"Sesshomaru! Get out here, ya bastard!" Inuyasha crashed through the trees, swinging Tetsusaiga and snarling viciously.
"As if he really cares about Kagome," Miroku muttered, shifting his weight.
"Watch it!" Shippo complained. He was in his large, bulbous pink form, carrying Sango and Miroku while Kagome rested on Kirara. The poor miko looked even worse than the day before, pale and coughing. Her health had deteriorated faster than expected.
"I suppose I can understand why Inuyasha would want to keep Kagome alive," Sango said, "but they're the wrong reasons. What happened to the hanyou who cared about her?"
"He found a different, deader miko to love," Shippo grumbled.
"Yes, he certainly did." Miroku watched Inuyasha carefully. The hanyou had caught wind of Sesshomaru's scent, and was following it in order to retrieve the Hana no Shukumei and keep Kagome alive so that she might continue detecting jewel shards for them. Miroku wasn't about to argue with him about his motives. It would only slow their tracking of Sesshomaru.
But it wasn't as if the youkai lord was trying to stay hidden. Miroku knew that any youkai powerful enough could hide their scent, just as he was sure Naraku was doing. The only time they found Naraku was when he wanted to be found. And Sesshomaru obviously didn't care enough about any threats to hide himself or his companions.
"Give back that damn rose!" Inuyasha was still blind to the purpose of the rose. Miroku had told the group not to tell him about it. Something told him that, no matter how little he appeared to care about Kagome, he would not be happy about her apparently being connected to his hated older brother. The only thing he knew was what Myoga had told him, that the rose was powerful, and tied with Kagome in a way that made her sick when it was away from her.
Of course, with all the beckoning from Inuyasha, it was hard for Sesshomaru not to hear it. Allowing Rin to rest in a clearing, he heard the commotion from a mile away. "And now that bumpkin is calling for trouble," he said, motioning for Jaken to stay put.
Inuyasha burst through the trees, still growling and swinging his sword like a maniac. "It would do you better to appear civilized," Sesshomaru said, preparing himself to use his poison whip, though he doubted it would be necessary.
"Give me the rose, Sesshomaru!"
"Ah, this." Sesshomaru pulled it from his clothes. The speech from Myoga had not moved him any. Despite the evidence, he refused to believe he was mated to a human. The only human he liked was Rin, and that was, he thoroughly believed, due to the fact that she was too young to learn the naïve and flawed ways of most humans. "Why do you need it?"
"Because not having it is making Kagome sick, and she needs to stay alive." The group came up behind him, Shippo switching to normal form as Miroku and Sango hopped off. Kagome moaned on Kirara's back.
Sesshomaru eyed the miko. She was curled into herself, clutching her stomach and pressing her legs against her chest. "What happens to the miko is of no concern to myself."
"Sesshomaru." Kagome coughed, slipping down from Kirara on shaky legs. "Please." Her eyes begged him, as she moved closer. Sesshomaru stepped back. Inuyasha put himself between them, growling.
"Don't you dare get close to him," he snapped. Kagome frowned, and pushed him aside. Even in her weak state, she would not show any fear.
"Sesshomaru," she said again, "I know we don't get along. And I know you want to kill Inuyasha. But we really need that rose." She coughed, nearly stumbling. When she stabilized herself, she looked him in the eye. "I saved Rin's life. Normally, I wouldn't use something like that for bargaining. However, I think you owe us this. A life for a life. I realize that the rose may be of interest to you, and I apologize for wanting it back. But it was ours first, and I know someone as honorable as you would honor a life debt that is owed."
The youkai lord considered her words, looking her over. Even while severely ill, the miko was willing to stand up to him. Though he would never admit it, that said something of her character to him.
"It would be wise to follow her words, Lord Sesshomaru."
Myoga popped up, sitting comfortably on Sesshomaru's shoulder. The group seemed mildly surprised, but not shocked, considering Myoga's regular dealings with the Inu no Taishou, and now his sons. "She speaks the truth," he added. "I saw the rescue of Rin. You owe them a life."
"Typical, watching from the sidelines without offering help," Inuyasha scoffed.
"Quiet." Sesshomaru peered at Kagome again. "The flea is correct. And," he said, twiddling the rose between his fingers, "I only took the rose to vex you, hanyou."
You know that is not true.
Ignoring his inner youkai, Sesshomaru held the rose out to the miko. Kagome smiled, bowing gratefully. "Thank you, Sesshomaru. We appreciate this." She reached for the Hana.
White heat, blinding light. Kagome shrieked, shielding her eyes from the explosion. Sesshomaru launched himself back, taking the flea with him. Inuyasha leaped aside, snarling in confusion and anger.
The light died quickly, leaving the group members in bewilderment.
"What the heck was that?" Shippo stood, shaking slightly. Sango picked him up, holding a smaller Kirara with her other arm, and cuddling them both. Miroku scanned the area.
"Some sort of explosion," he muttered.
"Hn." Sesshomaru did not feel any worse for the wear, although the flea had vanished from the apparent danger.
"Ugh, my head." Kagome stood, trying to see past the settling dust. She was surprised to find that she felt much better than before, with stable legs and no upset stomach, but the center of her forehead stung, and her ears felt odd. "What was that?"
Sesshomaru, having no more interest in this, and deciding it was better to be rid of the annoying flower rather than try to figure it out. He turned to leave, when something caught his attention.
The miko brushed her hair away, feeling for any damage. What Sesshomaru saw shocked him, enough for his brows to raise in his normally stoic expression. In a flash he was at her side, grabbing her wrist and pushing her bangs from her face.
"Hey! Sesshomaru!" Kagome tried to pull away, but the youkai lord was far too strong, forcing her to remain still.
"Let her go!" Inuyasha rushed toward his brother. Sesshomaru paused, releasing his hand from the miko's head to flash his poison whip. The whip slashed into Inuyasha's chest, flinging him back and smashing his body into a tree.
Sango set Kirara and Shippo down and took her Hiraikotsu in hand, changing to a battle stance.
"Hold your weapon, youkai slayer," Sesshomaru said calmly, unsurprised by their defensive reaction. Inuyasha stood, grumbling something to himself, and staring daggers at his brother. Usually he wasn't beaten that badly in just one move from his brother, and without admitting it, he knew that it meant his brother was holding back during their battles. He was too focused on something else to bother toying with him now.
That something else was Kagome, at the moment. She tried to reach for her arrows, loosed from around her back in the explosion, but Sesshomaru quickly snatched her hand and placed it into his right, trapping her. "Sesshomaru, please let me go," she said, trying to imbue her voice with both confidence and politeness. She respected the lord for his power, despite his trying to kill her several times, and did not wish to get on his bad side. She was well aware that by now, he had learned thoroughly of Inuyasha's Tetsusaiga, and what he could do with it; if he wanted to kill her, it would no longer pose a problem to get around the abilities of his father's sword.
"Miko, you know not of what has happened to you. I suggest your friends take a look." With that, he used his free hand to lift her bangs once more, and turned her towards the group.
"Whoa."
"Kagome, it's . . ."
"Mama!"
"Holy shit," Inuyasha mumbled, still gripping his healing wound. Sesshomaru's whip obviously had more force than actual poison in it on this particular use, because his hanyou powers were already healing the shallow cut across his chest. The pain was easy to ignore, the inu much more focused on Kagome.
"What? Is it something on my forehead? It sorta hurts," she mumbled, shifting. Sesshomaru released her, unhappy about touching a human, and wiped his hands on his haori. Kagome rubbed her wrists, nodding gratefully, before facing her friends. Sesshomaru did not move from her side, giving her an odd look of his normal stoicism mixed with what she thought was a dab of curiosity.
"Ehem." Miroku cleared his throat, preparing himself to deliver the news to her. "Ah, Kagome, it appears you would have a . . . mark, on your forehead. I believe it may have been caused by the explosion." Miroku was more than aware that the work done by the Hana was mysterious, indeed, and simply because this was new did not mean that the rose was not behind it. He scanned the area for it. "You may also want to retrieve the rose."
Kagome saw where he was pointing, and, momentarily distracted, took the Hana from where it lay, brushing dirt off it. "Thank you, Miroku, but what does it have to do . . .?" Realization hit Kagome. The explosion had occurred the moment she and Sesshomaru both touched the rose.
"So we are connected," she whispered, still having trouble absorbing the information. "Wait, I need a mirror. What's wrong with my head? A mark?" Miroku's words came back to her, and she snatched up her bag to find her compact case. Opening the purple object that she knew contained a mirror, along with a little make up that she no longer found useful in the feudal age, Kagome took a look at herself.
"Oh, my God!" The compact fell, but she hurriedly grabbed it again and inspected the mark closer. On her forehead, in dark blue/purple, was the same crescent mark that Sesshomaru, the lord of the west and the youkai she had never thought she would associate closely with, had on his face. "This is not something I expected." She sighed, looking to Miroku. "What do we do?"
"You smell different," Inuyasha interjected. "Weird. And . . . familiar," he decided, wrinkling his nose.
"Of course it's familiar, it's Mama! She-" Shippo stopped. Stepping closer to Kagome, he sniffed her. "He's right, Mama. You smell different. But the different part smells like something I know." He sniffed her again. "It smells like-"
"An inu youkai." Sesshomaru growled to himself, slowly realizing the complications this would no doubt lead to. "She has the scent of a female inu."
"I coulda told her that," his brother snarled. Sesshomaru ignored him. There was no use paying attention to him.
"An inu?" Kagome observed herself in the mirror again. Remembering the classic traits of an inu, she hesitantly reached for her hair. All of this was a bit overwhelming. She had gone from hunting Naraku, to sick and confused about a strange flower that she now held in the hand with the mirror, to connected to one of the most powerful youkai in the land. Touching her hair, she pulled it back, revealing her right ear.
It was pointed. Just like Sesshomaru's.
"My goodness." She touched the tip of it. It felt strange. Now, almost frantically, she opened her mouth to inspect her teeth. Her normally blunt human canines were razor sharp. She checked her eyes. They were still crystal blue, as always. She breathed a tiny sigh of relief. The miko had been afraid they would change to shining gold.
"Kagome?" Sango sat by her, rubbing her back. "Are you all right?"
"I . . . I don't know." Kagome stood, tossing the compact and observing the rose. "I'm a youkai. A youkai. A miko as a youkai, it's just . . . weird, and I'm not sure how to react."
"It would only be natural to be confused, Miss Kagome."
Once again, Myoga cropped up from out of the blue. Inuyasha glared, tired of his hiding tactics. "You better have a good excuse for what's happening. If Kagome loses her powers because of this, I'm taking it out on you, with your stupid flower talk."
Myoga brushed off the threat, turning to Kagome. "I have only heard tales of this type of thing, but I will tell you what I know." He peered at Sesshomaru. "My lord, I would have expected you to lose interest in the matters of your brother," he teased.
"Flea, do not tempt me." Sesshomaru flexed a claw.
Myoga took the hint, looking back to Kagome. "Allow me to explain, as best I can. Because Inuyasha's father was involved with the Hana no Shukumei, I learned much about it. The only human known to have the Hana was Inuyasha's mother, mating to Sesshomaru's father. But, like father like son, I suppose." Myoga laughed at his own joke, but no one else seemed amused. "Yes, well," Myoga cleared his throat, "I should get to the chase. Because the Inu no Taishou mated with a human, he wished me to learn about other matings between youkai and humans. He wanted to take every step to make sure his mate was happy. In my research, I had heard of cases similar to Kagome's, though not involving the Hana. That is, a miko trying to mate with a youkai."
"This Sesshomaru has no human mate."
"Shush." Myoga waved his hand at the lord, showing more bravery and defiance than was normal, only because he was sure Kagome or someone else would not let his lordship get away with killing him. "As I was saying, the times I have heard of a miko mating with a youkai, it has ended badly. A miko's powers naturally try to reject youkai. When they mate, the youkai is often injured or killed. The powers of a miko will simply not stand for such a union."
"I see." Kagome took Myoga into her palm. "And this explains my situation because?"
"I cannot be sure, for I have never seen or heard of this exact situation, but I believe that your body, with the help of the Hana, has changed to adapt to the circumstances. The Hana has forced you to change into the only form that will allow your miko soul to mate with a youkai. You yourself are now a youkai, and therefore should be compatible with Lord Sesshomaru."
"Wait, mate? What the hell? I never heard of Kagome mating with anybody," Inuyasha objected.
"It is the purpose of the Hana, Inuyasha," Miroku said. "To connect mates that would otherwise not be together. I will explain more later."
Inuyasha seemed unsatisfied, but took the short explanation anyway.
Kagome sat in silence for a minute. "I . . ." She hesitated. "I'm a youkai. And a miko. So that I can mate with a youkai, without blowing him up?"
"I think so," Myoga nodded.
"This Sesshomaru has no miko for a mate. Nor a former human." He shifted the tiniest inch, not enough for Sango or Miroku to notice, but Inuyasha saw it. Kagome saw it as well, her new youkai abilities already working at top capacity to catch the sliver of movement.
"Sesshomaru." She stood. "I know this isn't an ideal thing. I'm certainly not interested in mating with you, no offense. I didn't plan on mating anyone for a while." Kagome took a deep breath. "I'm not really sure about any of this."
"Hn." Sesshomaru scrutinized her, especially the mark on her forehead, partially hidden by her mussed bangs. It was his family's mark. He could no longer deny that this miko was, indeed, connected to him. This displeased him immensely.
()
Hi! I hope you guys like the new chapter! This one is a bit longer than usual, since I had some more time to write. So, this chapter had a big happening. Not every day that your average miko transforms into a youkai. And both Inu brothers will get pissed, let me tell you.
I'll update next week, and I'll keep trying to make the chapters a bit longer than they've been lately. It's hard to write during the school year. And please review! It inspires me to write more! Review review review, please! Thank you so much for reading, everybody. Ja ne!