Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha or Shugo Chara.
oh, dearr. i suppose i'm beyond apologies right now... i guess i can just promise to update earlier than... every five months. *hides head in shame*
i tried to make this longerr, but i kinda only extended it a thousand words or so. *sigh* thank you for all your support, though. it was the PM's people sent me that helped me get off my lazy ass and write.
oh! and before i forget. special shoutout to ScarletChakra for being the 200th reviewer. i kind of forget who was the 100th. and hugs and brownies for everyone else who reviewed and/or favorited and/or alerted my story. it means a lot. ^^
and without further ado... please enjoy! (:
No one in the mansion had been able to sleep a wink that night. It was four a.m., and everyone was fully awake, all gathered in the meeting room. Ikuto was pacing back and forth, the large gash on his chest bandaged. It still hurt, but Ikuto didn't notice; he was too worried about Kagome.
Kouga glanced at the anxious teen with a raised eyebrow as he turned in his swivel chair. "Would you sit down? You're making me dizzy."
"If you're dizzy, stop spinning in your chair," Ikuto snapped irately, not in any mood to be ordered around by the wolf demon.
Kouga stopped spinning by planting his feet roughly on the ground. "What crawled up your ass and died?" he drawled, standing up and looking imperiously down at the shorter teen.
Ikuto glared up at him, not at all intimidated by the formidable demon. "It's not what died," he said, "but rather what I almost died from." Deep indigo eyes narrowed at Kouga. "And that was your friend, ookami."
"Don't you dare"—Kouga's clawed hand took hold of Ikuto's collar, and his ice blue eyes narrowed into the darker blue ones—"assume I'm not every bit as worried about Kagome as you are," he snarled threateningly. "I have known and loved her for over five hundred years, whereas you have known her for a mere five weeks. So just shut up." He let go of the collar and gave the teen a rough pat on the chest as though it were a promise of what the wolf demon was capable of.
Ikuto grunted in pain and staggered back slightly, resting his hand on the edge of the table. Kouga had hit right where Kagome had cut him, and without her powers, he was still very much in pain. "Asshole," he wheezed quietly.
Cold eyes flashed, and the raven-haired man had Ikuto's collar in a grip once more and his fist poised above Ikuto's face.
"Enough," rang an aristocratic voice from the left. Both men turned and saw Sesshomaru, standing up from the opposite end of the table, palms pressed flat on the surface. "There will be no fighting in here. Kouga, sit down," Sesshomaru ordered. Once Kouga obeyed, tawny eyes flashed to the teen. "And you, ningen, shall find it wise to not provoke any of the youkai here."
Sighing, Ikuto nodded and went to sit down in a seat across from Kouga. Shippou merely rolled his eyes at the two before pounding his fist against the table. "Why the hell are we sitting here?" he demanded, turquoise eyes glowing with determination. "We saw what they did to Kagome! Why not go in there and decapitate that evil bastard right now?"
"Because it would not be wise," said Sesshomaru. "We do not know of the defenses the building is under. And whatever influence Kagome is under, we may not find out a way to bring her out of it. We must wait for a strategic time and attack."
"You mean like now?" a new voice cut in. It was Rin, who had finally arrived. She was striding in confidently, an aura of happiness around her despite the recent happenings. Behind her were two burly youkai guards carrying a small man in a white lab coat. They dropped him roughly on the ground before giving a nod to Rin and Sesshomaru and walking out.
"Say hello to our new way in," Rin said, and she gestured to the cowering man behind her. It was one of the scientists from Easter.
The short brunette was shaking violently, eyes darting between the tall, imposing men in the room. "Wh-What are you?" he stuttered. "You're not human, are you? You can't be!"
"And why not, shortie? How would you know?" Kouga countered with a raised eyebrow.
"Have you not seen yourselves?!"
"A weak human like you," Sesshomaru drawled, "would only recognize the supernatural if you'd seen it before. Say, like my imouto?"
The man's face went ashen. "T-That black-haired girl is y-your imouto?"
"Yes."
The scientist's eyes rolled to the back of his head, and his knees wobbled as though he would faint. Before he could, Shippou caught him and shook him awake, furiously growling to the man that if he fainted on them, he'd be woken up in a much more painful way. The scientist shook his mind clear and turned his full attention on the group, trembling.
"Now, tell us how you are controlling Kagome," Shippou demanded, turquoise eyes darkening to a deep cerulean with anger. He gave a feral snarl and bared his fangs in an animalistic gesture.
"Oh, Shippou, don't make him wet himself," Rin joked softly. But then her expression darkened, looking as though she wanted to say more. Her words were left unsaid, but everyone knew what she was going to say: Even if the bastard does deserve to die.
Completely terrified, the scientist was eager to comply. "Y-you know about the X-Eggs, correct?" They nodded. "And how they emit a dark… aura, I guess you would say?" At everyone's nod, he continued, "Boss found a way to extract the aura and fuse it with the girl's—I mean Kagome's," he quickly corrected at Kouga's dark glare, "jewel. Odd, though." A thoughtful expression replaced the scared one on his face. "It seems like she has a connection with it. We're not sure what it is, but it seems to have worked." The scientist turned to the demons, hoping to see this information would suffice and he would live. He was shocked to see all of them with horrified expressions on their faces.
"You… corrupted Kagome-sama's aura," Rin said, chocolate eyes wide and mouth wide open.
"…Is that what we did?"
Kouga stood abruptly, snarling viciously. "Of course you did! What did you think those X-eggs are? Auras contaminated with disappointment and bitterness. Your heart eggs are the essence of your auras. If you corrupt a heart egg, you corrupt their aura, scaring them for the rest of their lives! And you fused the Guardian of the Shikon's aura with that? Have you any idea what you've done?"
"Obviously not," Ikuto drawled and walked up to the scientist. "He's too much of a dickhead." Shippou chuckled, but Ikuto kept on talking. "You are going to help us get Kagome back by breaking her out of wherever the hell you keep her (which, by the way, should be a fucking palace) and bring her here and diffuse the energy that you've managed to taint her with. And if you fail, we will kill you." He let out a feral growl, imitating Kouga earlier.
Damn, Ikuto mused internally. He must've been losing his touch, because the man didn't piss his pants. But he was trembling, and Ikuto supposed he was still scared as shit.
"F-Fine," the scientist stammered. "Just d-don't kill me."
They all nodded simultaneously. Hope swelled in their chests, and they were eager to save Kagome.
"Just find a way to, ah, purify her—I guess that's how you'd put it."
"What?"
The scientist paused, as though wondering how to phrase his words. "I assume you are all acquainted with the pink-haired girl?"
"Hinamori Amu?" asked Ikuto.
"Yes, her. She has the power to purify the X-Eggs. To save Kagome, you can use the same basic principle, just magnified to a larger scale." The scientist hesitated. "However, I'm not quite sure how to do so. We haven't worked that far into the experiment yet."
Growling softly in frustration, Ikuto tried to think of a way to save Kagome. Perhaps one of Amu's other transformations would be powerful enough to help her. It was a longshot, but they would have to try.
Turning to Rin, Ikuto ordered, "Call Amu over. We'll need her."
Nodding, the woman bustled off to fetch the pink-haired girl. Within fifteen minutes, Amu burst into the room, hair in disarray and still dressed in her pajamas. Her charas followed her dutifully, still rubbing the sleep from their eyes.
"Is Kagome-chan all right? What's going on? All I heard was someone telling me to help Kagome, and I was dragged out of bed by this lady!" Amu cried frantically, pointing to Rin. "And Ikuto! What are you doing here?!"
Ikuto allowed himself a snicker, but stopped when Shippou glared at him.
"Hinamori-san, Kagome has been taken control by Easter. Your help is required to save her," Sesshomaru said gravely.
"How can I? What's wrong with her?" Rin quickly explained the situation Kagome was in, and Amu's tawny eyes widened considerably. "Oh, no! Of course I'll help Kagome-chan! But I don't know if I can…"
The pink chara perked up. "We can help Kagome, Amu-chan! Don't worry!" Blue and Green nodded as well.
"W-well then… If they say we can, then we'll do everything in our power to help Kagome-chan!" Amu vowed, a fiery resolve in her eyes.
Sesshomaru gave a small nod. "Well, then. I leave my imouto's safety in your hands. Tsukiyomi-san, you will assist her." When Ikuto nodded, Sesshomaru continued, "Like before, we will be here to assist you, should you need it. But I sincerely hope that you find no need to call upon us."
A snort was heard, and Shippou muttered, "InuYasha could've probably had her back by now."
With those words, the tension in the air increased tenfold. Everyone suddenly had an uptight expression on their face. Kouga was glaring at Shippou, his upper lip curled with distate. Ikuto vaguely heard him mutter to the kitsune to never bring him up. Who was InuYasha? He wracked his brain to come up with a face for the name. He'd heard it before. From Kagome, perhaps?
"Who is InuYasha?" he asked.
Sesshomaru's jaw squared. "No one of importance."
And suddenly, Ikuto remembered. Kagome had said it once, in her sleep. He remembered overhearing something about it once from Kouga and Sesshomaru. He was, apparently, the taiyoukai's late half-sibling. And he was once Kagome's love. A pang of jealousy rang through his heart.
No. He would not be compared to InuYasha, even if Kagome now only thought of him as an old friend. He would save Kagome and keep her safe. From what Ikuto had heard, he died in the arms of his lover—who wasn't Kagome. No matter how perverted he was, the teenager did have morals. Nothing would hurt his Kagome.
With a new determination in his eyes, Ikuto stood up. "We'll go find Kagome now," Ikuto drawled. His eyes hardened. "And I will keep her safe." He grabbed Amu's arm and muttered a gruff, "Come on," before striding out the door, their charas following them closely.
They cruised around the city, already in their character transformations in case of any emergency. The sun was just rising, and both of them were sleepy and dragged down with fatigue. But Ikuto pushed himself forward, to search for Kagome. For two days, they didn't hear a word from Easter, or from any X-egg whatsoever. Ikuto skipped school to search for Kagome (It wasn't like he was going to go anyways), and when he wasn't, Amu was. And finally, on the third night, they finally saw her. The two were patrolling together in the old amusement park Ikuto would take Utau when Kagome stepped forward from the shadows, her eyes a blank onyx.
"Kagome," Ikuto breathed, happy to finally see her. His happiness was shattered when Kagome pulled out a blade and charged at him and Amu. "Kagome! Stop!" He deflected her attacks with his metal claws while he shouted at Amu to find cover. It was like a dance, how they fought. Flashes of metal could be seen, the weapons clanging noisily.
His efforts were futile, no matter how many times he tried to disarm Kagome. And finally, the blade caught between one of his claws, and he flung it off to the side. Weaponless, Kagome switched to hand-to-hand combat, lunging at him with punches and kicks. He managed to catch her wrists in his hand, but she kneed him in the crotch.
Yeah, that hurt.
Grunting in pain, Ikuto let go of her wrists. But before Kagome could jump away, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and another around her waist in a firm, yet tender embrace. He heard Kagome gasp in surprise. She tried hitting his chest to let her go. Ikuto pulled away slightly, enough so he could be face to face with her. Her eyes were wide, but they were still blank.
As a last resort, he leaned in and pressed a kiss to her lips.
The kiss was a bit sloppy, since it was in desperation. He didn't have time to enjoy it, because Kagome yanked herself away from Ikuto's lips. But for a few seconds, her eyes were blue.
"What the hell are you doing?" she shouted, a blush raging on her cheeks.
Ikuto's heart swelled with happiness. And for a moment, he forgot that Kagome was about to slap him, and he pulled her close in a hug. "I missed you," he whispered, nuzzling his face into her neck. He felt her body temperature rise. "You're blushing aren't you?" Ikuto stuck a tongue out and licked her neck. "Still your sensitive spot, I see," he purred.
"S-shut up!" Kagome cried, writhing half-heartedly in Ikuto's embrace. After a few seconds, she sighed and sunk into his chest, relaxing.
Ikuto let himself enjoy the embrace for a moment, pulling her close.
A high-pitched humming rang through the air. Ikuto twitched his ears at it, trying to make sense of what it was. Suddenly, Kagome stiffened in his arms and tore herself away and got into a battle stance. She made a move to retrieve the sword he'd knocked out of her hands, but Ikuto swiftly blocked her. Backing away, she stood still, not bothering to get back into a stance. And then, the humming grew louder.
Kagome stared blankly at Ikuto, a cold look in her eyes. "Shikon, unlock," she murmured, the sound sending shivers up Ikuto's spine. Suddenly, a purple light exploded from the Shikon jewel, surrounding the miko's small form. Ikuto thought he caught a glimpse of a small figure in the middle of jewel, but the light was so blinding, he had to shield his eyes.
When the light subsided, Ikuto's eyes widened. There was a fully-aged Kagome in her former body, sexily clad in what seemed to be a bat costume. A silver skirt fell far too short on her legs—several inches above her knee-high boots—and her vest-like leather shirt plunged far too low. Her entire left arm was covered in sinister-looking armor, the spikes emerging from the onyx metal glinting menacingly in the sunlight. A finger-less gloved-hand clutched her sword tightly.
"Chara nari, Ashimitama."
(It was an inappropriate time for the thoughts that ran through the teen's head, but he couldn't help it – Kagome was hot.)
Ikuto stood, shocked stiff at Kagome's new look. H-how was this possible? Kagome had no heart's egg, yet she was still able to transform. This made no sense. It couldn't happen unless—unless the Shikon no Tama was Kagome's heart egg.
"The Shikon no Tama is a dormant egg." He hadn't meant to say it out loud, and he immediately regretted saying it. Because when he did, Kagome's bat-like ears twitched, and she lunged at him, sword swinging and bat wings flapping.
Shit, Ikuto thought, swiftly countering her attacks. It was difficult to block her, and it took a lot of energy. She waved the sword around, narrowly missing decapitating him. Fighting her off wasn't going to work. Damn Sesshomaru, training her so much.
When Kagome gave up against Ikuto, she tried lunging at Amu, who had since come out of hiding to try to find a way to help Kagome.
"Kagome!" Ikuto shouted at her, stopping her in her tracks. "What are you doing? This isn't you! Think about what you're doing! What would you say? Sesshomaru? Shippou?" She ignored him and continued her advances. "What about InuYasha?!
Kagome's eyes cleared up for a split second and went from a deep onyx to the clear cerulean Ikuto loved. They widened in something akin to realization before tears welled up and began flowing down her cheeks. "InuYasha…" she whispered softly before her eyes darkened once more. "What have I done?" Suddenly, Kagome dropped to the ground, sobbing violently.
He noticed a glow around Kagome, which was growing darker and darker, until she was surrounded by pitch black. The Shikon's aura was becoming more contaminated by the second, the sadder Kagome got. And suddenly, a bright blue glow came from behind Kagome, and out stepped a woman of such beauty, Ikuto was left breathless. Though he wondered why such a gorgeous woman would be wearing such a simple kimono with a sword at her hip and a quiver and bow on her back.
"W-who are you?" Amu choked out, alarmed at a person suddenly appearing.
The beautiful woman turned to them with wise violet eyes. She seemed to be examining the two, regarding them with caution, as though she were debating to give them an answer. And then, after a moment, a slow smile stretched across her face. "I am Midoriko," she answered in a melodic voice. Nodding at them, Midoriko walked to Kagome, kneeling down before her.
"Oh, my child," she cooed, cupping Kagome's face with dainty, yet strong hands. There was a faint glow about them, but Ikuto assumed his eyes were playing tricks on him again. "How you have suffered."
Almost instantaneous to her touch, Kagome's eyes cleared up and she blinked the tears out. "M-Midoriko-sama?" she whispered, as though she didn't dare believe the person in front of her. "Midoriko-sama, why are you here?"
"Because, Kagome-chan, you called for me."
"…called for you?"
"The Shikon souls were crying, young one. They were responding to your anguish. I am here to fix all of this." She touched Kagome's crown and chanted a brief prayer before a bright light glowed from her hand.
All of a sudden, four charas were forced out from Kagome, all of them letting out heart-wrenching sobs. Ikuto was startled at the tears which formed in his eyes as he stared forlornly at Kagome, who sat stock still under Midoriko's hand. He wanted nothing more than to hold her and tell her it would be all right.
When Midoriko removed her hand and ceased chanting, Kagome's eyes faded to a blank blue, and a large X appeared around her. And then, Midoriko looked up and locked eyes with Amu.
"You, child, are the only one who can help her now. But let me remind you: your current form is not powerful enough to expel the energy from her aura," she warned, giving Amu a stern gaze.
Amu seemed to ponder her words for a moment before she turned and stared at Ikuto. "Give me your Humpty Key," she ordered, "and put it in the lock." If this were any other moment, Ikuto would've laughed at the slight innuendo. But, of course, now was not the time, and he obeyed the orders.
He turned the key, and a blinding light exploded, surrounding Ikuto and Amu. And before they knew it, in gone were Black Lynx and Amulet Heart. They'd transformed to Seven Seas Treasure and Amulet Fortune.
Midoriko beamed at them. "Now. Save Kagome-chan."
"Negative heart: Lock on!"
hahaha, didn't see that coming, now didja? i'm speeding up the whole timeline by a lot. i felt that it took waaay too long for Ikuto to be free of the freaking x-egg thing. and plus, it's Kagome, who kicks ass.
and i get the feeling people are gonna ask me wtf Ashimitama is. so this is how i see it. because i'm a nerd, i looked up the shikon no tama and found out that it was composed of four souls, so the Tama will have four of Kagome's character transformations. because the jewel is tainted, the demonic part of the souls resurfaces (much like how Ikuto has that other transformation, y'know?), and that becomes Kagome's dark character transformation, taking over Aramitama, Nigimitama, Kushimitama, and Sakimitama. and thus; Ashimitama is born, which means evil something-or-other.
tell me what you think of the idea. (:
and for such a long wait, here's a little Christmas omake. ^^ (warning: a little hint of yaoi. x) i couldn't resist)
A grown Kagome stood under the moonlight on a balcony, the glow giving her an ethereal glow. She had long been restored to her original body, and the X-egg fiasco was done and over with. It was Christmas Eve, and Shippou and Rin had chosen to participate in the Western holiday by throwing a large party. (The only reason Sesshomaru agreed to it was simply because they had promised him Hello Kitty merchandise. What a sucker.) Her heart ached, missing her deceased loved ones. However, she knew they were in a happy place, and she settled on thinking of happy memories of them.
Her reminiscing was brought to a screeching halt when she felt a pair of arms curl around her waist. Gasping slightly, she turned to look at the man embracing her. Ikuto. They had yet to get together, simply because he was too much a pervert, and Kagome thought her face would blow up from all the blushing.
The blue-haired teen pulled her close to him, her back pressing into his chest. He laid his chin on the nook of her shoulder. "Hello, Ka-go-me," he purred softly in her ear, nipping it slightly.
She suppressed a shiver. "Hello, Ikuto."
"Why are you all alone?"
"I just felt like it," Kagome replied. She let out a soft squeal when Ikuto moved his lips to neck, licking and sucking on the sensitive spot. She could feel a chuckle come from his lips.
"Still sensitive, I see."
Blushing slightly, she said, "Oh, shut up." She vaguely heard a faint pop, but paid no attention. "Where are the others?"
"Amu and Kuukai are thrashing around like a pair of eels, and Tadase's somewhere off with that Nadeshiko girl." He let out a low whistle. "They looked like they were about to get it on."
(A high-pitched shriek could be heard throughout the northern wing of the mansion. "YOU'RE A BOY?!" "Yes. And?" "And… oh, whatever." "What—MMPH!")
Kagome raised an eyebrow at the idea. She had long figured out Nadeshiko's—or rather, Nagihiko's—secret, but she left it up to him whether he would reveal it to his friends now or later. It would be interesting to see how the night ended.
"Oh, look," Ikuto interrupted nonchalantly. "Mistletoe."
She looked up and sure enough, there was a sprig of mistletoe right above them, held up by Ikuto's cat tail. Kagome giggled softly. It was tacky, but it was somewhat sweet.
"If you wanted to kiss me so bad, you should've just told me," Kagome teased, poking his chest.
"If I told you, then you would've also requested to take it further, knowing that you've been sex-deprived for so long," Ikuto retorted with a smirk.
Rolling her eyes, she fought down a blush. "Whatever. Are we gonna kiss or not?"
"So eager," he said, his smirk turning into a true smile. He leaned down to press a sweet kiss on her lips. It was sweet and innocent, and both of them enjoyed it.
"KAGOME!" came a loud shout.
The two ripped apart from each other. "What!?" Kagome shouted, annoyed at being interrupted.
Sesshomaru came running towards them with an armful of stuff. "Lookit!" he cried excitedly, forgetting his composure. "Shippou and Rin got me all of this Hello Kitty merchandise! They got me Hello Kitty boxers, and these ears, and a Hello Kitty comforter, and a yukata with Hello Kitty all over it, and…" Sesshomaru continued rambling, listing what he'd received from the pair.
Kagome narrowed her eyes. She let out a burst of her miko ki and sent a distracted Sesshomaru flying off the balcony, listing his gifts the entire way. Turning back to Ikuto, she murmured, "Now. Where were we?"
Ikuto smiled and said, "Right here." And with that, he pressed his lips to hers.
reviews are greatly appreciated! and happy holidays!! ^^