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 13: A Hanyou's Involvement

"How long are you going to stay cooped up in here?" Sango demanded, looking down at Kagome. Kikyou followed the demon slayer inside Kagome's chambers. Rin bounced inside and landed on Kagome's lap.

It had been three days since the incident and Kagome had not gone out of the room despite the fact that she had fully recovered two days ago. She had become pale from the lack of sunlight and her normally brilliant blue eyes have been clouded ever since. It was making the others worried since they had not seen her in a while.

The young miko smiled tremulously at the trio who just entered her room. Nobody except the three and Shippou visited her for the past three days. She had asked Kikyou to not let anyone else in. She gave up trying to smile and looked down on her lap. Tears that have always been on the brink began to well up again as she swallowed the ever-present lump in her throat. "I don't know," she whispered hoarsely.

"Kagome-chan, let's play!" Rin said excitedly as she tried to pull Kagome up.

"It would do you good to go outside," Kikyou said gently. "The others had been worried for you."

She shook her head mutely as she stared blurrily on her lap. "How can I face them after what happened?" she whispered hoarsely. "How can I look at them and know that I would force one of them to mate me?"

Sango's eyes rolled heavenwards. "Sometimes I wonder if you're just naïve or if you're blind," she said exasperatedly. "If you observe closely, you'd notice that they are more than willing to be your mate."

Kagome looked doubtfully at Sango. Her lips trembled as Sango wrapped her arms around the fragile girl to comfort her. Kikyou went over hesitantly and did the same. "No matter what," Kikyou whispered. "We'll be here. And if they can't appreciate a treasure like you then it is their lost. Now, get up and face them."

Kagome smiled at them. "All right," she said standing up. "But I need to take a bath first."

"Then let's all go together," Sango said and ushered them all to the indoor hot spring near Kagome's bedroom.

- - -

"Why do I have to wear this again?" Kagome asked Sango irritably. They were back in her room. They had finished their bath and Sango was fussing all over her. Kikyou sat quietly at the corner watching them. Amusement was dancing in her eyes.

She looked at herself in the full-length mirror. She was wearing a dark blue kimono with snowflakes embroidered in the hem. Her obi was plain white. Sango was currently brushing her hair.

"I'm just going outside," she argued. "It's not like I'm going to a party."

"Of course you should dress well!" Sango said as she began to braid Kagome's hair neatly. "There are four demons out there who have been anxiously waiting for you. And one of them is going to be your mate. Well, five if you count InuTaisho. But then, I don't think you would consider him."

Kagome huffed in annoyance. Kikyou ad Sango had helped a lot in her recovery and now she was feeling so much better. "And why not?" she asked her friend challengingly. "Of the five of them, InuTaisho is the strongest and wisest. Besides, he's the only one who wasn't a jerk to me. So I'll probably choose him."

Sango smiled knowingly. "Oh, I doubt you'd choose him," she said airily as she arranged a few strands of Kagome's hair to frame her face. There was still a hint of sadness in her eyes but at least her feistiness was back. "I happen to notice something was amiss during the journey back here."

"What do you mean?" Kagome asked warily.

The demon slayer shrugged and began straightening Kagome's kimono. "Nothing, really," she said nonchalantly. "Just that a certain demon lord watched a certain miko when he thought nobody was looking. And that a certain miko also stole glances at the same demon lord," Sango teased mercilessly. Her eyes sparkled as she noticed Kagome blush a becoming shade of pink.

"I was so not looking at Sesshoumaru," she grumbled under her breath.

"What was that?" Sango asked innocently. "Did I hear the miko mention a name? Because I was quite sure I did not mention any."

Kagome rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Sango," she whined. Kagome's irritation vanished when she hears a giggle from Kikyou. Her eyes softened as she looked at her twin. It pained her to think of everything that has happened to Kikyou.

"Well," Kikyou said with a small smile on her face. "I think they have waited long enough. It's time for you to make an appearance."

Kagome's eyes dimmed as doubt seeped into her mind. "I'm not so sure about that," she mumbled sadly. "What if it takes over me again? What if it succeeds?"

Kikyou patted Kagome's hand. "It won't," she said reassuringly. "It will come on the next full moon. You should have chosen before then."

She nodded miserably and allowed the women to usher her out.

- - -

Sesshoumaru sat at the head of the table. It was lunchtime and he made it a habit to dine together with his guests. Kagome still had not made an appearance. He was beginning to worry for her. Irritation rose in him as he acknowledged the emotion. Why should he worry about her? She had brought nothing but trouble to him. He looked around and noticed that the only ones missing aside from Kagome were the demon exterminator and the undead miko. His irritation rose. They should know better than to make everybody wait.

A pleasantly familiar scent of fresh rain and spring blossoms wafted to him. There was no mistaking Kagome's scent. His tensed body relaxed almost instantly without him noticing it. His eyes drifted to the closed door. It opened slowly to reveal Kagome with the two missing guests.

Kagome's head was bowed down, her hair braided neatly with a few strands caressing her face. She was wearing a simple blue kimono that enhanced the color of her eyes. There was a faint blush on her cheeks as her eyes remained downcast, refusing to look at any of them.

Silence descended on the room at large as everybody stared at Kagome. Sesshoumaru looked at Inuyasha and the twins who had similar looks of appreciation on their faces. His father was smilingly fondly with a gleam in his eyes.

His eyes turned back to the miko. He can't help but think of her as a fragile creature that could easily be broken. His protective instinct was roused as he noticed the vulnerable look in her eyes. Sesshoumaru could tell that Kagome was already uncomfortable with the attention she was obviously getting. "It is good to see you're well again, Lady Kagome," he said as he strode over to her.

Her blue eyes met his gold ones. The uncertainty in them tore at his insides. He could not understand half of the things he was feeling but one thing was sure, Sesshoumaru would do anything in his power to remove the uncertainty in her eyes.

"Please, I am just Kagome," she whispered.

Sesshoumaru inclined his head in acknowledgement and led her to the table. He placed her between Inuyasha and InuTaisho. She sat primly without looking at anyone.

"It is good that you finally join us," InuTaisho said with a tender smile.

Kagome looked up at InuTaisho and Sesshoumaru had to grit his teeth as he saw the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes. He could not understand how a mere human like her could affect him so much in such a short amount of time.

"I didn't mean to hurt you," she choked. "I'm sorry."

InuTaisho patted Kagome's hand reassuringly. "I know, little one," he said. "I was the one who willingly stepped in the barrier. I knew you would fight it once you saw it attacking one of us. Do not be upset."

"Keh!" Inuyasha said gruffly. "He's too powerful to be purified that way easily. So don't go troubling yourself about it." Although Inuyasha's tone was gruff, everybody knew that he was also affected by Kagome's forlorn attitude.

A soft warm smile graced Kagome's lips as her blue eyes sparkled with suppressed emotion. When everybody saw this, they knew that everything will be all right.

- - -

"Sesshoumaru-sama!" Rin squealed happily as she bounced inside the room where the demon lord perused the monthly reports of the heads of the villages in the Western Lands.

The said demon lord looked up from a report he was reading to see Rin grinning widely at him with a wreath of flowers on her hair. He inclined his head as he placed the scroll down, finally giving up. He could not understand it, anyway.

Rin cheerfully latched on to Sesshoumaru's arm and gazed admiringly at him. "Kagome-neechan made Rin a crown of flowers," she said with wide eyes. "Rin likes it very much and Rin wants to make Kagome-neechan happy! But Rin doesn't know how," she finished sadly.

Sesshoumaru's thoughts had been straying back to the miko. No matter how hard he tried, his thoughts returned to her. "Is she not happy?" he asked Rin indulgently. The child seemed more perceptive than most of them when it came to other's feelings and moods. It had been merely a day since the miko started to dine with them.

"No," Rin answered a little sadly. "And Rin heard her crying last night when Rin came to say goodnight. Is Kagome-neechan all right?"

"Where is she?" Sesshoumaru asked, standing up.

Rin scrunched up her nose. "Rin promised not to tell anyone," she said hesitantly. "Kagome-neechan is hiding," she whispered.

This caught Sesshoumaru's attention. "Why is she hiding?" he asked calmly.

"Rin doesn't know," she answered truthfully.

Sesshoumaru almost shook his head. Humans were really odd. "Very well, Rin," he said. "I shall go and look for her."

"All right, Sesshoumaru-sama," she said happily. "Rin knows you'll find Kagome-neechan and make her happy." The little girl then proceeded to skip happily out of the door.

- - -

Sesshoumaru was beyond irritated. He had been looking for Kagome for a couple of hours now and he still had no clue where she was. Her scent stopped at the river and he had yet to catch it again. Obviously, she does not want to be found. Where could she have gone? He was about to turn to the opposite direction when something caught his eye. He went towards the falls. If he remembered correctly, there was a cave behind it. Sesshoumaru masked his aura and approached the cave. Sure enough, the miko sat on a boulder. She seemed to be in deep concentration.

He approached her carefully. Since her back was facing the entrance of the cave, she was still unaware of his presence. Sesshoumaru looked over the miko's shoulder to see what she was doing. To say that he was surprised was an understatement when he finally saw what it was. The miko was busy sketching on an odd scroll. What surprised him most was the image she had formed. It was an image of him, sitting on the boulder outside the cave as he held the sphere of prophecy in his hands.

Sesshoumaru did not know what to feel. An odd mixture of feelings rose inside him and threatened to overwhelm him. He had felt more within his time with this miko than the centuries he had lived combined. It was something he had not expected. These feelings confused him.

First and foremost, these feelings were of pleasure. The image that Kagome had drawn of him was very detailed. The fact that she had drawn him from memory meant that she was thinking of him. Again, his irritation rose. Why should that thought please him? He did not care if the miko thought of him. He kept repeating those words but he was unable to push away the pleasant feeling inside him.

Straightening up, Sesshoumaru stepped backwards until he was back at the cave entrance. He did not want the miko to know that he had seen her work. He cleared his throat to get the miko's attention. He was amused as she jumped up and whirled around to face him. Her eyes were round with shock as she clutched the sketch to her chest.

It was then that he was finally able to study her appearance. She was wearing a black kimono with red rose petals adorning the neckline. Her hair was slightly disheveled. She looked so innocent with her eyes wide and her mouth slightly parted in shock.

"Sesshoumaru," she breathed with a trace of panic in her tone. "How did you find me?" she asked frantically as she clutched the scroll tighter to her chest. Obviously, she did not want him to see it.

Sesshoumaru was not about to confess that he almost did not find her or the fact that he had taken a long time to finally track her down. "Your scent stopped at the river," he stated. "This is the only logical place you can go that would still hide your scent."

Kagome's shoulder slumped visibly as her mouth formed an "oh". She looked up at him and smiled as she casually placed the scroll in her "bag", as if trying not to draw attention to the object. "I guess it's time to go back, then," she said cheerfully.

"What are you doing here?" Sesshoumaru asked. He almost smiled when the miko stiffened at his query.

Her eyes darted around. "Uh," she stammered. "I've been… Um… Thinking," she said haltingly before forcing a smile on her face.

He nodded. "And what were you holding a while ago?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Just a thing from the future," Kagome replied with a strain in her voice.

"May I see it?" he asked.

"NO!" Kagome said forcefully, before she averted her eyes. "I mean… It's personal," she amended quietly.

Sesshoumaru saw the vulnerability in her eyes and decided to stop teasing her. He nodded. "Very well," he said. "Let us return."

He saw the miko sigh in relief before she smiled and followed him.

- - -

"Where the hell have you been?" Inuyasha demanded as soon as Kagome and Sesshoumaru got back to the castle. He was glaring daggers at Sesshoumaru who was standing quietly beside Kagome.

Kagome looked at him and smiled sheepishly. "I just wanted to be alone," she admitted quietly.

Inuyasha looked suspicious. "With him?" he asked as he again glared towards Sesshoumaru's direction. "Why would you want to spend time with an icicle like him?"

Kagome felt Sesshoumaru stiffen. She was irritated at Inuyasha's insult on Sesshoumaru. She didn't know why but she felt compelled to defend the demon lord who had given her comfort the past few weeks. "He's not an icicle," she said hotly. "Besides, he does not seem to mind that I'm a useless bitch."

Inuyasha's ears flattened on his head. He flinched at Kagome's words. "Keh!" he said before stomping away.

She just shook her head at Inuyasha before looking up at Sesshoumaru who just remained as impassive as ever. "Well, I'll be going then," she said with a shy smile. She was about to head to her designated chamber when his voice stopped her. She slowly turned back to him and saw the indecision in his golden eyes. "Yes?" she finally asked to urge him on.

"You may accompany this Sesshoumaru tomorrow," he said stiffly and stood there. He was looking at her, apparently waiting for an answer.

Kagome was shocked to say the least. She looked into his eyes and saw a hint of anxiety in them. It must have taken a lot for him to say those words. Sesshoumaru was actually asking her to come with him in his own bizarre way. It was very endearing to see this side of him. He was standing more rigidly than usual. She smiled warmly at him. "Okay!" she exclaimed happily. "I mean, I'll go with you, wherever it is you're going," she explained when she noticed his slight confusion with her previous answer.

"Very well," he said as he relaxed a little. "We shall go to the seaside, seeing as I have business to attend there."

Her face brightened at the mention of the seaside. "Oh, wow!" she exclaimed. "I can't wait!" she said happily. Kagome loved the beach and she had missed it so much. She watched as Sesshoumaru nodded and left but not before she saw a ghost of a smile touch his lips. Or maybe it was just her overactive imagination. She brushed that aside and skipped happily to her chambers.

- - -

"So, you followed me," it was a statement.

Sesshoumaru glanced behind him to see his father observing him quietly. They were at the pavilion where Kagome had lost control. This was the first time InuTaisho had mentioned that little fact since the incident. "So I did," he replied, looking back to the horizon where the sun was setting.

InuTaisho moved beside him. "Any particular reason?" he asked.

"Curiosity," he answered and looked at his father. "I have heard mother beg you to do it."

"Have you known all along that it was Kagome?" InuTaisho asked curiously.

Sesshoumaru looked away and felt the wind lift his hair. "I suspected," he admitted quietly. "Yet I did not know the significance of the mark."

"Makes sense," InuTaisho said with a nod. "You are always the curious one. Not knowing what the exact prophecy was drove you to find out."

He did not answer. There was no need. His father understood his nature more than anyone. Sesshoumaru saw his father turn a bit towards the castle. He did the same as he felt the presence of Kagome's twin. He watched with disinterest as Kikyou approached them. She bowed her head to them and went on a part of the pavilion where the biggest image of a rose was carved. She was touching its center with intense concentration reflected on her face.

"You seem interested with that particular spot," InuTaisho remarked casually towards the priestess.

Kikyou inclined her head. "Kagome told me the events before the incident happened," she said, catching the interest of both demons. "She felt the shards go out-of-control when she touched a silver orb here," she continued.

InuTaisho looked closer. "And yet there is no silver orb," he remarked after straightening back up.

Kikyou nodded in agreement. "I can only speculate the nature of the orb," she whispered. "I felt a fading trace of evil from this part. And I recognize it." Her eyes hardened at the last statement.

"Who is it?" Sesshoumaru asked in a deadly tone.

"Naraku," Kikyou hissed. "I had even felt him when I was on my way here that night.

He was moving to the opposite direction. I'm guessing that he did not expect the effect of what he did."

"How come we did not detect him that night?" InuTaisho asked.

"Kagome's power eliminated his presence, it is now very faint," Kikyou replied. "I can only detect because I had been tainted by him when he killed me."

InuTaisho nodded in understanding. "And what do you suppose happened?" he asked Kikyou.

"Before you dropped her to the well, you marked Kagome as said in the prophecy," she stated. At InuTaisho's confirmation, Kikyou continued. "The mark had temporarily sealed the spirit and she was thrown in the well to bring her to a time where the spirit had very little chance to manifest. Naraku attempted to manipulate Kagome's soul that night. The evil of Naraku clashed with the sealed spirit, thus weakening the mark. I am afraid to say that the mark is slowly fading."

"And the mating would place a permanent mark on Kagome, sealing the spirit completely, I assume," InuTaisho continued.

"No, the mating mark of the moon would destroy the evil spirit permanently," Kikyou stated. "That is only one of two ways to ensure the safety of the inuyoukai line."

"There is another way?" Sesshoumaru who had only been listening finally spoke up.

Kikyou nodded. "You will have to take Kagome's life," she said. "But the spirit would just wait until such a time that it could take another body to destroy the inuyoukai line."

"Absolutely out of the question," InuTaisho said vehemently.

The priestess's eyes traveled to Sesshoumaru. "I won't let you hurt her in any way," she said with a hint of threat in her voice.

"No one would harm her," Sesshoumaru said in case the miko thought that he would kill Kagome as soon as possible if it would stop the destruction of inuyoukai. A rage built inside him at the thought of Kagome being killed. "Anyone who tries, answers to me."

Sesshoumaru was not aware that his tone had been too dangerous and full of menace to be mistaken for casual obligation. There was more than a hint of possessiveness in it that both InuTaisho and Kikyou had been surprised but they had immediately composed their features to hide this from the demon lord.

End chapter