is impressive especially for a human. I think she is fighting for her baby's sake only, but she can only fight it for so long. Her mind is already starting to shut down, the proof is her not eating all of her food. The death of so many loved ones doesn't help her mental health either. Also, the fact that we have made no progress in finding anyone doesn't help. She's starting to lose hope and in her circumstance that could very well be deadly. You Clint and the red head are part of her pack, she's adopted you into her little family. If anyone is able to snap her out of this and keep her fighting for a bit longer it's you two."
They hadn't made any progress which was frustrating everyone. Tony had gotten a picture of Koga from Kagome's scrapbook and had constantly been running a face search for the man. Not a single hit had shown up as of yet. Either the man stayed inside all day where there were no cameras to hack, or he was in the middle of a forest or something similar. Jaken had been looking for hints on where Inukimi's floating castle was, but apparently, she had gone into hiding the moment she kicked Jaken out. No word had been found on Naraku or any of his evil little helpers, so they were no closer to finding Sota or Shippo. They also had no clues on where Inukimi had hidden her barrier so looking for Sesshomaru and Rin was a dead end as well. They were all understandably frustrated, but they hadn't realized just how much of a hit it was taking on Kagome.
Determination filled Clint's eyes, it was time, "Nat go get out bags. Jaken go pack a bag for Kagome that will last her a week. We're going on a little vacation. Hopefully a change of scenery will help her."
Natasha nodded immediately, knowing exactly where Clint was planning on taking Kagome. She stood up and made her way towards the elevator, "Come on demon, we are leaving as soon as possible."
Tony stood up, a panic in his eyes, "I'm coming too." He had thought she was fine. Depressed from everything that happened, but fine. What kind of crappy father was he turning out to be? He had his daughter in his house for a whole month and she was already giving up on life apparently. He hadn't noticed at all! He had been a little worried when she had stopped coming up during the day, but she had given the excuse that she was tired and just wanted some quiet. How gullible was he? Tony was completely beating himself up over the situation.
"Sorry Tony you can't come. The place we are going is a classified location, not even Shield knows about it. But it's surrounded by nature and hopefully that change of scenery will help her out a bit." Clint realized Tony was still going to argue about his coming along, "Tony I will pin you to the wall with arrows if you follow. Seriously I can't let anyone know about this place." He felt bad, the man just learned very bad news about his daughter. He couldn't let Tony or anyone else find out about his home though. He had people to protect, and Kagome was one of them damnit. "Look Tony I'll keep you updated on her condition at the end of every day, but you can't come along."
Tony let out a reluctant sigh of defeat, then an idea blossomed in his mind, "Do you really think that some nature will help her?"
"I don't know for sure. What I do know is that she spent the last four years in a place where there was nothing but nature. Maybe if she was around something that reminded her of her time in the past, with him, will help her mind keep fighting. I'll be damned if I let her lose this battle."
Tony nodded at his logic, "Right. Well get going birdbrain, I'll be waiting for those updates." He then walked away quickly, ignoring the want to sneak onto the quinjet that Clint was obviously going to borrow. He pulled out his phone and dialed Pepper, she answered on the third ring, "Hey Pep, how difficult would it be to build a greenhouse on the roof in a week?"
Kagome was sitting on a recliner that she had gotten for her room. Buyo was sleeping on the cat condo that Pepper had gotten for him. Kirara was curled on a pillow next to her. On her lap was her scrapbook, she was turned to a page that had a picture of her family on it. Miroku must have stolen her camera to take the picture. She remembered being surprised when she had developed these pictures and finding that one. Sesshomaru was sitting on the bank of a river watching over his family. Kagome was playing in the water with her two kids. She remembered that day. It had been really hot that day so they had decided to take a break from traveling and spend the day by a river. Miroku had taken the picture right as Kagome, Shippo, and Rin teamed up against Sesshomaru as they decided to splash water at the Daiyoukai who had refused to get into the water with them. Sesshomaru had a smirk on his face as he knew he was going to be able to avoid the incoming wave. The three in the water had huge smiles on their faces, Kagome had been laughing with joy.
A frown came over her face, she missed those days and wanted them back more desperately that anything she could remember. She knew she was starting to lose focus more, case in point she was pretty sure she had been staring at this picture for more than an hour. She was doing her best to keep fighting the urge to simply give up but giving up was sounding better and better by the day. She had no idea how Sesshomaru had lasted a month before giving into his beast. It was slightly easier for her as she didn't have a beast in her mind screaming at her that everything was wrong all the time. She also had a little bit of Sesshomaru inside of her to keep her moving. She was absolutely sure that she was going to make it to the birth of her child, not doing so wasn't even an option. She would give her child life if it was the last thing she did. Which at this point was the problem. With how quickly her mind liked to shut down or go into full on panic mode, she wasn't sure if she was going to survive the birthing process. She didn't want to do that to her baby however. She didn't want to leave her baby with no parents to look after them.
Kagome looked up with a start as her bedroom door slammed open. She turned to see Jaken come into her room, he didn't even look at her as he made his way into her closet. She watched him slightly confused as he came out with a small suitcase. Her confusion grew as he started shoving some of her clothes into her bag. What was going on? She was about to voice her question when Clint poked his head into her room.
"Hey Gome, how are you doing? I heard that you didn't eat all of your lunch, you feeling okay?"
Kagome frowned slightly, "I just wasn't very hungry. What's going on Cint?"
Clint rolled his eyes, of course Jaken wouldn't explain anything to her. He was leaving it up to him, "We are going somewhere for the week. I figured you could use a change of scenery. It's got to be boring to be in the same set of rooms all the time. So; you, Natasha, Jaken, Kirara, and myself are going somewhere."
"Where are we going?" she didn't really want to go anywhere. She refused to go outside as she could sense demons all over the city and she didn't want to risk anything. Demons now a day could probably kill her and make it look like a mugging gone wrong and she wasn't risking her baby like that. They also hadn't heard any movement from Naraku at all, she was assuming that he was learning all he could about the time period he was now in. Naraku didn't like being ignorant about something, that was for sure. She wasn't sure how long he planned on being idle however and she didn't want to be somewhere there could be collateral damage if he decided to start attacking once again.
He gave her a patient smile, he knew her concerns. He knew exactly why she hadn't gone outside once since getting here. Well that, plus it would be bad if the press found out about her. She was very visibly pregnant and would be for another five months. They couldn't let the press find out about her as they would know immediately that something was up and that would just be a nightmare. "We are going to the farm Gome."
Kagome's eye went wide with shock and excitement, "Really?" Clint had talked about his home before, always calling it the farm. She knew that Clint had a wife and two kids, a boy and a girl. She also knew however that Clint never brought anyone to the farm. The less people that knew about it the less of a chance that his family could get hurt.
"Yup. I talked to Laura last time I went over and she really wants to meet you. Her exact words were, 'I need to meet the girl that caught your attention just as Natasha did.' I told her that I would bring you along next time. I wasn't going to go back until next week, but hey now works to. I love going home to see my family, and you are part of that family now Gome."
A blush spread across Kagome's face, and tears started forming in her eyes. She wasn't sad, not at all in this moment. Clint had just made her happier than she had been since getting rescued from the mental hospital. She took one last look of the picture she had been staring at before shutting the book and placing it carefully on her desk. She turned to look at Buyo, she would have to have one of the others watch him for the week. She knew Kirara would stick close to her, but she didn't feel like accidently losing Buyo as he tended to wander.
Kagome stood up and wiped the tears away, her other hand resting on her stomach. To reassure herself that her baby was still fine, she needed to do that a lot. It was a constant worry in the back of her mind that something would happen. Most of the time she had a hand on her stomach, just rubbing the bump that held her little baby. "Jaken please pack my scrapbook as well." She didn't want that too far away from her. Sometimes when her mind really started to wander, or she felt super depressed she would look through her scrapbook. The pictures of her friends and family always seemed to settle her soul a bit.
Jaken grunted, showing that he heard her, as he continued to pack her bag. He was packing some of his things as well as the Neko's in the bag as well. He really hoped that this trip was what the Miko needed. He just needed to keep her going until they make progress on one of their missions.
Kagome let Jaken continue packing her bag as she made her way to Buyo. Kirara hopped onto the bed to overlook Jaken's packing, she knew Kagome would be back soon and she wanted to make sure that the imp packed everything that he should. Kagome picked up her fat cat and made her way to the doorway. Clint looked down at her, a smile on his face, as he moved out of her way. She still cared even when fighting for her mental health. Most people in her place probably would have forgotten about the cat, not Kagome though.
"Why don't you wait for me up on the common floor. I'll bring everything up, the quinjet is parked above us anyway." Clint told her.
Kagome nodded to him and started walking down the hall. She had only walked a few feet before she turned around, "Hey Clint don't let Jaken to pack my bow. There could be low level demons around and I don't want your family to get hurt."
"I'll make sure to grab it. Now go take care of your cat." Clint smiled at her before moving down the hall to his room to pack his own bag. He didn't need to pack much as pretty much anything he needed was at his house.
Kagome made her way to the elevator and it opened for her, Kagome smiled slightly, "Thank you Jarvis. Could you bring me up to the commons please?"
"Not a problem Miss Kagome. I wish you well on your trip." He informed her.
Kagome smiled at the camera. Jarvis really was a sweetheart. She knew he had been helping Jaken look after her the past month. She started petting Buyo and the cat started purring up a storm. She knew exactly who she was going to ask to watch Buyo. Buyo had taken a liking to Bruce. When he wasn't chilling in her room with her, he was sneaking into Bruce's lab to spend time with him. She had no idea how Buyo got off their floor, let alone into Bruce's lab which was a secure area. All she knew was if Buyo wanted to get somewhere, he was getting in there. The elevator doors opened up and she walked into the common area's living room. She saw Steve and Bruce talking quietly to each other. She wasn't sure where Tony was, he tended to disappear a lot. She made her way over to them, making enough noise to let them know she was there. She didn't like interrupting people's conversations and for all she knew what they were talking about wasn't something that she shouldn't hear.
Steve turned and smiled at the girl that was standing there, looking sorry for interrupting them. Not that they were talking about something important, mainly about how to deal with Tony the coming week. "Hey Kagome. Good to see you out."
Kagome gave a tiny smile, "Thanks. I'm sorry to worry everyone." She turned to look at Bruce, "Um, Bruce? Do you think you could look after Buyo this week? I can't take him along where I'm going."
Bruce looked at her with wide eyes, "I… I don't know Kagome. I don't think I'm really the person who should watch him."
Kagome looked at him sincerely, "Nonsense Bruce. Buyo likes you the best after myself here. I would really appreciate it if you would look after him for me."
Bruce looked like he was going to argue more but Steve elbowed him in the side to stop him. This was the first time she had come to them for something. Anything she had needed in the past month she depended on Jaken, Jarvis, or Natasha.
Bruce looked flustered, but he nodded and moved to take Buyo from her, "Sure. I'll watch him."
Kagome smiled at him, "Thank you Bruce. He shouldn't be much trouble, he sleeps most of the day. If you need any help Jarvis knows what he needs and where all of his things are."
"Well, I'll do my best." He assured her.
Kagome sat down and started chatting with Steve and Bruce. Kagome felt herself lighten a bit, this was the most she had socialized in the past week. Isolating herself was a stupid move on her part, though it had seemed like what she wanted at the time. The boys started talking about Thor and how he should finally be getting back in the next few days. He was supposed to come back a few weeks ago, but he had gotten held up with his girlfriend. Apparently, she was close to a breakthrough and she wanted Thor to stick around and help her. Which the god had agreed to. When Thor came back he was bringing both Jane and Darcy back with him. Tony had finally bribed Jane enough to come and work with him in the tower. Though she probably finally gave in to be closer to Thor, not that Kagome blamed her. She would give anything to be closer to the ones that she loved.
A few minutes later Clint, Natasha, and Jaken walked into the room. Natasha was carrying her own bag while Clint was holding Kagome's and his own. Jaken had his staff clutched tightly in his hands, it looked like Clint had wanted him to keep it here. Jaken would not go for that. Natasha had Kagome's bow slung over her shoulder and Kirara was sitting comfortably on her head. The moment Kirara saw Kagome she jumped to Natasha's shoulder before leaping to Kagome. Kagome caught the flying Neko and transferred her to her shoulder. Kirara settled down in the crook of her neck and started purring calmly. Kagome smiled and rubbed Kirara's nose lightly.
"Ready to go Gome?" Clint asked.
Kagome nodded and made her way over to her little traveling group, waving goodbye to Steve and Bruce, "Tell Tony I said goodbye." She called out to them before following Natasha into the elevator. A short ride later they arrived to the level the quinjet was parked on. It was on the most top floor, just under the roof. They loaded into the jet, Clint making his way to the driver's seat so they could get going right away. Natasha made sure Kagome was comfortable where she was as she started getting ready for the flight.
They made it up into the air and were off on a brisk pace for a good twenty minutes before Clint set autopilot on and going back by the girls and Jaken. The moment he laid his eyes on Jaken he glared at him and got his attention, using the most serious tone he had available he warned the imp, "The place we are going is very important to me. It is a very well-kept secret and the only people who know about it are on this plane, and Director Fury. I will tell you this only once imp. You will keep this location to yourself, you will not tell anyone about where we are going and what is there. If you cannot comply with that I will open up the hatch right now and toss your ass off of this plane. Understand?"
Jaken paled slightly. This human was usually useless and joked around all the time. He had never seen him so serious and threatening before. The most put together he had seen him was when he was helping out the Miko, usually holding back her hair when she was sick in the morning. Thankfully she only had around one more month of morning sickness, that should relieve some of the stress she has been feeling. He looked right at the human and gave him a nod, if what he suspected was right they were going to see the human's family which he protected with a passion, "I give you my word."
Kagome looked at him with wide eyes before a smile appeared, "He means it Clint. He doesn't give his word lightly. He will literally die before telling your secret. Most demons are true to their word. Demons that break their word are no longer trusted and if Jaken broke his word it would reflect poorly on Sesshomaru, which is something Jaken would never do."
Clint sighed before accepting the demon's word. If Kagome trusted him, then he would have to as well. He was taking a risk bringing the imp along as well, but he knew that the demon was not letting Kagome out of his sight for long. Jaken felt he was responsible for her and he took his responsibilities very seriously.
Clint decided to lighten the mood as he pulled out a pack of cards, "Who wants to play some poker?"
Natasha grinned at him ferally, "I never play for fun Barton, you know that."
Clint accepted her challenge, "It's my turn to win Romanov."
Kagome blushed, "I um… don't have anything to bet with."
"Use Stark's money." Both Natasha and Clint said at the same time.
A grin started forming on Kagome's face, "Well then, who's dealing first?" She knew they would underestimate her, but unknown to them her mother was actually a very big poker fan. She never gambled, always playing for fun, but she had taught her daughter the ins and outs of the game. These two were going down.