Disclaimer: Inuyasha is sooo not mine. Yamadera Yuki, Hiro and Akira are all property of Raven Skye Blackhawk. They are my slaves and do only my bidding.
A/N: Towards the end of this chapter, I must warn you, is a bit of incest. Of course, it's between two gods and in ancient Greece, gods were allowed to do their siblings. But it's not too graphic because this IS lol
I try to rein in my perverse nature so others don't see it... and that was why Yuki was created. He is my outlet. ;
Chapter 5
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
The moment Akira saw Kagome stumble, he rushed forward and grabbed a firm hold of her upper arms. He stared down into her face with its wide, unfocused and fear-filled eyes with much concern. She screamed and to his sensitive elven ears, it sounded little more than gibberish. But he caught two words and before he could say anything, he felt her body thrum with incredible power and his body instinctively braced itself for the hit.
He winced in pain as the blast of energy engulfed him, but he remained standing, his hands still clutching firmly on her arms. When she fainted, he pulled her to him and held her close.
Yuki, who had dashed to the front of Kagome to see what the problem was, wasted no time in backing away from the stream of energy that shot from Kagome's hands. "What in god's name was that?!" Yuki cried getting to his feet. "Akira, are you alright?" He had been knocked down as he tried to move away when the stream of energy had been released. Stifling a groan, he realized that Akira had taken the full brunt of the blow head on and absorbed her miko energy completely. Akira's actions had even protected Sesshoumaru, who just so happened to be walking up behind Akira with Hiro. Yuki didn't know which upset him more, the fact that Akira had been hit or that Sesshoumaru had not.
"I don't know," Hiro replied as he rushed to the miko's side. After a quick examination of her, he shook his head. "She seems alright though, thank heaven." He turned to look at his younger brother with consternation. "Akira? Are you okay?"
Akira nodded silently and continued to hold Kagome. He looked dazed and Hiro put that down to shock of having been pummeled by the onslaught.
Kaede and several of the villagers made their way over to where Akira knelt with Kagome in his arms. They too, posed the same question as Yuki. But Hiro had no answer.
Later, after everyone left for their huts, the elves and Kagome were left alone with Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru, Shippo and Miroku. They sat around the campfire speaking quietly amongst themselves while Kagome slumbered on peacefully in the circle of Akira's arms. Hiro had attempted to remove her, but in her sleep, Kagome had clung to Akira and whimpered softly, as though in pain. He left her alone and could not help notice Yuki's sullen expression as his brother got to hold her, but the fair elf said nothing. Hiro found that odd, but he decided that Yuki must be unaware of the spark of attraction between Akira and Kagome. If he had known, there was no way Yuki would allow the youngest Yamadera to touch her.
ooooooooo
Kagome awoke with a start. She sat straight up and stared out ahead of her for a moment, allowing her eyes to focus and her heartbeat to slow. What a weird dream she'd had!
When she finally calmed, she looked about her. She was lying between the remnants of their campfire and Akira, who was curled up on his left side, facing her. For a few minutes, Kagome couldn't help but study him as he lay so peaceful beneath the moonlight. His left arm was curled upwards so that his head was cushioned on his hand. His right arm lay flung out towards her and she realized that he must have fallen asleep with his arm resting across her body. He'd even left his glasses on again, she thought with a smile.
Reaching over, she gently removed them and placed them a few inches above his head on the ground. As she returned to her sitting position, she saw movement at the edge of the woods beyond the village. She squinted to try to get a better look, wishing that she possessed the elves' incredibly keen eyesight, but all she could make out was a dark shape that appeared to be that of an animal.
Remarkably, the shape emerged from the darkness and sat out in the moonlight and to Kagome, it seemed to be watching her.
For a long time, the creature sat there, its head turned to her direction. It wasn't a youkai, for she would have sensed its aura if it were, so she concluded that it had to be an animal of some kind. But why was it just sitting there, watching them?
At last, she decided to go investigate. If it was planning on attacking them, she would just have to take care of the problem. She searched around for her glocks and once she'd located them, she strapped them to her thighs and got quietly as possible to her feet.
Across the field, she could see the animal's body move and she had the strange sensation that it was waiting for her. She moved forward as silently as she could and began heading off in the animal's direction. When she'd walked halfway across the field, the animal turned around and headed into the forest, its body slipping silently into the shadows.
With a frown, Kagome's steps faltered and she paused her stride. Now that it was gone, she wondered if she should follow it and make sure it was no longer a threat? But then again, it had never made any threatening moves toward her or her friends. It had just sat there, watching them.
No, something weird was going on and she felt the need to follow the animal to see what it was up to. After all, it could be Naraku's way of keeping tabs on them. It was not beneath him to use innocent animals to do his evil bidding.
Again there was movement and the animal reappeared and this time, Kagome got a better look at it. She frowned once more. A familiar sensation in her mind left her no doubt that she should follow her animal guide into the forest. With a sigh, she plunged into the moonlight dappled woods.
They walked for several minutes in silence and then the animal took off, leaving a confused Kagome behind. The forest around her was nearly silent except for the occasional chirp of a cricket or the wind rustling the leaves in the trees high above her. The sensation she'd felt earlier returned and she looked about her. Shards were very close by... and so was a youkai.
She reached down for her guns and quickly unstrapped them, bringing them instantly up near her face, barrels pointing upwards. Her booted feet made little noise as she walked slowly backwards towards the nearest tree and out of the light of the moon.
When her back touched the tree trunk, she glanced around, looking for the shards. Behind a tree off to her right, she saw a pair of shards moving towards her. They were low to the ground and close together...
Lowering her guns, she breathed a small sigh of relief. "Hello, Kouga."
"Yo, Kagome." A black figure materialized out of the shadows and stood in the moonlight. "You can put those away. I'd never harm you, you know that."
As she slipped her weapons back into their holsters, Kagome allowed her eyes to take in Kouga's figure. He was taller than she remembered and his hair hung wet and loose down his back. He was naked to the waist; his smooth, hairless flesh was dappled here and there with drops of water. His chest heaved slightly and one of the drops slid down his chiseled abdomen to the waistband of his fur kilt.
"You're wet," she said bluntly and moved forward to join him in the light.
His fangs suddenly appeared and he grinned at her, causing her stomach to do an odd flip. He was sexier than she remembered, too. "I was taking a bath when one of my children informed me that 'my miko' had returned. So I asked him to lead you here to me." He reached up and back, taking hold of his black hair and rung it out. "I heard that you finally cleansed the Shikon no Tama."
Kagome nodded and watched in fascination as he tied his hair back. His chest muscles rippled smoothly beneath his skin and it took all the willpower she could muster to avert her eyes. "It was very corrupted."
"I know. The youkai population around here increased wildly since Inuyasha brought that thing back." Kouga lowered his muscular arms. "All of us gave him hell for what he did to you, Kagome. He put us through seven years of misery all because of that dead female." He was silent for a long moment and despite his eyes being in shadow, she felt his gaze studying her intently. At last he said, "I missed you." His voice was heavy with emotion; so much so, that Kagome couldn't resist a shiver.
"And I missed you, Kouga." She paused, then added, "I never meant to leave like that. At least, not without saying goodbye first."
"I know that too." Kouga shook his head ruefully. He shifted his stance and crossed his arms over his chest. "All these years without you in my life forced me to take a look at my life and I finally realized something. It was something I wanted to share with you and now I've been given that chance."
Her heart quaked with nervousness and trepidation in her chest. "Tell me what?"
His body went completely still. "All those years ago, when I declared my love for you, Kagome. Initially, it was all an act. The truth is that I thought you were cute and it seemed like fun to torment Inuyasha by flirting with you. I hated him so much, you know. He was such a cocky bastard. Still is." One corner of his lips turned up.
Something in her chest dropped and she felt sad all of a sudden. "I see." It wasn't quite what she wanted to hear, but at least he was being honest.
His half-smile vanished and Kouga moved forward to grasp her hands in his. "Then all of sudden you were gone and all I had left to remind me of you was that kiss we shared. Do you remember? That day had been the best day of my life. For the first time, you leaned on me; for the first time, you needed me and not him."
His hands released hers and reached up to cup her face lovingly. "I realized soon after you left that I truly did love you. You were always so good to me, so sweet and kind and I felt ashamed for using you to get to him." His eyes roamed all over her face as he searched for the right words to say. "I felt like I'd never deserve to love someone like you. So I covered up my feelings and fooled myself into thinking I did it because I was only taunting Inuyasha. It worked... until I discovered you had gone. I knew then that I'd never get the chance to let you know how I really felt."
"Kouga..."
He shook his head. "There is something else I must tell you. I remain unmated, Kagome." His fingers slid into her hair to cradle the back of her head. "How could I take another woman as my lifelong mate when all I ever really wanted was you?"
"Kouga--" she began again, but the rest of her words were cut off when Kouga's lips covered hers in a sweet, gentle kiss.
His arms went around her, crushing her to him and Kagome could only hold onto his broad shoulders for dear life as his mouth tenderly ravished hers. It was like the first kiss they'd shared, which took place not long before she sealed the well. Kikyo had returned and stuck close to Inuyasha, who hadn't seemed to mind her constantly at his side. This left Kagome feeling lonely and inadequate and when she couldn't stand looking at the two of them together any longer, she had fled, sobbing, into the woods and hid.
That was when Kouga found her and held her close as she told him everything that had happened. He had merely rocked her and listened patiently as she raged against Inuyasha and Kikyo. Once the storm had passed, she lay weakly against him, exhausted from the torrent of emotion that she'd just experienced.
"Thank you, Kouga," she whispered, enjoying the feeling of his strong fingers running through her hair. For someone as wild as Kouga, he possessed the gentlest hands.
"For what?"
She sighed ruefully. "For listening to my ranting. I must have sounded like a lunatic to you and I'm sorry you had to hear it. I don't usually get angry like that."
Kouga chuckled. "I don't mind listening to you, Kagome. I love your voice and besides, I got a chance to hold you."
Kagome raised her head from his chest and stared up at him. The wolf youkai smiled down at her and Kagome was struck by the intensity of his amazing blue eyes. "I like you alot, Kagome and I would do anything for you. Whatever it takes to make you happy, I'm willing do it." He bent down and kissed her with such tenderness that she wept again.
Thinking about that first kiss, Kagome couldn't resist a sad smile. She had been in so much pain and so full of jealousy, but on that day, Kouga had given her the comfort and friendship she'd always longed for from Inuyasha. What did it matter that he wore animal skins, possessed a tail and ran around with a pack of wolves? He was a gentleman with her always and she'd never quite fully appreciated that until that day he kissed her for the first time. No matter what happened, he'd be her friend.
Kouga slid his lips across her smooth cheek to her ear lobe. "I waited seven long years for the chance to kiss you again," he murmured softly before returning to take her lips again.
Thoughts of Yuki and Akira flitted briefly through her mind, but she pushed them out. Why shouldn't she enjoy a passionate kiss from Kouga? She wasn't dead after all, and quite single. There was no reason why she wouldn't be allowed to indulge in a little bit of romance with someone who was attracted to her.
So then why did she feel as though she was committing a crime?
ooo
Kouga held Kagome for a long time. He pulled her down to the ground with him and they sat side by side on the forest floor, talking quietly as the moon slid slowly across the sky. All the while, Kouga held Kagome's hand and squeezed gently every so often, his thumb rubbing lightly across her knuckles.
When she inquired after Ayame, however, Kouga's hand was in mid-squeeze. He froze and turned to look at Kagome, a set expression on his face. "I'd rather not speak of her. She's caused me far too much trouble these past few years."
"What did she do?"
He shook his head and chuckled, his features lightening. "Bothered me, nagged me, all because of that stupid promise I made to her. For heaven's sake, I never meant what I said and besides, that was so long ago that it'd completely slipped my mind! The only reason I told her that was to make her feel better, but the silly wench had to go and take it literally. I'd hoped she'd forgotten by the time she reached adulthood but..."
Kouga paused a moment and he glanced back at Kagome. "Since she found out that you'd left, she's never given me a moment's peace." His eyes roamed all over Kagome's face. "As beautiful and strong as Ayame is, she's never come close to my sweet little miko," he breathed and reached over, bringing his lips to a hair's breath away from hers. "You are the only woman I have ever and will ever desire, Kagome."
It was Kagome who closed the gap between their mouths and soon she found herself flat on her back with a panting wolf youkai pinning her to the ground with his incredible body. Her hands slid up to his neck and grasped the back of his head, holding it to hers.
With a muffled groan, Kouga positioned himself between her thighs, allowing her to feel just how much he wanted her. Kagome sighed into his hot mouth, her legs moving up to wrap themselves around his middle.
He kissed her face all over before moving downwards to nip lightly at her throat while she let her hands drift down to knead at his powerful shoulders. "Oh, Kouga," she moaned breathily, closing her eyes. When she opened them, she found herself gazing up at the nearly full moon. It had never looked more beautiful to her than at that moment with its pale, milky rays shining down upon them as if blessing them. Once more she buried her fingers in his hair and tugged gently at the mass of slightly damp, obsidian locks.
Kouga lifted her shirt and began sucking on her breasts, his soft tongue running lightly over her silken flesh. He bit her, being very careful not to break her skin with his fangs.
As her body squirmed underneath his, Kouga smiled as he pressed kisses along her abdomen. He'd always dreamt of evoking such a response from her and now his dreams were being realized. Perhaps she would allow him to go further and let him mate her. Kagome, his mate...
Kagome was in heaven. Kouga was slowly but steadily moving down her body and all she could think of was--
A deafening silence descended on the forest, bringing Kagome back to herself. No crickets chirped in the shadows, no breeze rustled the leaves in the trees around them. With a confused frown, Kagome propped herself up on her elbows and looked down at Kouga, who had also seemed to have noticed the change in atmosphere. But there was something odd about the look on his face.
"Kouga?" she asked with some concern.
He stared at her, his brows knitted together. He said nothing, but bowed his head and for a moment she thought he would go back to what he was doing.
Instead of feeling his tongue on her, she felt something else on her belly. It was thick and warm, causing her to reach up to wipe it off of her. When she brought her fingers close to her face, she saw what it was.
"Kouga!" she cried and grabbed his face. His eyes were squeezed shut and his face was contorted with pain. His lips and chin were streaked with blood. "Oh my god," she breathed, helping him sit up on his knees. "Your nose is bleeding."
Kouga groaned and grabbed his head. "My head..." he gasped, panting, "my head hurts so... bad..."
The blood froze in Kagome's veins. "Don't move," she whispered warningly and got quickly to her feet.
Her eyes took in the darkness of the forest around them. In a strong voice she called out, "Akira! Let him go!" Silence met her command, but she tried again. "Did you hear me? I said let him go!" She waited a minute, but panic took over when she heard Kouga groan and she cried out, "Akira! Let him go now!"
Akira stepped from the shadows and Kagome thanked the stars above that the darkness concealed his frightening visage from her sight. She turned to him and positioned herself between him and Kouga. "Let him go," she said again, moving slowly towards him. "Release him, Akira. Please."
The elf stood like a statue and Kagome could feel his gaze on her. He was angry and she could all but taste his rage. However, the atmosphere in the woods soon returned to normal and behind her, Kouga breathed a sigh of relief.
"Get out of here," Kagome told him hastily without turning around. "I'll see you later."
"Alright, Kagome," Kouga replied as he got up and left.
Once he was gone, Akira came out into the moonlight, an unreadable expression on his face. Kagome was rather perturbed for she had never seen him like this before. Oh, she'd seen the anger on his face while he was mentally crushing youkai to death, but never outside of battle. Akira was the most laid-back, gentle creature to walk the planet. But why was he so angry? Surely he could see that Kouga hadn't been attacking her...
"Why?"
The suddeness of the question startled Kagome and she flinched. "Why what?"
The elf's body tensed. "Why were you kissing him?" he asked sharply.
"Akira, I..." Kagome paused then added, "He's a dear friend of mine."
He took a step closer to her. "Do you kiss all of your dear friends that way?"
Kagome was shocked at his tone of voice. "You know I don't." When had Akira gotten so sarcastic? This just was so completely unlike him.
Akira moved again and he was right in front of her, towering over her. "Is he a special friend, then?" he added coldly.
"Akira--"
His lips curled into a sneer. "You know what I mean. Is he the kind of special friend you sleep with?" he asked scathingly.
This time it was Kagome who tensed. "I'll have you know that I'm a virgin," she replied curtly. In the faint light she could see his body relax, but he didn't move away. "Why did you hurt him? He wasn't hurting me at all, but you could have killed him so why did you do it?"
Akira's hands came up as if to grasp her arms, but he stopped and dropped them to his sides. "I didn't like the way he was touching you."
The tone of his voice at first confused her, then touched her. So that was it, she thought sadly. Akira had seen her with a strange man on top of her and once he saw that she hadn't been trying to fight the stranger off, he'd come to the only obvious conclusion: she had been in a passionate embrace with the unknown man.
"Were you jealous?" she asked in a low, soothing voice and brought a hand up to touch his arm. "Oh, Akira, I'm so sorry if I upset you."
"Don't touch me," he hissed, pulling away. "How could you?" He stared at her for a moment longer, then turned and ran back the way he came.
ooo
Morning came and Hiro awoke to the sounds of an awakening village. As he sat up, he poked Yuki in the back of the head and simultaneously looked over at where Akira and Kagome slept. At least, where they were supposed to be sleeping, for only Akira was present and wide-awake, his face buried in one of his new manga books. He looked up when Hiro yawned a sleepy 'good morning' at him.
Akira said nothing and returned to his book, leaving Hiro to frown in confusion. His brother never acted that way for no reason unless...
He looked at the spot where Akira was sitting, cross-legged. Kagome was not there.
"Akira? Where's Kagome?" Hiro asked curiously, getting to his feet.
Akira shrugged but made no reply and that bothered Hiro greatly. It was unlike his little brother to act so unconcerned when Kagome was missing. Unless of course he knew that she was gone already. But still, Akira liked to keep tabs on her, to make certain (at least for his own sake) that she was fine. Had something happened between them?
"Akira," he said, dropping down on one knee beside his brother, "did the two of you have a disagreement last night?" He ignored the fullness of his bladder for the moment. This was important.
The younger elf tried to shrug off Hiro's hand, but Hiro grasped his wrist and held it firmly. Stunned, Akira turned his head to gaze at his brother.
"Do not brush me aside, Akira," Hiro said warningly. He hated to be harsh with Akira, but it was necessary considering the younger elf's personality and besides, he knew that Akira would never hurt him. "Where is Kagome and did you two have a disagreement last night? Now I won't ask you again."
A dark, mutinous expression flashed in Akira's green eyes. "I don't know where she is, aniue. But..." His eyes slid guiltily away. "I think I made her mad at me."
"Mad at you? How did you do that?"
Hiro watched the dark look grow darker and he shivered. Something had pissed him off alright, and perhaps now was not such a good time to discuss what had passed between him and Kagome. But he did not have to worry about further angering his little brother, for Akira merely shook his head stubbornly, refusing to say any more. Hiro let him go and Akira at once returned to his reading, bowing his head far down enough to keep his eyes hidden.
As soon as Hiro attended to the business of emptying his bladder, he brushed his teeth, ran his fingers hurriedly through his hair and went in search of Kagome. He was aided in his quest by Miroku and the kitsune youkai, Shippo. At first, however, he did not want to disturb the little youkai while he was having breakfast and told him so.
Shippo only shook his head and gave Hiro a toothy grin. "You need me, Hiro, because I can smell which direction she went," he said cheerfully, hopping onto Miroku's back and wrapped his little hands around the monk's neck. "She went towards Goshinboku." Shippo pointed in the direction of what Kagome had earlier informed him was Inuyasha's Forest.
Hiro almost smacked his forehead in exasperation. Why hadn't he thought of that before? Here he was, surrounded by friendly youkai and he hadn't even thought to ask for their assistance.
He walked on with Miroku by his side. Their youkai guide tripped along happily in front of them, humming cheerfully to himself. While Hiro kept an eye out for the kit, he turned to Miroku, who stared straight ahead, his young face decidedly somber.
"What's wrong?" Hiro asked politely. He almost expected to be rebuffed, but the monk turned a dark blue gaze to him.
"Haven't you sensed the change in the air this morning? It's heavy and full of a powerful demonic aura." He whispered these words as though he were afraid of being overheard.
Shaking his head, Hiro's eyes slid towards the kit, who had stopped skipping and was now staring back at them. "Something's wrong, Miroku," he said, his little voice shaking. Miroku nodded and held out his arms to the kit, who ran into the protection of the monk's arms.
Now Hiro could feel it; a dark, ominous presence that seemed to turn the very air he breathed into festering, putrid fumes. "What the hell is that?!" he cried, ripping his mask out of his back pocket and pulling it on over his nose and mouth.
Miroku's dark brows knitted together. "Naraku." He moved forward, but the smell worsened and he staggered back, gagging against the sleeve of his robe which he used to cover his face.
Ahead of them was a flash of bright pink light and stench instantly vanished. The evil presence surrounding them disappeared. The trio ran in the direction of the pink light source.
"Look!" Shippo cried frantically and pointed. Kagome lay beneath a large tree, sprawled on her back on the ground at the base of the tree. For a moment, they watched her but she did not move and her chest did not appear to be moving at all. Against her chest lay the Shikon no Tama, glowing a delicate rose shade.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
When she finally came to, Kagome found herself in Kaede's hut with a worried looking Hiro bending over her. He sighed with relief when her eyes opened.
"Hi, darling," he said with a sweet smile. "How are you feeling?"
She closed her eyes. "Not so good," she murmured quietly as she sat up and winced. "I fell out of the tree, didn't I? Sheesh, it feels like my body was trampled on by a herd of water buffalo." She grinned sheepishly up at her friend.
"Exactly what were you doing up in a tree, Kagome?" he asked, perplexed.
Kagome shrugged. "Sleeping. Haven't you ever slept in a tree, Hiro?"
"No."
"Oh." Kagome chuckled softly. "Well, I have. When I was with Inuyasha, of course. It was only a couple of times. I don't recommend it, though. Tree branches are incredibly uncomfortable."
"I'll keep that in mind," Hiro promised solemnly as he helped Kagome to her feet. "Kagome, I need to ask you something."
"Shoot."
Hiro sighed and faced his leader. "It's about Akira. He told me this morning that you were mad at him. Is this true?"
It was Kagome's turn to sigh. "No, I'm not mad at him. Actually, it was the other way around."
Hiro's brows shot up. "Akira was mad at you?" He shook his head in confusion. "I don't get it. Akira loves you. How could you make him mad?"
Before she could reply, the subject of their conversation materialized in the doorway. "Aniue, is Kagome--? Oh." Akira took a step back, his eyes assessing Kagome quickly. "I'm glad to see you suffered no ill effects, Kagome," he said stiffly. "Yuki and I are ready to return home." Without waiting for her to dismiss him, he turned on his heel and left the hut.
Hiro's brows slid downwards. "What the hell?" His dark eyes turned to Kagome, who stared, red-faced, after Akira. "What happened last night, Kagome?"
Reluctantly, Kagome related the entire story of the previous evening to him and when she had finished, she hung her head. "I never meant for him to see that," she whispered. "But I couldn't help myself. Kouga's always been a good friend to me..." She trailed off. When she saw Hiro staring hard at her, she felt anger flare up and she cried out defensively, It's not like I'm married or dating anybody, you know! I have every right to see whomever I please!"
"Yes, you do. But Kagome, if Akira tried to kill your would-be-lover, then it would be in your best interest never see to anyone, at least while he's around."
"Why?"
"Like with mating youkai, elves tend to choose one person with whom to spend their existances with. You said that last night, Akira tried to kill Kouga, the one who was making love to you. Now, if I saw some guy messing around with the woman I loved, I'd lose it too, especially if she was the one I'd chosen to be my mate. It's pretty apparent that Akira's chosen you to be his mate, but he just hasn't said anything to let you know of his intentions." Hiro shook his head. "That was regrettable. If you had known beforehand, Kouga would not have been attacked. I'm sorry that happened to him."
"Oh god," moaned the miko and covered her face with her hands. "First Yuki and now Akira. What the hell is going on?"
Taking her in his arms, Hiro gave Kagome's body a squeeze. "You can't help it if men love you, Kagome. You're just so adorable..." He squeezed her again and smothered a laugh in her hair.
"Don't be ridiculous, baka," Kagome muttered against his chest. "The planets are probably in a weird alignment and it makes me give off some crazy pheromone scent. Hey, can I ask you something?" she asked, abruptly pulling away from him. "Do elves go into heat? Because you know, that would explain why both of your brothers went off their rockers at the same time."
Watching his commanding officer with an amused facade, Hiro shook his head. "No, because if that was the case, then why am I not affected? I mean, as lovely as you are, I have not the slightest inclination to make you my mate."
"Oh." Kagome breathed a sigh of relief. "Well that makes me feel better, thanks. I don't know what I would do if all three of you had lost your minds. I might have had to take matters into my own hands and, I don't know, shoot all of you."
Hiro's rich laughter sounded around the hut. "No, no, elves don't lose themselves so easily, Kagome. Lust and infatuation are normally not part of our emotions. We can like you as a friend or love you as intended mate, but temporary lust doesn't exist in our people. When elves love, they love with everything they are."
"Then how do you explain Yuki's behavior?"
"Yuki," Hiro began with a rueful smile, "is an exception. Like I said, lust and infatuation are not normally part of our emotions. Elves like him are extremely rare; those are the ones who behave more like an oversexed human male. But there's good news for Yuki. In each case of where that abnormality has occurred, the elf eventually, when given enough time, grew out of their affliction and became a normal elven male."
Hiro's words struck a chord in Kagome's mind. "Oh, I forgot to mention that Akira got another headache."
"Again?" Concern filled Hiro's brown eyes. "We really should get him in to see a physician, sarge. Not a human one either; he needs to see an elven doctor."
"That serious, huh?"
Hiro nodded grimly. "Elves don't get sick. Akira just got over a cold and he gets headaches from using his powers. Something isn't right with him." He reached out and took Kagome's hand. "As soon as possible, I'll get him to a doctor."
She squeezed his fingers. "Alright. Thank you, Hiro." She allowed him to lead her outside, but when he tried to walk over to where Yuki and Akira were standing and talking with Miroku, Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha, Kagome tugged her hand back. Surprised, Hiro whirled around to look at her.
"Kagome? What is it?"
Kagome shook her head and stared out into the space in front of her. "You three go on ahead, okay? I... There's something I need to do before I leave."
"Kagome..." he grumbled suspiciously. "What's going on?"
But she did not reply right away. Her mind was far away, remembering what had happened when she'd taken the tumble from the tree that morning. There was no way she could tell Hiro what had really occurred. He'd be worried about her and she did not want that. Akira was ill and they needed to concentrate on getting him better. Besides, there was something more pressing in her life at the moment; the elves didn't need an extra burden on their shoulders.
She smiled up at him and gave him a little push. "Nothing. I just wanted to catch up with my friends. Is that alright with you?"
The suspicion was not erased from Hiro's eyes by her softly uttered explanation. "Well, I suppose so."
"What's going on?" Akira walked up to them, his green gaze fixed on Kagome. "Are you unwell?"
Kagome shook her head and Hiro said, "Kagome's fine, Akira. She just informed me that she will remain behind for a little while to talk to her friends."
"Oh, I see." Dark green eyes remained steadily fixated on her face.
Within those hard emerald depths, Kagome could see something alarming grow there. "Akira? What's wrong?"
"You're staying to see him, aren't you?" Akira spat viciously. "The one I saw you with last night. That... that youkai."
Both Hiro and Kagome flinched at those venomous words. It was odd, hearing Akira utter such hateful things. Neither of them had ever heard him speak so harshly of anyone before.
"Akira, I..." With a trembling hand, Kagome reached for the angry elf, but as before, Akira pulled away from her.
"Don't come near me," he snapped angrily. "Save your touches for your lover," he snarled at her before storming off.
Dazed, the two watched Akira grab his things and stalk off in the direction of the Bone Eater's well. Yuki, who cast a quizzical glance over his shoulder at them, also picked up his bags and dashed off after his brother, calling out for him to stop.
"Holy shit," muttered Hiro in astonishment. He turned to look at Kagome, who was looking down at her feet. "I have a feeling we'll need to tranquilize him before the day is out. Kagome, I hope you don't intend to stay too long. The fate of Tokyo is in your hands."
Kagome looked up in time to watch him gather the rest of their belongings except for her pack and head off after his brothers. She knew full well that should something else set Akira off when they were on the other side, Hiro and Yuki would need to act quickly in order to subdue the youngest Yamadera to keep him from unleashing his mental powers on everyone.
Striding forward, she picked up her pack and looked around. Inuyasha and the others had gone with Hiro to see him off and presumably would be waiting for her to arrive. But she would not going to the well.
As soon as her friends were out of sight, Kagome strapped her Glocks to her thighs and took off in the opposite direction. She could not go back just yet; indeed this was not a part of the mission she had been sent on. All she had been sent to do was to purify the jewel. Without its tainted presence, Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha believed, Naraku would not be able to use it against them and so make it easier for him to be defeated. During the past seven years, the jewel continued to grow in darkness and evil, which allowed Naraku to remain strong even though he could not touch it.
But now the evil had been purified, thus cutting off one supply of his power. Kagome thought it was silly of Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru to not utilize the assistance of herself and the elves in order to defeat Naraku once and for all. Perhaps Inuyasha didn't want her to get the chance to kick Kikyo's ass, because that's exactly what she planned to do. First, she would need to find her and where the undead wench was, Naraku would be.
Naraku...
Kagome scowled as she slowed from a sprint to her normal jogging pace. Deep within her chest she could feel his malignant presence. He was nearby and she knew he would keep her following him until he chose to stop and confront her. By then, she would be far enough away from her youkai allies so that they wouldn't be able to help her. That was fine by her. She didn't need or want their help. She would take Naraku down by herself.
Inside, she felt Naraku's amusement and fury flared in her. That bastard! After what he'd done to her, he's laughing?!
Again she recalled being awakened that morning from her slumber in the tree by the sound of movement in the forest. She just had time to open her eyes when she felt something grab her leg and yank her down from the tree branch. Kagome remembered hitting the ground on her back, her head striking the hard earth.
As she lay stunned on the forest floor, a fog crept in and danced in the air above her. Her eyes closed...
ooo
When the swirling mists cleared, Kagome found herself in a large, airy room. It was strangely furnished, yet she had a strong sensation of having been there before. It was delightfully decorated and there was no doubt that this room had been decorated for a girl. Everything was light and feminine; the colors were ivory and gold with hints of pale rose. Strangely enough, Kagome felt completely at ease in this room.
A large bed was situated in the center; long, filmy lengths of of shimmering gold fabric cascaded around the bed from the ceiling. Under the bed itself was a soft, fluffy rug of sorts and Kagome went over to have a closer look.
Standing on the rug, Kagome couldn't help but smile. Whatever material this was made from, it was softer than anything she'd ever felt before. But as she looked down at her feet as she rubbed them against the rug, she realized that her feet were bare. Odd. She could have sworn she was still wearing her boots...
A figure in white moved in the corner of her eye and she swung around to get a better look at the intruder.
The most beautiful woman she had ever seen was staring back at her. Her jet black hair was pulled up in the style of ancient Greece and over her voluptious body flowed a simple white tunic which brushed the floor, allowing her small pink toes to peek out from under the hem.
Kagome was stunned. She'd never seen any woman so amazingly gorgeous before. With a sigh, she decided to ask the woman where she was. Moving forward, she noticed that the woman also moved towards her. This puzzled Kagome and she halted her footsteps. The woman did the same.
Something was not right here, Kagome thought with a frown. The beauty before her also frowned...
A presence behind Kagome caused her to start and whirl around. What she saw made her very nearly scream.
"There you are, sweetest. I've been looking all over for you." The evil man in black from her dreams was strolling into the room towards her, only now, he wasn't clad in anything black. He too, wore tunic, this one ending mid-thigh, which gave her quite a view of his powerful legs. "Admiring yourself again, I see. Well, you should, for you are the loveliest goddess on this mount after all." Taking her by the shoulders, he twirled her gently around and pulled her back against him. "You see? Perfection personified."
Kagome stared dumbfounded at what she saw. The extraordinary creature she had seen had been nothing more than her own reflection. The dark man smiled at her in what Kagome now realized was a massive mirror and dipped his head to kiss her shoulder.
Was this, then, Niobe? She knew that the man behind her was Thanos, the one who had been in her dreams. As for Thanos, his lips had moved from her shoulder over to her neck and he was now sucking lightly on her earlobe. This was wrong, Kagome thought, trying to move away from him. He was Niobe's brother, for crying out loud! What the hell was he doing?
"Thanos, I--" she began, but it was not her voice.
Thanos paid her no heed. Instead, he merely silenced her with a look and proceeded to slip her tunic off of her shoulders. The light garment slid to the floor with the faintest of whispers and Kagome found herself staring at Niobe's naked form as large, dark hands brushed delicately over her smooth flesh.
"So fair," Thanos whispered seductively in her ear. "Such exquisite loveliness. Is it any wonder Aphrodite is so jealous of you, my darling sister?" His dark eyes glittered with passion and his right hand dipped low, sliding down her abdomen until his hand slipped between her pale, trembling thighs.
This made her gasp, not only in horror, but also with passion. Although she knew this was wrong, her body could not help itself. He knew exactly how to manipulate her, how to touch her in order to get the reaction he wished.
Every fiber of her being screamed at her to run away, to fight him off, but she knew that it would be futile. Faint memories made their way to her the front of her consciousness and she recalled several times when she had attempted to stop him. His face, which was so incredibly handsome, had been mottled with rage at her rejection. In the end, she thought with an inward shudder, he had merely used physical force to subdue her to allow him to take what he wanted from her.
Niobe turned her face away from the sight of her twin touching her so intimately. When he was in a good mood, she thought as tears filled her eyes, Thanos was the tenderest of lovers. But when he was angry, either due to having imbibed too much wine or whenever she would reject him, his temperment would be like that of a demon. He would then incapacitate her and take her body again and again until his temper or his lust were sated.
It was difficult living like this, knowing that whenever he chose, he could have her and usually he would sneak into her room while she slept and slip between the sheets. Sometimes he would wait for her to awaken; sometimes not. It depended entirely on his moods.
She had tried to act normally around her parents, but secretly she wanted to tell them everything of what Thanos had done to her. Niobe knew that if Thanos found out she had told on him, he would become violently angry and she already well aware of just how furious he could become. When he had discovered her love affair with Timeus, he had been inconsolable. He raged against her lover, threatened to have him murdered if she allowed their relationship to continue, then threw himself on her and clung to her, his anger evaporating. Thanos wept against her breasts and begged her to leave the mortal man in order to be with him instead.
It had been at this point when their mother walked in and Niobe put on a happy face. Lightheartedly, she told Thanos not to be silly; she loved the young man and if she chose, she would be with him. Inwardly, she was trembling as she spoke these words, for she knew with a certainity that he would even though he would dare not touch her with their mother present, he would take out his revenge eventually.
As she knew he would, Thanos had not taken her dismissal of him lightly. A few nights later when Niobe had returned home from a tryst with Timeus, she found her brother in her room, waiting for her. What followed was, and always would be, a night of horror that was burned into her memory. Thanos had been more relentless than usual that night, making her scream his name over and over as he violently raped her repeatedly. When he was finished, he had had the audacity to pull her bruised and battered body to him and cradled her against his heaving, naked chest while he whispered gentle endearments into her ear.
"What are you thinking of, beloved?" her twin asked of her now, as he buried his face in her hair.
She wanted to tell him to go away and leave her alone, but memories of that dreadful night kept returning. She could not go through that again. Instead, she shook her head resignedly. It would foolish to rebuff him yet again, for she did not want to see that ugly side of this beautiful young god.
He smiled lovingly and taking her by the hand, led her to her bed, where he lay her down and quickly discarded his clothing. Thanos stood over her for a moment as his eyes drank her in. Another smile curved his perfect lips and he lowered his golden, muscular body on top of hers...
Kagome watched as this other part of her soul allowed this man to take control even though she... Niobe... had no wish to sleep with him. Such weakness disgusted Kagome. She wanted out, but she was trapped. Oh please, gods, let her wake from this nightmare!
Desperately, she fought her way out and into consciousness... only to find a horribly familiar face close to hers.
"I never knew you were the one I've been searching for," the hanyou smiled down at her. To her horror, Kagome saw that the repulsive Thanos was none other than Naraku. Worse, she found that she lay beneath him just as Niobe had done with Thanos, her body open and vulnerable to his loathsome touch.
"Get off me!" she cried frantically, shoving hard at Naraku's naked chest. Hot tears slid down her face to her ears. Dear gods, Naraku was... was...
But he only locked his gaze on hers as he continued to pound into her body. "Niobe," he whispered, his eyes changing from scarlet to black and back again. With a grunt, he pressed down on her, his torso making it impossible for her to move. In her ear, he began muttering the all-too-familiar endearments in the Greek language of their time... words that Thanos would breathe in her ear in the dead of night after forcing her to have sex with him.
As for Kagome, she could only lay there beneath his heavy, powerful body and wait, as Niobe had done during those seemingly endless nights, for it all to be over with. At last, Naraku's breathing sped up and within moments, it was over. He lay panting on top of her while she stared dully up at the canopy of trees above her.
"I have searched the world for you," he told her at last, staring down lovingly into her emotionless face. He did not move off of her, but instead, remained buried within her, his body still pinning hers to the ground. "We can not be separated, my love." He sniffed the air and smiled. "What a joyous day! You were a virgin, were you not? Oh, my darling, how fortunate for me that I am able to take your innocence in two separate lifetimes! Do you doubt now that you were meant for me?"
But Kagome could only turn her head and weep silently. When he would not withdraw from her, she said, anger gathering, "Get off of me, Naraku. Get off of me before I kill you." She could feel the part of her that was Niobe wither in fear, but she would not be a coward any longer. Whatever she had allowed him to get away with before, she would not again because this time around, she was Kagome, demon slayer and what lay on top of her was the very creature she was paid to slay.
A triumphant smirk curled his lips. "Now, now, Niobe, don't be ridiculous. You've never even had the heart to swat at a fly. Besides, I'm a god, the same as you. What makes you think you could ever harm me, your own brother?" Lowering his head, he bit down on her shoulder.
From the direction of the village, Kagome could hear male voices conversing. Naraku heard them as well, for his head jerked up and he looked over his shoulder to see who it was, a low, threatening growl erupting from his throat.
Seeing him finally off his guard, Kagome shoved her hands up and pressed them against his shoulders. Purifying energy instantly flooded his body and he shrieked, while trying to make a grab at her. But Kagome kicked him off of her and rolled away out of his reach.
Naraku lay on the ground, panting and in pain for a moment before his tentacles appeared. Casting an angry glance at her, he fled into the forest and disappeared. As for Kagome, the moment she sensed that the danger had indeed gone, lost conciousness.
ooo
"Naraku!" she roared and began sprinting in the direction she could feel him. She had to kill him! He'd raped her while she'd been unconscious and in doing so... in doing so...
Her feet slowed to a stop and she stood there, panting hard. Tears of frustration had begun to gather in her eyes and she dropped to her knees, the realization of her situation slamming hard into her. Naraku had raped her and now... her miko powers were gone. She held her hands out before her but the familiar thrum of energy was no longer there. Her body felt empty, like someone had carved out her insides and all that was left was an hollow shell.
Looking down, she saw the Shikon no Tama laying pink and pure against her chest. It twinkled up at her as though giving her reassurance, but she felt less than reassured. How she was going to defeat Naraku without her powers, she had no clue but one thing was for certain. She would die trying.