"Bout time you woke up."

Kagome groans as her sight returns. Her hands go to her stomach. No cramping. She is not in pain. That's a plus. But something happened. How long has she been out? Feels like hours. InuYasha brushes her hands away and leans forward. He presses his ear to her stomach.

"All good. They're good." He leans back and gives her a wobbly grin.

"Thank Kami." She lets out a breath and then freezes. They? "You mean they as in..."

InuYasha squints. His golden eyes are really pretty in the moonlight. Slightly warmer than Sesshomaru's eyes. Wait... moonlight? It was definitely daytime when they went out to the cafe.

"They as in they. Did ya not know you were having twins?"

"Fuck no. Are you sure your hearing isn't damaged?"

InuYasha presses his ear back to her stomach and frowns. "Huh. That's creepy." He pulls back and sits on the bed. Kagome blinks. Wait. When did they get back to the house? They were out and then... her head throbs as she tries to recall what happened. There was an explosion or something.

"I thought we were out at the cafe."

"Yeah, we were. But there was a problem." InuYasha presses his lips together. His claws dig into his palms. "What matters is that you are safe, and they are safe." His ears twitch and swerve towards the door.

Why isn't he telling her what that problem was?

Kagome shakes her head. "There was only one baby on the ultrasound. And what do you mean there was a problem?" She leans her head against the headboard. While she might not be in pain, her body feels so damn heavy, like she has a 100-pound weight on her chest. "And what about Satoru? What was that phone call?" Her chest burns. Satoru better be okay. Why isn't he home yet if it's dark out?

Satoru will not be happy to see InuYasha in their bedroom. She needs to get to the bottom of what is going on like now.

"Listen. The thing is. Well..." he trails off and looks at the door. A moment later, Sesshomaru walks in. There is no expression on the demon lord's face. For once, Kagome wishes there was something there for her to go off on. It is a little weird to see Sesshomaru dressed in his old attire.

"Where is my husband?" She demands. InuYasha flinches, but she ignores him and focuses on Sesshomaru. No one is giving her the answers she wants to hear. Someone needs to start talking or so help her.

"He's not your husband," InuYasha grumbles under his breath.

"Sealed," Sesshomaru answers.

Kagome's breath catches. Her hands shake. What does he mean sealed? That cannot be right. Satoru is untouchable. The strongest. His strength is absolute. They have to be fucking with her. But Sesshomaru does not joke, and he wouldn't try to play some trick on her. No, Sesshomaru is above that.

Which means Satoru is not coming home.

Her chest rises rapidly. Her breaths come out in spurts. The room is spinning.

"Calm down," Sesshomaru commands. "He is sealed. Not dead." His words snap her out of her spiral.

"How did that even happen?" Kagome focuses on slowing her breathing. She is no help to anyone if she passes out again. Breathe in and out. Over and over.

"By the time I arrived, he was already sealed. Him and Shippo split up to tackle the curses and demons running havoc in the city. I don't know all the details, but this was not a surprise attack. It was planned. I suspect it was all to seal your mate." Sesshomaru stands there reciting the words as if he has practiced what to say to her. His aura takes up the entire bedroom. Unshakable.

"Which means," InuYasha interjects, "we need to move you to higher ground. It's a shit show out there. Everyone knows about curses now." He turns to address Sesshomaru. "What about us?"

"Lumped in with the curses and sorcerers. As far as the rest of the world knows, demons are not a thing. Even if we were discovered, the humans have no way of determining who is a demon or not. It would end up being a witch hunt that would lead nowhere."

"Good. One last thing to worry about." InuYasha scratches at his nose.

The conversation flows back and forth, but Kagome can't find it in her to be relieved that demons weren't found out. How can she? Satoru is somewhere far away from her. This is different from when he left overseas for work. She could call him anytime and he would answer. Now, she has no idea where he is. How he is doing. Or who has him.

The Shikon pulses. A wave of soft power washes over her. Sesshomaru and InuYasha must feel it too, because the conversation comes to a halt. The accusation hangs in the air. Not that she can find it in her to care too much what either of them is thinking right now. Her world is crashing down around her. Her husband - her mate - is out there somewhere and she does not know where to look for him.

"Is it reacting to your emotions?" Sesshomaru stands over the bed. His golden eyes are cool, assessing, but not in a way that makes her feel uncomfortable.

She gives a jerky nod. "Mainly when I think about Satoru. Yeah." The Shikon pulses again. Her emotions stabilize for now. The warmth feels like someone is giving her a hug.

"Hn. This could be a problem."

"Why? Because she can't keep her emotions in check?"

"No, idiot. Because the jewel has some attachment to her mate."

InuYasha scoffs. "So?"

"The jewel that only has its own well-being in mind is attached to the six-eyes. You don't find a problem with that?" Sesshomaru deadpans.

"No. It's not like the Jewel is tainted." InuYasha cuts his eyes towards her. "It merged with you, right? No one can cut it out again?"

"We're merged. There's no separating us." Kagome looks out towards the window. Her eyes focus on the nightstand.

The card! How could she forget about the card? There was no date or time written on the back. It must have been Geto that planned this. Why else would he tell her to show up alone?

"Where are the kids?" She moves the covers away and stands. InuYasha makes a noise of protest, but doesn't stop her.

"Healing. They are stationed in the guest rooms."

"I don't have guest rooms." There is one room for the kiddos to stay in, but Sesshomaru said guest rooms, not guest room, so they can't be in the house.

"I do." Sesshomaru cuts his eyes at InuYasha. "Why didn't you bring take her to safety?"

"Don't shift the blame to me," InuYasha complains.

Kagome tunes them out. One thing is for certain, she cannot go to Sesshomaru's place. She needs to convince them to let her stay here in the house. At least that way she'll have a shot at sneaking out. No, Sesshomaru's estate is far too secluded. Not to mention, you need the ability to freaking fly to get to and from it.

And she doubts InuYasha will let her use whatever transportation he has to go back and forth.

"I'm staying here in my home. I'm not running away."

"Eh, that's not happening. Ya think that bast—human of yours would want you staying in harm's way?"

"Satoru would want me out looking for him."

"Kagome." InuYasha sighs. "I don't even know the guy, but I can guarantee that is the last thing he would want you to do. "

"I'm not leaving."

"You are."

"I am–"

"Enough. Both of you." Sesshomaru glares at them. "Kagome, you do not know the chaos outside. Your mate would want you and the young safe. We will get him unsealed from whatever box he is in, but we cannot do that if we are worried about you taking matters into your own hands."

Kagome shifts her head away.

"However, so long as Sukuna's vessel is alive, it would be best to keep the two separated."

Kagome's brows furrow. "Did something happen to Yuji?"

"He lost control of Sukuna. The damage toil is great. Shibuya is a wasteland. Festering with negative energy. The curses born from the day alone will be numerous. At any rate, you are not to be near him. If he can lose control once, he can lose control again."

"But everyone is okay?"

"Your son is fine. He, too, should stay away from Sukuna's vessel, but he won't listen to reason. The girl is fine. There will be scars on her face, but nothing she cannot move past. I know not of the others. There were casualties, but..." Sesshomaru trails off. "If there are any others, then Shippo would have taken them to the estate."

Of course, Sesshomaru only knows about Yuji, Megumi, and Nobara since they visit so much.

"They are too young to have to deal with this." Her hand hovers over the doorknob. She wants to run, but to where?

"This is what sorcerers do," InuYasha speaks up. "Your brats will do the same, especially since one of them will be considered the heir to the Gojo clan. Heard the clan was wiped out and all. Not looking too good with Gojo being gone."

Kagome turns. "I'm not having twins." She ignores the comment about the clan being wiped out. If only she had not slapped Satoru's uncle, then maybe the clan wouldn't have fallen prey to Naraku's schemes.

"Twins?" Sesshomaru questions.

"I'm tellin ya, she's having twins. It's just one of them is being creepy."

Sesshomaru walks over to her and sinks down to his knees. Kagome's eyes widen. Uncomfortable does not even begin to explain how she is feeling. He presses his ear to her stomach like InuYasha did earlier and frowns.

"Say something."

"One heartbeat remains constant. The other one comes and goes. As if it is masking its presence." Sesshomaru stands, his eyes are cool.

Assessing.

She hates it.

"I'm not having twins," she says, more to convince herself. This is not the kind of information she wants to receive right now, so she shoves it away. What matters is finding Satoru.

"I'm not sure what you are having," Sesshomaru says gently, "but we will worry about it when the time comes."

"So, you agree it's creepy," InuYasha intones.

"It's cause for concern with the Shikon reacting so strongly in regards to her mate."

Kagome sucks in a breath and walks out of the room. She cannot stay in there a moment longer. Not with them talking over her as if she is not there. She needs a plan. Someone to distract one of them while she sneaks out. Kagome stuffs her hands in her pockets. Her hand hits the medallion.

How could she forget about that? She tightens her fingers around it and lets out a breath. Yakeru will help her. Even if she gets strong-armed into moving into Sesshomaru's estate, at least Yakeru will help her out.

Shippo might. But Shippo is a wild card, he might not.

She plops down on the couch and turns on the tv to the news. InuYasha and Sesshomaru are still holding out information, and she needs to know what she is dealing with before she moves. In her gut, she knows Geto has something to do with Satoru being gone. She'll start there at the shrine. Geto gave her that card for a reason.

The reporter cuts into her musings. In a loud and clear voice, the reporter declares, "Chaos today in Shibuya. Are curses a figment of our imagination? Or are they real? Stay tuned for more information as we take a deep dive into the number of casualties, damages, and why you should fear the things that go bump in the night."

"Guess you have to come to the estate after all," Sesshomaru says, reaching for the remote. He turns the television off. "Do you understand now? It is far too dangerous for you to stay here. More people are aware of curses now, which will only lead to more of them popping up. Not to mention, you are a wanted woman for now."

"Why am I wanted?" And since when is Jujutsu society common knowledge? Oh... right, because of what happened today. Still, why the hell is she wanted?

"Anyone who tries to free Satoru will be hunted down as well. They are blaming him for today's incident." Sesshomaru gestures to her stomach. "It's not out yet, but it is only a matter of time before others take notice of your growing womb. Some may seek to eliminate you because you carry the Gojo line, or..."

"Or they may want to keep me locked away and try to harness my kid's powers for themselves," she says, shoulders slumping. It's the same thing Yumi, Yakeru's sister, tried to pull. "Do I have a choice in this?"

"No." Sesshomaru holds out his hand. "Your mate is not here to make the call and as alpha of the pack, this Sesshomaru will ensure that everyone is protected. I know how you think. Whatever schemes you are plotting, throw them out of your mind now. We will get your mate back, but not at the expense of losing you."

Kagome grits her teeth as she takes Sesshomaru's hand. How can they expect her to just sit this out? "I won't do anything rash," she acquiesces. Sludge coats her tongue. Her throat is tight. Breathe in and out.

Like hell, she will just sit this one out and wait for them to take their time in saving Satoru. The Shikon pulses again. The feeling of someone hugging her returns. Right, she's not alone in this. The Shikon wants Satoru back as much as she does. Sesshomaru narrows his eyes at her, but she shrugs it off. "Just thinking about Satoru."

Sesshomaru nods.

Yeah... just thinking about rescuing him herself.

A/N: Thank you everyone for supporting the story. I do read every review and appreciate everyone's thoughts on the story. I for one, am excited to see Kagome show these curses/curse users why a priestress is not someone to tick off. Wishing everyone an awesome week! Take care of yourselves!