Chapter 25

Shinta stared at his dripping wet, naked mother holding a .357 magnum inches from his fathers' head. Finding his voice, he yelled out as he rushed his mother, knocking her down, the gun firing a round into the ceiling. Inuyasha awoke and pups began rushing in to see what the sound was.

"Otou-san. Okaa-san had this gun pointed at your head.", Shinta said of the weapon he now held in his hand.

Grabbing her robe, Inuyasha quickly covered his wife as he took her in his arms. Looking deep in her eyes, he saw the blank stare. The stare of obedience.

"Kagome.", he said, shaking her body, "Kagome. Come back to me. Whose spell are you under?"

"Inu ... yasha?", she said, weakly, "Run ... away ... please ...I ...don't ... know ..."

The voice in her head stopped. At least for now. She slumped into her mate's strong arms. He held her close, protectively.

"What happened, Koshii?"

Still weak, she replied, "Voice. Inside head. Telling me to kill ... you."

Mashai and Sesshoumaru entered the room,

"My mother had her and me under her spell from the Shikon no Tama pendant she wears around her neck. But, the jewel isn't whole, so Kagome was able to break the spell originally."

"It's a known fact that exhaustion can cause a person to be able to be placed under someone's control again.", Sesshoumaru commented.

"Yasha ... you have the other jewels?", Inuyasha asked.

"I have 7 of them. Miroku has the other one that we know of. He'll be here in a few hours from Tokyo.", Yasha replied.

Inuyasha picked up Kagome and laid her on the bed,

"Izayoi. Make up a potion. A sleeping potion. If she's in a deep sleep, she can rejuvenate and no one can try to control her. Least of all that witch, Adimara."

Izayoi did his bidding and returned with a drink for her mother. Inuyasha assisted Kagome with drinking down the potion and soon, Kagome was fast asleep. Inuyasha shooed the others out of the bedroom as he held his wife on the bed, rocking her gently as she slept.

"I will destroy you, Naraku. And that bitch Adimara for what you are doing to my family.", he said softly, yet angrily, to no one, "This is unforgivable."

The pups gathered again in the living room. Sesshoumaru decided to use the tunnel to his home to go and bring back Rin and their pups. He had no desire to risk their safety. He left his nieces and nephews to their scheming.

Inuyasha laid Kagome down on the soft sheets and walked over to the mirror. Looking at the purple stripes on his cheeks, he recalled Kagome's wish spell that had allowed him to recognize both his human and demon halves as fully as possible without giving up one for the other. Yet, Kanna had taken his human half for a while, causing him to become a murderous, rampaging demon. When he took his shower earlier, he could smell the blood on his claws. Bear. Canine. Human. His family didn't tell him, obviously to protect him, but he knew. He had killed. Murdered. Innocents. Gripping the sink he felt himself wretch as he threw up, the thought of what he had done sickening him to the core.

He walked out of the bathroom and into the living room, where he heard his sons making plans,

"You will not be involved in this.", he said to his pups.

"What, Otou-san, how can you say that? Naraku involved us too. We have every right to fight back.", said Bunza.

"I will not put your lives in jeopardy any more. Naraku is my problem. And Sesshoumaru's. We are the ones he is after. And we are the ones who will finish him. And Adimara.", he said, firmly.

Yasha got up and went to his father,

"Otou-san, let's talk.", he said softly.

Yasha and his father walked out to the protected pasture with the filtered air. Even though it was artificial light representing sunlight, it still felt like a normal pasture. Inuyasha, looking much older than he was, sat down on one of the chairs. His oldest son sat down beside him,

"I'm sorry I suggested you go on vacation, papa.", Yasha joked and his father smiled,

"Don't you know I always attract enemies when I slow down?", Inuyasha joked back.

"What plans do you have to destroy this Naraku character?"

"Should be easy. Between my sword, claws and a gun here and there, we should be able to take him down. But, I want to wait until your mother is rested. I'll need her to take down Adimara. One thing bothers me, though", Inuyasha started.

"What's that?"

"Why hasn't Naraku shown himself? Even though I know he doesn't sully his own hands and has others do his dirty work, he was still a cocky bastard and liked to make appearances. But, he hasn't done that, yet. At all. What is going on?", Inuyasha queried, mostly to himself.

"Papa ... you're still tired after all that happened. Go in with mama and rest. When your body is rested and your mind is clear we can work on some ideas.", Yasha said, putting his arm around his father's slumping shoulders.

"Sure thing,", Inuyasha said, as he got up, "Oh, Yasha, one last question,"

"Yea, papa?"

"How many did I kill?"

All Yasha could do was stare at his father. He didn't know how to respond to the question.