TITLE: Cursed Twins

AUTHOR: InuYoukaiAki

DISCLAIMER: I do not own InuYasha and Co.

Author's Note: This is the edited chapters. Thank you to my wonderful beta who never tire of giving me advices, criticisms and encouragement. Thank you!

CHAPTER 11: Unleashed

InuTaisho felt Sesshoumaru and Kagome approach. They were still a while a way and the others cannot sense them yet. It was just that he and Kagome have some kind of connection due to the mark he had placed on her before he dropped her in the well. They had been gone for a while now and Inuyasha had begun to feel antsy. InuTaisho knew that Inuyasha had wanted to follow Kagome after finding out that Sesshoumaru had followed her but refrained from doing so because of his pride.

As time ticked by and the two had not returned, Inuyasha's restlessness had started to manifest. He had observed him patiently and was amused as his younger son could not help but glance every once in a while in the direction where Kagome had disappeared. He had also observed the twins who had been looking at that same direction after Inuyasha had settled into his sulking position.

It was really amusing to think that three of the most powerful creatures in feudal Japan were smitten with a small slip of a human girl. It was evident that Kenji and Yoji had already come to terms with their feelings. However, Sesshoumaru was still unaware of his attachment to the miko and Inuyasha was too stubborn to admit to this. It would be really interesting to watch the development. He did not particularly care who would mate Kagome. What was important was that one of them does in order for the prophecy to be fulfilled. He wondered who among them would be chosen by the young miko.

Inuyasha would have the biggest advantage if he would get over his stubborn attitude and pursue her. However, Sesshoumaru would also have an advantage if the attraction between the two were any indication. The only problem with his two sons was that they were both stubborn. He sighed. InuTaisho would really like Kagome as one of his sons mate. Her warm and pure nature would do wonders for his sons.

Well, he would just have to see. When Kagome and Sesshoumaru were within sensing distance of the others, InuTaisho walked over to Totousai and Myouga. The two bowed deferentially to him with tears in their eyes.

"We are so glad to be in your presence once more, InuTaisho-sama," Myouga said emotionally.

Totousai nodded earnestly.

"And I am thankful for your continued loyalty to my sons," he said with a bow of his own.

"It is our honor to serve your great sons," Totousai declared.

InuTaisho nodded. "Did you bring the sword?" he asked seriously.

Totousai nodded and handed the sword to his lord. It was wrapped in a package and had remained unresponsive throughout the years. InuTaisho took the sword and turned. Kagome and Sesshoumaru had emerged from the tears. Kagome looked so vulnerable with sadness in her eyes. He walked slowly towards the little miko who watched his approach with a small sad smile. Seeing her now, InuTaisho wanted to beat Inuyasha for his callous treatment of her.

"Are you alright?" he asked her tenderly.

Kagome nodded. "Yes, thank you," she replied. "So, what do we do now?"

InuTaisho looked over at Sesshoumaru who remained immobile by Kagome's side. "We ask the Lord of the West to allow us to stay in his dwelling," he answered Kagome while looking at Sesshoumaru's eyes.

- - -

Everybody's eyes were now fixed on Sesshoumaru. He had not said a word to his father and nobody could really guest what was on his mind. Kagome knew better. But she still held her breath as she waited for Sesshoumaru's reply. She looked at Sesshoumaru and saw the very slight shift in his facial features. The others might not notice the momentary shock in his eyes before he was able to mask it again. Apparently, he had expected his father to just take over everything now that he was back. She smiled inwardly. InuTaisho really trusted Sesshoumaru.

Kagome watched as Sesshoumaru bowed to his father. "Of course, Father," he replied evenly. "The Western Lands await the return of its master."

"No, Son," InuTaisho said as he placed a hand on his eldest son's shoulder. "You are now the ruler of the Western Lands. My time as the Lord of the West had passed. It is now your responsibility."

Sesshoumaru nodded deferentially. "It is an honor, Father," he replied regally.

Although his cold mask remained, Kagome noticed the absence of this same coldness in Sesshoumaru's eyes. She was glad for this and her smile became genuine and warm as she directed it towards the proud demon.

Kagome's brows knitted when a thought occurred to her. She glanced at her friends. If she would be going to the Western Lands, she was not sure if the others would also be welcome there. She was contemplating the present circumstances when Sesshoumaru's word brought her head up.

"Your friends are also welcome in the Western Lands," Sesshoumaru said in his usual bored tone as if he read her mind.

She immediately smiled at his words. The warmth of her smile and gaze solely directed at the Taiyoukai who had always been cold. "Thank you, Sesshoumaru-sama," she said breathlessly and bowed.

InuTaisho was secretly pleased with the developments. It seemed that Sesshoumaru could not stay cold when it comes to Kagome. He just hoped that this would develop into a relationship that would improve the disposition of his eldest son.

- - -

It had taken them longer to get back to the Western Lands. It had been a long hard journey and Kagome's present state of mind did not help her either. But she had acted as usual, forcing herself to remain cheerful despite everything. Only InuTaisho knew exactly what the prophecy was except for Kagome.

It was odd that Sesshoumaru had not used the sphere. Kagome had thought that he would use it as soon as she retrieved it. Maybe he was just waiting for the right opportunity when nobody would witness it. She dreaded the time he would hear it finally. What would he think?

She sighed as she saw Sesshoumaru's looming castle. It was old but it had not lost its glory. The castle was well kept. It stood on a high cliff. There were wild vines and flowers crawling on its walls that added to the wild beauty of it.

While traveling, Kagome had walked with Sango and Miroku. She had refused to talk to Inuyasha for the first few days. However, when a snake youkai with a shard attacked them, she was not able to stay mad at him especially since he had been hurt because of saving her. She glanced at her friend who was walking a few paces to her right.

"How is your wound, Inuyasha?" she could not help asking.

"Keh! It was just a scratch," he replied gruffly.

Kagome smiled to herself. It was just a scratch but she was afraid he was poisoned. Fortunately, he was not. "If you say so," she said with a shrug.

Her eyes strayed to Sesshoumaru who was leading the way. He walked regally and talked to no one. But every night, when everyone was asleep and Kagome would wander off on her own, Sesshoumaru always followed her. They rarely talked and most of the time they were content just to stay in companionable silence.

Both had refrained from any physical contact since every time they touch, it seemed to end up in some intense encounter. They would just sit and watch the stars. Sometimes, they would exchange a few words and then head back to camp. It had become a routine and she felt comfortable with the demon lord's presence.

She smiled to herself. Sesshoumaru was not even half as bad as she thought.

- - -

It was nightfall when they finally arrived at the Palace of the Moon. Everyone was too tired to even think of dinner and so they had been shown to their quarters to get settled.

Kagome stirred from her room. She could not sleep. Gingerly, she stood up and scanned the room she was in, which was faintly illuminated by a single candle light. Shippou was snoring on the futon. It was the same autumn room she had stayed on before she and Sesshoumaru left for the Eastern Lands. She sighed and went over to her backpack. She changed into her black jogging pants and blue sweater. Tying her hair into a high ponytail, she went out of her room. Her watch beeped as she walked in the halls. She glanced at it and saw the alarm. It was exactly 12 midnight of her twenty-second birthday. Her eyes misted at thought that she would not be able to celebrate it with her family. She sighed and composed herself. There was no use getting all worked up with the situation where she could not do anything about.

She felt restless and felt something calling to her. As she stepped out of the back of the castle, Kagome felt the cool night air on her face. She looked up and saw the full moon. It was high up in the sky indicating the lateness of the hour.

She glanced around. She had never been to this part of the castle and was mesmerized by the sheer beauty of the place. Different kinds of flowers were in bloom and huge trees were all around. In the middle of the garden was a pavilion made of white marble. It glistened under the moonlight and bathed the garden in an ethereal glow. It felt like she was in a fairytale, and Kagome felt compelled to approach it.

It was so beautiful in that garden and Kagome felt peaceful. It was while inspecting the intricate rose carvings on the posts of the pavilion that Kagome noticed an oddity in the carvings. It was very small but she was inspecting the carvings very closely. There, on the middle of the largest carving of a rose appears a small silver circle. Everything else was made of marble except for the small silver circle. She trailed her finger on it and she was surprised when the shards on her neck glowed brightly.

The pink shards trembled, as if called by an unknown power and Kagome was confused and scared. It had never happened before.

A sudden shift in the roof caused Kagome to look up. The roof of the pavilion opened slightly to let the light of the moon to reach her. As soon as the moonlight struck her, the vibration of the shards grew more frantic.

Her eyes widened in alarm and her hand immediately flew to the shards on her neck, afraid that if she let go, the shards would fly away from her.

In her panic, Kagome's power expanded. She was trying to calm the shards but as soon as she let loose her power, everything went out of control. A great wave of pure miko powers came out of her. Panic took hold as Kagome felt her power coming out of her body in strong waves. She tried stopping the tide of power but could not. Then she felt a piercing pain on the nape of her neck that blinded her and caused a scream to escape her lips. And then everything went black.

- - -

It was nearly midnight when Sesshoumaru had finished listening to the sphere of prophecy. He had waited until everyone had been settled for the night to use the sphere. He had chosen his library where he usually transacted the businesses related to the Western Lands.

He was surprised upon hearing the prophecy was an understatement. Everything that was mentioned was about a girl thrown to a distant era and was marked by the ruler of the Palace of the Moon. An image of the crescent mark on Kagome's nape appeared in his thoughts. And the fact that Kagome was the one who retrieved the sphere proved her identity as the younger of the twins. Plus, the fact that she was now the protector of the Shikon no Tama.

A very disturbing phrase echoed in his mind. Mate into the House of the Great InuTaisho... One of them should mate with her. The prophecy did not specify who should so the choice of who would take her as a mate lay in their hands. A picture of Kagome's warm smile and clear blue eyes flitted in his imagination. Then he thought of letting Inuyasha, Kenji or Yoji mate with her crossed his conscious. A growl involuntarily escaped at the thought of any of the three touching Kagome.

"She could always choose to be my mate," InuTaisho's voice invaded Sesshoumaru's private musings.

Sesshoumaru's head snapped to the direction of his father. He was standing at the doorway, looking at him with amusement dancing in his old eyes. Throughout the journey back to the Western Lands, they had few chances to talk. They had exchanged a few words about the lands and about some trivial things.

"Who will you mate with?" Sesshoumaru asked with narrowed eyes as he looked back at his father. He knew perfectly well whom he was referring to but chose to feign ignorance. He did not want him thinking that he was thinking of the miko.

"Kagome, of course," his father answered with a smile. "After all, she needs to mate within our family. But then Yoji and Kenji seemed to be very interested in her. So I guess I'll just leave it to them."

Sesshoumaru did not answer to that. He did not like where the conversation was going. And he would not let his father notice that he was affected of the thought of Kagome mating with anyone of them.

"Well, even I would not think twice of claiming her," InuTaisho said nonchalantly. "After all, Kagome is not without charm. A little young... But then..." the old demon ended his sentence with a smile and a shrug.

Sesshoumaru's narrowed eyes narrowed further as he contemplated his father. "You are saying that you are attracted to her," he said flatly.

"Perhaps," InuTaisho said with a gleam in his eyes.

He opened his mouth to ask his father his motives towards the young miko when he felt the strong wave of raw power followed by Kagome's anguished scream.

In the blink of an eye, the two demons were outside in the gardens. They stood in awe as they saw Kagome crumpled in a heap in the pavilion. Her face was contorted in pain even as she lay unconscious. He black hair cascaded down the steps as her power created a big barrier around her. It crackled with black sparks that they cannot identify. This time, InuTaisho's youki could not be felt in the immense power Kagome was emitting.

There was a pink dome around Kagome similar to the one that Sesshoumaru and the twins had witnessed in the forest. However, this time, the power was tainted with something else. The shards that were in her possession were drifting over the unconscious form in a circle.

Not long after Sesshoumaru and InuTaisho's arrival in the gardens, the others also came out of the castle.

"What the hell happened?" Inuyasha cried as he looked at Sesshoumaru accusingly.

"We do not know," InuTaisho answered in order to placate the irate hanyou.

"Well, aren't we going to help her?" Kenji asked and was about to step into the barrier when InuTaisho's outstretched arm blocked him.

The old demon shook his head. "The barrier is from Kagome's miko powers," he stated. "It is dangerous for us. Even if we are immune to purification, I have never encountered this much raw miko power before. It is a risk I would not allow any of us to take."

"We will try to approach her," Miroku stated as he nodded to Sango who nodded back.

The two began to step towards the barrier. As soon as they made contact with the barrier, they were instantly repelled by a force. The barrier crackled with the black power.

They all looked at each other, worry evident on their faces except for Sesshoumaru who looked calm and emotionless. Evidently, nobody could get to Kagome.

"What do we do now?" Sango asked helplessly.

Sesshoumaru looked at the fallen miko. A vague memory of a long ago night caused him to look at the full moon. It was then that he realized what day it was. "It's the day of her birth," he said to himself.

Realization struck InuTaisho and his eyes narrowed at his son. "How did you know of the day of her birth?" he asked slowly.

"I followed you." Sesshoumaru said flatly.

End Chapter