Chapter 17

Mattaki

"Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit!" Kagome yelled, making us all stop to look at the crater my youngest was now a part of.

Kanna kneeled down beside him and poked him a few times, most likely checking to make sure he was still alive. I figured, by now, he would have realized not to anger my female so, but it seems one too many sit commands has permanently damaged him.

"That will never get old." Miroku stated, walking past the groaning hanyou with a smirk. Sango and Kirara followed behind him, both chuckling.

"Is it wrong for me to want a set of beads for Sesshomaru?" Rin asked, not noticing the dangerous glare she was receiving.

"Indeed." Sesshomaru answered, making me chuckle. I placed my hand around Kagome's waist, pulling her to me as much as I could. She immediately calmed down and I smiled, thankful that she only needed my touch to do so.

Just before I opened my mouth to say anything, a loud explosion shook the earth beneath us. Instinctively, the men grabbed their woman and covered them as bright pink lights began shooting across the sky. When everything seemed to settle down around us, we all looked around, surprised.

"Kagome?" InuYasha called, a look of dismay on his face. She met his look, matching the horror. Before I could even say anything, the two of them took off running, leaving us stunned.

I quickly cleared my head, following behind my son and mate. I could hear the others doing the same, just as confused as I was. When I reached Kagome and InuYasha, my mate was sitting on top of his shoulders, digging an arrow into a small hole in a tree.

A bright light shone out of the trunk as she twisted the arrow before something small fell into her hand. InuYasha set her on the ground and grabbed her hand in his, looking at the item. They looked up at each other, confusion and worry on their faces.

"Lady Kagome, is that what I think it is?" Miroku asked, taking a step forward.

"It's a shard of the Shikon no Tama. He shattered it again." Kagome whispered. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.

"The jewel is impenetrable. When Midoriko created it, she made sure no one could destroy it." I stated, thinking back to all of my meetings with the deceased priestess.

"Everyone except Kagome. A week within being in this era, she shot the damn thing with an arrow and shattered it across Japan. Now it seems as if Naraku has found a way to do it again." InuYasha confirmed, making me look towards my little miko. Just how strong was she?

"The question is why?" Kagome asked, looking back up at InuYasha. We all looked to Kanna when she stepped forward.

"I hadn't known he would do this, but I was with him long enough to know how his mind works. Having the completed jewel means you can make a wish on it, but as we all know, you won't really get what you wish for. However, having the shards of the jewel, he has much more power." Kanna explained, making Kagome gasp.

"What is it?" Rin asked, looking worried.

"Think about it." Kagome started. "How many times did he use the shards to control people, whether they were humans or demons? He was even able to resurrect the Band of Seven. Even Menomaru was able to control me with it enough so that I sealed InuYasha to a tree. If he collects all of the shards, he can create a super army."

"We can't let him do that!" Sango cried, her cheeks flushed with anger.

"We won't. I can still feel the shards. Searching for Naraku hasn't been going well anyway. We will look for the shards instead. Naraku will come to us when he is ready. For now, we need to make sure we keep as many shards away from him as possible." Kagome ordered, looking at the tiny shard in her hand before looking up at Kanna. "It's time to start giving me back my reiki."

"Yes, Lady Kagome." Kanna answered before stepping up to Kagome. She held up her mirror and instantly, a black line of energy left it and began trailing back to its rightful owner.

The moment the tainted reiki reached Kagome, her eyes instantly began flickering from black to blue. I could see that she was struggling to purify her reiki and I took a step forward, worried for my mate. Finally, Kanna cut off her mirror and the reiki stopped flowing, but the battle inside my miko continued. It took a few minutes before the blue in her eyes finally stayed and she collapsed against InuYasha.

I grabbed her from him instantly and held her to my chest. Her legs rested over my arms limply, and I was truly afraid. Her eyes opened and I breathed a sigh of relief when she smiled at me slightly. She was okay, just weak.

"Why must you worry me so?" I asked, kissing her forehead.

"I enjoy seeing your reaction." She teased before placing her head against my chest.

"How long will it take before the miko has all of her reiki back?" Sesshomaru asked.

"If we do that every day, about a week." Kanna answered.

"Keh. Let's keep moving. We need to find those shards." InuYasha scoffed, picking up Kagome's discarded bow and arrows and beginning to walk. As much as I wanted to let her rest, I knew he was right so I just carried her in my arms and continued after my son.

A few hours later, the sun had fallen and night was upon us. A fire had been started, and after a meal, Kagome seemed to finally be getting her strength back. We were all silent as we pondered what Naraku had done to the jewel.

"InuYasha," Miroku started, breaking us all from our thoughts. "I hate to ask, but I must know. What will you do when you face Kikyou and Izayoi again? We will see them, and they will try to kill us."

"Keh." InuYasha answered weakly. "Kikyou, I can handle. She never loved me and betrayed me. While it will hurt, I can send her back to where she belongs. Mom…I don't think I can hurt her, even if she tries to kill someone."

"You will leave Izayoi to me, InuYasha." I ordered, my deep baritone not leaving room for argument. I could feel Kagome tense beside me and I grabbed her hand in support. I flooded our bond with my love, letting her know I would not leave her for my ex-wife.

"Did you ever love her, Pops?" InuYasha asked, making me tense before sighing.

"Yes, I loved her. She was my wife and the mother of my son. I felt for her much more than I felt for Satori, and I had assumed that she was my soulmate. It wasn't until I met Kagome that I realized the truth." I admitted with a shrug of my shoulders.

"What really happened that night?" He asked. I was silent for a moment as I looked up at the stars. I hated thinking on that night, but if anyone deserved to know, it was him.

"After my fight with the dragon, one of your mother's soldiers found me. He told me Takemaru was attacking her shiro in an attempt to kill her. I was already deeply wounded, and while it would take many days, if not weeks, I would have healed if I had put myself into a deep sleep. However, if I had chosen to do that, I could not save Izayoi." I started before looking down at InuYasha. "So, I ignored my wounds and Myoga and went to your mother. When I arrived, you were already born and crying in her arms. The shiro was on fire and Izayoi had been killed. I assume they knew of my sword. I used Tenseiga to revive her and placed the fire-rat robe over her to keep you two safe."

"I didn't know she died." InuYasha admitted.

"There is much you don't know." I stated before continuing. "After I knew she was okay, I told her to name you InuYasha and to live a long and happy life. At that point, I knew I would not make it, but as long as the two of you did, I could accept it. Imagine my surprise when, the moment Takemaru arrived, she ran to stand behind him. I can admit, at that point in time, I had never felt so hurt in my life. She told me that she had always loved him. She only agreed to marry me because I was the Lord of the West. She had thought that a marriage to me would heighten her hime status. When she realized that it didn't, that, in fact, because I was a demon, it actually lowered it, they came up with a plan to ruin me. They promised Ryukotsusei money and land in exchange for him attacking me and either killing me or weakening me enough so that Takemaru could do so. They sent the guard as a spy. When he realized the outcome, his job was to send me to Izayoi or tell them I was dead. Everything worked out the way they wanted, except for one thing. They had not counted on my rage. Izayoi left the burning building so that her lover could kill her husband. I, however, had no intention of going down alone. Our fight, plus the fire, had the building come down around us, pinning us. With my wounds being as great as they were, and him being human, we burned. Neither one of us survived."

"What happened to the rest of my family? After that, Mom and I moved away and found another village to live in." InuYasha asked, making me confused.

"I do not know what happened. In my attempt to save her, I killed many people, but not all." I admitted.

"That would be this one's doing." Sesshomaru cut in, making me raise an eyebrow. "I was on the outskirts, watching your fall. Had I known you were being deceived, I would have stopped it, but I assumed you would have wished me to stay out of it. After your death, I killed them all. I planned on killing both Izayoi and InuYasha, but they escaped. It wasn't until years later that I found them. At that point, I no longer cared."

"Thanks, Bastard." InuYasha mumbled, glaring at his older brother, who only glared back.

"Do not give me that. Who do you think it was that gave you food when you were not looking?" Sesshomaru asked, making InuYasha's eyes go wide.

"That was you? I always thought a villager was doing it."

"A villager from a village that ran you out the moment your mother died, not even caring that you were still a pup? No, it was this one who gave you the sustenance you needed to survive." Sesshomaru admitted as if he didn't care.

"Why?" InuYasha asked, looking confused.

"While I despised you, you did carry our father's blood. It would have been a dishonor to let you die. I gave you the food to give you a chance. What happened to you after that was not my problem." Sesshomaru stated, making InuYasha look down.

"I bet you feel bad for calling him names all the time." Miroku snickered, getting hit in the head by his wife.

"Let's just go to bed. We need to be rested so that we can find those shards." InuYasha mumbled before jumping into the tree Kanna was sitting under.

I looked between my two sons and couldn't keep the smile off my face. It seems they finally crossed the bridge to get along now. InuYasha has proved his strength to Sesshomaru while Sesshomaru proved he was not as cold as InuYasha thinks. Even in a time such as the one we are in, something good came from it.

InuYasha.

The fucking bastard. How dare he ruin everything I thought about him? All these years, he was the cold ice prick who never cared about anything but himself. Now all of a sudden, he is the person who kept me alive after Mom's death, even if his reasons are kind of fucked up.

I slashed at a tree branch with my claws before walking again. I had left the camp for a few moments, needing to get away from everyone. It seems my thoughts on the people surrounding me were all wrong.

I had always thought Kagome would love me but now she loves my father. Pops was always the bastard who went and got himself killed but my own mother actually caused his death. He was the parent I should have been raised by. Sesshomaru actually cared about me, even if in his own way. Without him, I would have died. Kanna is a creation of Naraku, yet she is on our side.

Kanna.

Now that is a confusing topic for me. I can't help but find myself gravitating towards her. I want to protect her just as much as I did Kikyou and Kagome, and I hated it. I never wanted to feel anything for anyone again, but somehow, the damn void demon had found a way to make me want her.

I could never give myself to her. Knowing me, I would just find a way to fuck it up like I did the last two times. I wasn't good enough for relationship material and I accepted that. So why did I have to begin to care for someone again? Damn it.

It had taken some time, but Kanna was right. She had grown into an adult demon, and she was beautiful. Compared to the white little girl she used to be, she almost looked like a goddess now. And fuck, those green eyes pulled me in so deep sometimes, I felt like I was drowning.

I constantly wanted to run my hands through her white hair and press my lips against her own. Anytime she touched me, it sent shivers down my spine. I wanted her so badly, it was becoming painful. It took everything I had to keep my arousal and desire at bay. Being a demon, she would smell that, and that was the last thing I needed.

I didn't want her to think she could have me when she couldn't. While I wanted to give her myself, it wasn't the right thing to do. Especially with Kikyou still running around. While I hated the bitch, and no longer would fall for her tricks, I needed to put her back where she belonged. It wouldn't be fair to take someone, not that I ever would with all of this baggage.

I froze when a twig snapped and quickly turned to the sound, inwardly groaning the moment my eyes met the green I had just been thinking about. I relaxed my stance and waited for her to speak. I wasn't sure why she was following me, even though, secretly, I didn't mind.

"Why are you alone?" She asked, walking out of the shadows.

"I just needed to think." I answered, rubbing the back of my neck.

"About your brother?"

"Among other things." I admitted, looking back up to her. She didn't say anything at first. Instead, she sat down and leaned against a tree.

When I didn't move, she motioned for me to sit beside her. Reluctantly, I did, making sure I wasn't close enough to touch. I wasn't sure how much control I had, and I didn't want to ruin the easy relationship we had created.

"I am going to give you something else to think about." She said suddenly before those green eyes met mine again. "I wish to court you."

"K-Keh?"

"I wish to court you. I want you to ask me." She said again, stunning me twice in a row.

"Are you out of your mind? You know how I fucked up the last two times, yet you want to court me?" I argued, silently screaming for joy but pushing her away on the outside.

"Did you not learn from your mistakes?" She asked, cocking her head to the side with a small smile that made me want to give in right then and there.

"Of course I did. I'll never hurt anyone like that again." I scoffed, most likely looking offended.

"Then you know not to fuck up." She replied with a shrug of her shoulders. Kami, this woman. She was so much like me, I couldn't stand it. While in front of others, she had this front on, but the moment we were alone, she was a completely different person.

"I have too much baggage. I still have to deal with Kikyou." I mumbled, looking away.

"True. I will let you win for now. When Kikyou is taken care of, I will ask again." She said before standing up.

"Where are you going?" I asked, a little saddened that she was leaving.

"It was you who said we should sleep so that we could be rested for shard-hunting tomorrow. Maybe you should follow your own advice. I do not want my future intended to become damaged." Was her answer as it came ghosting back over her shoulder. Only one thought flowed through my head at that point.

What the fuck just happened?

-sSs-

Now that Kagome and Mattaki are mated, I'm going to be focusing more on Naraku and the others. I haven't really had any decent Naraku action in this story yet so I will be adding a good bit of that. I've decided to make Kanna bold because InuYasha has always been kind of shy when it comes to women. Lol. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed.

Shout-outs:

Mimi Cielo: Thank-you for following and favoriting my story, I'm glad you like it.

Samantha. : I am happy that you like my story enough to follow and favorite it. I will do my best to keep it interesting.

Kidnapped by a demon: Thank-you for following me, as well as your review. I'm sorry it took so long to update. I will try to keep it coming quicker.

Slvrphoenx: I feel like teasing Sesshomaru would always be fun…if you could get away with it. I'm glad you liked my story though.

RedDrake323: If I was male and my female did that to me, I'd be upset as well. Lol.

LADY SILVERFOX: To answer your question, a lot is going to happen next. I have many plans for this story.

I do not own InuYasha.