*InuYasha and Diabolik Lovers could never be owned by me. I would combine them into one anime and they would end up killing each other.
General POV
Kagome had already packed her bags by the time she was heading to school the next night. She knew that they would be insistent on her moving into their manor right away and she didn't want to deal with them trying to boss her around in that respect. She had been tempted to take another herbal bath rather than a normal one, but she wanted to ask something else from them and she would be less likely to get her way if she was burning them every time they touched her.
When she went down the steps, their limo was waiting for her and Ayato was standing outside the open car door. "You're late, birdie."
"No, you're early," she smirked at him before climbing into the limo without hesitation. He followed her inside a second later and ended up sitting next to him as they pulled away from the curb.
They were all staring at her when Reiji began to speak. "You have come to your senses and decided to come with us."
"It could be argued that I've lost my senses and decided to accept your offer to provide assistance with my shrine in exchange for my becoming your prospective bride and seeing if I can even go through the Awakening." Kagome countered easily. "So long as you keep your word and make sure that it is properly taken care of, and that none of you will hunt innocent people while I am providing you my blood, I've decided that this was the best option."
"So Miko-chan likes us after all," Laito smiled at her.
Ayato subtly, and carefully, brushed his fingers across her shoulder as he draped his arm behind her. When he wasn't burned like the last time, he roughly pulled her body against his. Kagome gasped in surprise and then froze as the red headed vampire ran the tip of his tongue along the column of her throat.
"Hmm, you taste good, birdie." Ayato whispered in her ear a moment before she felt the tips of his fangs lightly scrape against her skin.
"How many times have I told you to keep such activities private?" Reiji said forcefully.
Ayato snarled at him but released Kagome. "Shut up! It's been forever since we've fed well and I'm thirsty!"
"Always thinking of yourself first," Laito smirked at his brother. "But you forget that Shu, Reiji and I saw her first. That means that we have claim before you."
"Like hell! The first bite is going to belong to Yours Truly."
As the vampires continued to argue amongst themselves, Kagome couldn't help but look to Shu, Subaru, and Reiji and roll her eyes at the argument; which continued the entire way to school without any of them getting so much as a drop of her blood. The argument reminded her of the way youkai would attempt to establish territory and dominance, something that she was very familiar with and found comforting.
In class, she was about to sit in her usual seat when Laito took her bag and her arm, escorting her to his seat in the back corner of the room before sitting down beside her. Not seeing the point in arguing, she let him lead her and sat quietly while paying attention to the lesson. She also noticed the miffed looks that Shu and Reiji gave them and quickly surmised that they didn't like how Laito was attempting to stake his claim on her by seating her next to him and away from his brothers.
Dinner time saw her back on the roof with the vampires surrounding her again. She didn't know what was safe to talk about since all of them seemed a bit volatile at the moment, so she kept silent as she ate. When she saw Kanato eyeing her cookies again, she pulled two out for herself and tossed him the bag with the remaining two. He easily caught it and gave her that innocent, creepy smile of his before he started eating them.
After the rest of their classes were finished, they all went out to the limo to take them back to the shrine so Kagome could get her bags and return with them to the manor. As they walked, she noticed how they were positioned around her, as if they were surrounding her and it made her smile. This was a formation that she had seen before when youkai packs were protecting something precious to them and it made her feel wanted for the first time in a long time.
When they got to the shrine, she jogged up the steps ahead of them to get herself into position. When all of them arrived at the edge of the barrier, she made a point of looking at all of them before saying a prayer and removing two of the key talismans. Subaru was the first to reach out his hand to test it, then step across the line where the barrier had been to show the others that it was safe to cross.
"I've just got to grab two bags. I shouldn't…" her words trailed off as she felt an intense dark aura approaching quickly and looked towards it. The brothers must have sensed it too since they all looked the same direction and snarled.
"Do you recognize the scent? Is it an enemy you know?" She asked quickly.
"No." One of them said, she didn't catch who.
"Then this one's probably for me," Kagome muttered under her breath before running into her house only to come out a moment later holding a bow and with a quiver of arrows on her back. "This isn't a threat, but unless all of you want to risk accidentally being purified I'd suggest you keep your distance during this fight."
"You think you'll be able to take that thing on? Are you stupid?" Ayato yelled at her, but she noticed that he had heeded her warning and backed away from her.
She took a deep breath as she reached out with her powers to try to identify what was coming at her. It didn't take more than a moment to recognize the dark priestess and suppress the shudder that went up her back. "That's exactly what I think, and don't call me stupid. I've already fought this woman a couple times before. She was no match for me back then, but it does feel like her powers have increased a little."
The brothers looked on with surprise. It wasn't often, even in the vampire world, that they would see a female strap on a weapon and stand tall on a battlefield to face an enemy. Female vampires were better known for seducing and bending others to their will and have someone else do their dirty work for them. Much like Cordelia had attempted to do with their uncle.
But from what little they knew of Kagome, it shouldn't have been a surprise that she was different. Subaru could see the determination in her eyes and felt in awe of it. Reiji was actually looking forward to observing the coming battle so he could gather more information on their latest bride. Ayato wanted to push her back and stand before her as proof that he was strong enough to protect her. Shu and Kanato both thought that whatever was about to happen would be entertaining. And Laito thought that seeing their new bride decked out in weapons and ready to go into battle was a serious turn on.
A moment later, a young looking silver haired woman wearing traditional priestess clothes in dark colors strolled out from behind one of the buildings and smiled at Kagome. The snake that wound itself around her body looked at all of them, flicking its tongue out to test the air before hissing as it identified them as a threat. But its mistress didn't even spare the vampires a glance.
The brothers could tell that this woman was like them but not. She was much older than she appeared, centuries old even, but she was not a vampire. The power they felt coming off of her was also similar to Kagome's but the opposite, total darkness where their bride's power was pure.
"It's been a while, Tsubaki." Kagome said as she looked at the dark priestess that she hadn't seen since the Feudal Era.
"Indeed, it has. I'd have thought you would have died long ago, but then both of us are still here. What naughty things have you done so stay so young?" She inquired, giving Kagome a peevish look.
"I've done nothing. But I can see you're still up to your old tricks."
"One does what one has to do to survive," Tsubaki said absently as she stroked her snake under his chin. "Especially since I discovered that I cannot die."
"What?" Kagome gasped.
"It would seem that the curse I placed on you still lingers ever-so-slightly in your essence. So long as you live, I cannot die."
"Congratulations, Tsubaki. You finally got your eternal life, youth and beauty; just like you wanted." Kagome commented, barely containing the urge to applaud the evil priestess.
To her surprise, her expression fell. "One would think that, until having to live on their own for over five centuries while the world changes into something that no longer makes sense." Then her expression turned harsh again. "That is why I will not let you live."
Kagome might have felt sympathy for the woman, but this entire situation was that of her own making and she was not about to let herself be killed. "We've done this song and dance before, Tsubaki. You know that you can't beat me."
"Except I can," the dark priestess smiled at her. "You can fight me all you like but you won't be able to deal the final blow because my body simply won't accept it. So you will wear yourself out trying to kill me. Then I will simply kill you since I can tell you still hold your human frailty. You will die tonight and I along with you like I should have been able to do centuries ago."
The brothers listened in with great interest and confusion. They had been right in thinking that the dark priestess was old, but what about Kagome? They could tell that she was human, abet an extraordinary one, so how could this woman claim that she had known Kagome for centuries? They also noticed that Kagome had not corrected her.
"I'll explain this to you later," she called out to them, probably sensing their line of thought before turning her attention back to her opponent. "Perhaps you're right and part of that curse you put on me still lingers. If that's the case, maybe all you need is for me to actually kill you this time so you can find peace."
Kagome pulled an arrow from her quiver and took aim at the dark priestess who had started laughing. "Go ahead, I'll even give you the first shot!"
The vampires watched with fascination as the arrow Kagome had notched began to glow with her powers a moment before she released it. It hit the priestess dead in the chest and caused the woman to double over in pain for a long moment before pulling the arrow from her body. Then she was chuckling again. "That hurt much more than I thought it would, but I was right. You don't have the power to kill me."
Kagome looked on, completely shocked that the arrow had failed to kill her. Maybe she's telling the truth. What if the only way for her to die is by killing me? Her senses came on high alert as black-purple energy began swirling around Tsubaki's hands and shot at her in spheres.
The brothers were barely able to hold themselves back as the first energy sphere exploded in the place Kagome had been standing and they hadn't seen her even try to dodge. Then the dust cleared and they could only stare when they saw her standing in the exact same place that she had been and surrounded by a barrier of her own power.
"So, you've learned some new tricks over the past five hundred years. Good, otherwise this might be disappointing," Tsubaki laughed as she sent another energy sphere into Kagome's barrier. It didn't even make the purifying miko flinch.
"It might have been over five hundred years for you, but it's only been about three years for me. I'm surprised you never figured it out. After all, you were playing around in my head for close to two days when you cursed me." Kagome taunted as she notched another arrow and fired it at Tsubaki. The dark priestess tried to dodge it that time, but the arrow completely disappeared from sight for a moment before reappearing directly in front of her and lodging in her stomach, causing the woman to scream out in pain as she collapsed to her knees. "I will admit that you're powerful, Tsubaki. You always were. Which means that it will probably take more than those two arrows to kill you. Since you came here with the intent of ending your existence, I will do that for you, but I will not let mine end with you."
The woman screamed in anguish as she threw multiple energy spheres at Kagome at the same time. She dodged this time, jumping back and left to avoid the attack before releasing another arrow which ended up in her shoulder. This time, the dark priestess coughed up a mouthful of blood as she watched Kagome stand tall before her.
It was because Tsubaki was looking at her that she saw the slight smile on her face. Then she realized that the snake wasn't there.
"Left!" Subaru yelled.
She turned her head fast to see the snake charging at her with its mouth open, ready to bite her. Kagome quickly swung up her bow to hit the familiar in the head. The snake's power reversed and returned to its mistress, but Tsubaki blasted the snake with her powers before it could enter her through her eye just as it had done before.
"Why won't you just die?" The dark priestess screamed as she stood again, glaring at Kagome. "I have tried to kill you again and again and you just won't die! I have cursed you, sent other priestesses after you and your friends. I've even tried to take you out in a modern sense, but you just won't die!"
"What are you talking about? What do you mean 'modern sense?'" Kagome asked in confusion.
A look of insane glee suddenly filled Tsubaki's eyes as she started to laugh. "What? Don't tell me that you still haven't figured it out! Oh, this is just too good! You really are pathetic! That hanyou was right when he called yo- AH!"
Kagome cut off the woman's rant with an arrow to her knee, knowing that the pain would be excruciating as the woman went sprawling to the ground again. "If you're only going to ramble about useless things, then just shut up!"
"Oh, so you consider what happened to your family to be useless?" She smiled as blood dribbled from her mouth and down her chin. The way she had said that gave Kagome pause. This made the dark priestess smile wider as she kept going. "Didn't you ever think it was strange that they never found the car that struck you family's car? That the authorities weren't even able to decipher anything about the other vehicle that might have hit them? Or even why no one reported seeing the accident or their car on such a busy road?"
Kagome's mouth went dry as she stared down at Tsubaki and her grip on her bow tightened until she swore that she could hear the wood begin to crack. No… It's not possible. I was supposed to be in that car but I had a fever so Mom told me to stay home. And the police had said it was strange that no one had reported seeing their car flipped on the side of the road until after all of them had already died. "You didn't…"
Tsubaki started laughing even harder than she had before. "Believe what you want, but it doesn't change anything. Hell, I consider my last attempt to be the kindest thing I could have done since you would have died with your family rather than alone and unwanted," she told her as she struggled to her feet. "But then, maybe that's what's left of the curse. Being used and abandoned for the rest of your existence so that the feeling of being alone will always be there. Everytime you think you might have found someone who loves you, they will use you or compare you to the memory of someone else, just like InuYasha did with Kikyo."
Upon hearing that name spoken out loud, Kagome screamed and rushed forward to beat the daylights out of the dark priestess. What she didn't see, but the vampires did, was the dagger that Tsubaki had pulled from a sheath at her back.
Before their bride could reach the dark priestess, Reiji was restraining Kagome while Subaru and Ayato had disarmed and restrained Tsubaki. The miko struggled against the vampire's hold to get free and destroy the woman that had killed her family, but he was too strong.
"Do not allow this vermin's words to affect you in such a way, it is unbecoming of our prospective bride," Reiji told Kagome, trying to distract her from her rage.
"Let me go! She needs to die! I need to kill her!" Kagome screamed.
"Then allow us to help, Miko-chan." Laito told her before shifting his cold, green eyes to the dark priestess. "You believe that your curse still lingers in her essence and that is why you can't die. Well, then there is a very simple solution to all of this," he said causing Tsubaki to halt her struggles and glare at the red headed vampire.
"You see," Reiji continued, his cold red eyes looking past Kagome to glare at the dark priestess. "The powers of a pureblood vampire have the ability to completely take over a new host, which is why prolonged exposure to us will eventually cause a human to go through the Awakening. But the first exposure is always the most jarring to the system, which is why the host will always lose consciousness that first time. Anything impure or unnatural that might be clinging to them is destroyed. Which means that the remnants of such a pitiful curse should be destroyed after the first bite."
Kagome noticed Tsubaki's struggles increase at the same time she felt Reiji's breath tickle her neck and realized that she was trying to stop the vampire. Deciding that this was as good a time to test her trust for the vampires she had promised herself to just earlier that night, she tilted her head to the side and exposed her neck to the vampire that was holding her from behind, giving him permission.
The vampire needed no more prompting as he lightly ran his tongue over her skin before biting down on her neck. He felt her body tense at the initial pain of his bite but then he was swept away by the taste of raw power and purity of the blood that was filling his mouth. It was amazing and he couldn't help but suck greedily as her essence filled his mouth and body. He saw that Tsubaki was screaming in agony as her body began to wither and age in his brothers' holds until her body seemed to mummify and fall apart before they released her, but that was of little consequence to him. He also noticed Kagome start to waver in his hold before her legs gave out and she fell unconscious. He took one final draw of her blood before withdrawing his fangs from her neck and licking his mark to seal the wound.
His entire body was humming with power as he shifted her in his arms so he could hold her properly before looking at his brothers. One glance and he knew that they were angry that he had gotten the first taste of her powerful blood, and they were right to be. She tasted absolutely amazing. But they would have their chance since she had agreed to be theirs.
"Kanato, Subaru; deal with that corpse. Make sure that no traces of it can be found. Ayato, she said that she had prepared two bags inside, retrieve them. The sooner we bring her to the manor the better. I have questions for her when she wakes up." Reiji instructed them. He then turned with Kagome still in his arms to take her back down to the limo, but saw Shu picking up the bow that she had dropped.
Once everyone was inside, he chose to ignore the glares he was receiving as he held the unconscious girl close to him. Her skin had become slightly pale due to the blood he had taken, but she was still beautiful. He couldn't wait to get her home and settled in. When she woke, he would have questions for her about what she had done and what she had discussed with the dark priestess. She was such a plethora of information and he wanted to know all of her secrets, even if he had to torture her to get them.
A/N: I wanted to really show how powerful Kagome was and, at the same time, explain what happened to her family. This seemed like a good way to do it, even if the reasoning behind Tsubaki's attack might not have made complete sense. But, now Kagome will be spending her time at the manor with the guys and the real fun can begin!
Hope you enjoyed the fight! Warm-Fuzzies and please vote and review!
A/N 2: Bucharest was absolutely awesome, btw! Even got to check out Dracula's castle in the Carpathian Mountains and try some of the local grub. Was so worth the time and the money to go there and explore! I highly recommend it if you get the chance! Thank you all for being patient for the next chapter until I got home!