
Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/11365236.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Major_Character_Death, Rape/Non-Con,
      Underage
  Category:
      F/M
  Fandom:
      InuYasha_-_A_Feudal_Fairy_Tale
  Relationship:
      Higurashi_Kagome/Sesshoumaru, Naraku/Kikyo_(Kinda_Sorta)
  Character:
      Sesshoumaru_(InuYasha), Higurashi_Kagome, Sango_(InuYasha), Miroku_
      (InuYasha), Shippou_(InuYasha), Jaken_(InuYasha), InuYasha_(InuYasha),
      Ah-Un_(InuYasha), Rin_(InuYasha), Kikyou_(InuYasha), Kaede_(InuYasha),
      Higurashi_Kagome's_Mother, Higurashi_Souta, Kagome's_Grandfather_
      (InuYasha), Buyo_(InuYasha), Kagura_(InuYasha), Naraku_(InuYasha), Kouga_
      (InuYasha), Ginta_(InuYasha), Hakkaku_(InuYasha)
  Additional Tags:
      Extreme_Gore, Extreme_violence., destruction_of_a_cub, Rape/Non-con
      Elements, Non-Consensual_Oral_Sex, Extreme_Mysogyny, Kidnapping, Feral
      Behavior, Angst, Violent_past_life, Pregnancy, Seven_month_timeline, Long
      story_is_long, Biting, Fingering, Pregnant_Sex, sex_out_in_the_open
  Series:
      Part 6 of Perfume_of_Love
  Stats:
      Published: 2017-07-01 Words: 24170
****** Scent of Acid ******
by FlameWolf
Summary
     A lot can happen in seven months. Including growing closer,
     Sesshomaru and Kagome have remembered their past lives. On top of
     that, Naraku and Kikyo have been conspiring in the background; ending
     in the young girl being kidnapped during her seven months of
     pregnancy. Will Sesshomaru succeed in saving her or will the horrible
     hanyou succeed with his terrible plan.
Notes
     Disclaimer: I don’t own anyone or anything from Inuyasha. This is
     just for fun and no profit will be made from this.
     WARNING!!: Underage Sex with 16 Year Old. Extreme gore and Violence.
     Graphic Rape.
     Author’s Note: Had to take five days to go visit family. Promise
     schedule will be more consistent now.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~First Month~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
    After a quick explanation from Sango, Kagome felt more than a little
stunned as she looked from her mate to her former crush; who was dusting
himself off with a disgusted look.  The half-breed’s pointed ears were tilted
backward, a disgusted sneer on his face as his amber eyes shifted to the taller
male in front of him.  All at once, the girl felt overwhelmed with gratitude,
running to nearly tackle Sesshomaru with a tight hug.  “Thank you,” she
whispered, knowing all too well just how easily Inuyasha could have wound up
dead.
    The mighty youkai only purred, nuzzling the top of her head as his tail
wound around her.  Knowing exactly what she was talking about, the taiyoukai
didn’t bother to ask for clarification; simply took in her scent.  The Sakura
that clung to her like an aura was in full bloom, all signs of the earlier
rotting gone for the most part.  It would only be a little longer before she
was much better.  As much as his pride smarted, he had to admit Kagome’s
suggestion about asking the group’s permission for time with her was working.
 Not only was she improving but her pack was actually beginning to trust him, a
fact evidenced by their actions today.
    During the fight with Inuyasha, either one of them could have stepped
forward to stop it but they hadn’t.  Instead, it seemed like they had willingly
accepted the possibility he would end up their alpha.  In fact, they were
already going back to normal; the Slayer and her male hopping onto the Nekomata
that always followed them around.  Even Inuyasha was acting as if nothing all
that important had happened, simply asked Kagome if she wanted to resume their
shard hunt before shifting his gaze to the Western Lord.  “Would that be
alright with you too shithead?” spat the hanyou, a surprising lack of real bite
behind the insult.
    Narrowing his eyes, Sesshomaru gave a barely perceptible nod; his eyes
following his adopted daughter as she ran up to the giant, two tailed cat.  It
was only the knowledge that the beast was considered harmless by Kagome herself
that stopped him from placing himself between Rin and the creature.  Even then,
it was a close thing.  Nekomata were not exactly well known for being all that
friendly to ningen.  However, when the giant feline merely lowered it huge head
to nuzzle the girl, he felt himself relax just a little.  “Can I ride the big
kitty?” the small girl chirped, surprising no one with her request.
    Soon they were all in the sky, Inuyasha riding on Shippo with a sour
expression on his face and his arms folded into his sleeves.  Rin, of course,
was perched on Kilala’s head; laughing loudly as she appeared to be having the
time of her young life.  As for Kagome, the time travelling teen was riding
next to her mate on a cloud he had formed from his youki; Ah-Un following close
behind with Jaken on his back.  If any of the villagers or travelling merchants
along the way had looked up, they would have seen quite an intimidating sight.
    Feeling the wind blow through her ebony hair, the sixteen year old honestly
felt relieved she had some alone time with the Lord to her right.  She still
didn’t know too much about him and, while it was expected for women of the time
to know nothing about their husbands, she couldn’t just let things stand the
way they were.  She wanted to learn everything about the stoic male.  His
hopes, his dreams, his fears.  Most of all, she wanted to find out just what
kind of Lord he was.  Did he treat all those who lived under him fairly?  How
did he treat the human villages?  Did he have enough honor to see past his
prejudices and treat them fairly?
    All she really knew for certain was that he was a youkai of honor and that
he had a soft spot for Rin that now seemed to include her as well as Shippo.
 Just the fact that he had so willingly adopted a kit he had no affiliation to
just because he was her son told her he at least had some morals.  Still, she
had a job to do and she allowed her gaze to travel to the trees speeding under
them.  Letting out a slow breath, the young girl allowed her senses to stretch
out; honing in on a familiar trio of jewel shards.  Grimacing, Kagome quickly
shifted targets; not really wanting to have a run in with that particular shard
bearer.  Thankfully, there was another one the complete opposite direction of
the familiar cluster.  “Over there!” she called, pointing out the one she was
hoping they would go toward.
    “There are more over there and those are closer,” reasoned a baritone from
above her, making her heart sink.
    “Oh but we don’t really want to go after those Sesshomaru.  Trust me, that
one waaaaay over there is much easier at this time,” the teen argued, feeling a
cold sweat appear on her skin as her mind began to whirl.  Of all the things
she didn’t want to happen, running into Kouga at this point in time was
definitely on the top of her list.
    The wolf Prince had made many a claim on her, quite loudly and often in an
effort to pick a fight with Inuyasha.  Now that she was actually mated and
pupped by the hanyou’s half brother, the arrogant lupine would likely be
unbearable.  It was highly probable the misguided youkai would try to start a
fight with Sesshomaru over mating rights.  A fight the taiyoukai was bound to
win, despite it not mattering much anyway.  Kouga was nice and all but he
wasn’t her type.  It certainly didn’t help matters that he was so pushy about
things he really had no say in.  Unfortunately, his normally brash behavior
wouldn’t fly this time.  All she could really hope was the inu noble decided to
go against logic.
    Sour and yet sickly sweet, he could smell fear dripping from the blossoms
of her scent.  Cocking a brow at her strange decision, Sesshomaru merely shook
his head in response.  It made no sense to go out of the way for one shard when
there were three that were much closer.  Besides, her reaction had made him
curious about what she seemed to be trying to hide from him.  So, despite her
heartfelt pleas, the Lord of the West turned toward the three crystals just a
few feet to the left.
    As they turned, Inuyasha lifted his nose to the air and chuckled.  Shippo,
on the other hand, felt just a bit of apprehension.  While the kit held no love
for the arrogant wolf, he knew his adopted mother held the cur in high esteem.
 If Kouga mouthed off around Sesshomaru, the Lord would no doubt dispatch of
his would-be rival.  Needless to say, seeing someone so close to her die would
have an adverse effect of Kagome.  “Inuyasha... make sure things don’t go too
far down there?’ the young fox whispered, loathing the fact he had to ask
Inubaka for anything.
    “Why should I?  Runt’s been rubbin’ it in my face that Kagome belonged to
him for years.   I’d love to see him get his face punched in by his royal stick
up his ass,” the half-breed groused, rolling his eyes as they began to descend
into the forest.
    “I know but he’s one of Kagome’s friends.  Think of how she’d feel if she
watched him get murdered,” Shippo pointed out, his words making the male riding
him flinch.  He obviously hadn’t thought about that.
    “You really didn’t think about her feelings?  Man, no wonder she chose your
brother,” the kitsune prodded, getting a punch to his balloon-like body.  The
shock of the hit forced him to change back to his normal form mid-air, the pair
barely having time to blink at eachother before plummeting downward.
    In an instant, Kilala was diving; catching Shippo while ignoring Inuyasha.
 The crimson clad male let out a string of curses that would make a sailor
blush on his way down, stopping when he finally impacted with the ground.
 Unaware of what had happened behind them, Kagome nibbled her lip as they got
closer to the ground.  “B-before we land, there’s something I should tell
you..,” she began, stopping when she saw the telltale tornado approaching them.
 Sesshomaru went stiff beside her in response, a gruff growl escaping him.
    A wolf youkai, not just any wolf but the leader of the Eastern Wolf Tribe.
 The mutt had the shards.  Already he could feel his blood heating at the
prospect of a real battle with a being that might come close to being his
equal.  He looked forward to showing the whelp that the power he had gained
from the crystals was nothing compared to that of the Lord of the West.  That
the power he was depending on was a false one.  Hand itching to take Tokijin,
Sesshomaru tried to put Kagome somewhere safe but found her practically wrapped
around his arm.  “Please, please don’t!” gasped out his mate before springing
away from him like a guilty teenager caught with their boyfriend by her
parents.
    All he could smell was apprehension as his hand fell away from the blade,
confusion filling him as the whirling dervish came to a stop in front of them;
dissipating to reveal his fellow Lord.  Cocky as ever, the younger male had his
hands on his hips while remnants of his self made maelstrom blew his ebony
colored ponytail.  A smirk was painted across his handsome face, a fang poking
over his lower lip.  Blue eyes scanned over the small group, faint confusion
clouding his tanned brow as his tail twitched in curiosity.  “Hey, mutt-face,
since when did yer brother start taggin’ along,” he growled out, his voice
sounding a bit like a wolf trying to sound human.
    A low snarl ripped from the taiyoukai, his mixed youki flaring as his claws
twitched.  The only thing that kept him from charging forward was the way his
mate was looking at him, terror wrapping around her sweet scent.  It was almost
as if she feared for this other male, making him feel both furious as well as
just plain confused.  Was this other noble part of her pack?  Was he her
friend?  Yet the smug expression on his half brother’s face told him something
else was going on.  As soon as the upstart ruler’s eyes landed on his mate, he
knew what it was in an instant.
    The cerulean orbs roamed over her body in a way that was indecent, as if he
had staked a claim to her.  The way she hunched and seemed to blush in reaction
told him such attentions were not reciprocated but she still cared for him.
 Growling quietly, Sesshomaru made a note to ask about it later; watching as
the Lord of the Eastern Wolves approached his mate.  When she was swept up in
the canine’s arms as if she belonged to him, it was a very near thing to him
fully transforming.  “Doesn’t matter s’long as yer still takin’ good care of my
woman fer me,” he cooed, his words come close to being the straw that broke the
camel’s back.
    Praying to all the Kami above that Sesshomaru was able to hold out, Kagome
squirmed like a greased fish to get out of Kouga’s grip.  To her horror, she
heard the lupine holding her inhaling deeply; all movement stilling as he
stiffened.  Lowering her slowly and backing away to an arm’s length with his
hands on her shoulders, the young Prince frowned slightly before leaning in to
sniff the mark on her neck.  “Wh-what is this?” he murmured, hurt and rage
mixing in his husky tone as his eyes met hers.
    Ignoring Sesshomaru for the fur clad monarch, the reincarnated priestess
felt her heart break for him.  “Kouga...,” she started, a spike of guilt
spearing her heart as she watched the pain wash over his face.
    “Y-you’re mated?  And... you’re...  To him?!” spat the jilted youkai,
gesturing to the seething Lord behind her.
    “Yes, it happened very quickly but...  I think I love him already...  I
certainly love the pup I’m carrying,” she whispered, a small smile on her face
despite the pain raging in her heart.  She hated seeing a dear friend hurting
so badly because of her.  That was one of the many reasons she had found it so
hard to tell him her real feelings in the first place.  Still, as she watched
the anguish take over this proud creature, she couldn’t help but think he would
have been hurt less if she had been honest from the beginning.
    Holding his head in his hands, the distraught demon shifted his gaze from
her to Sesshomaru and back again; shaking his head back and forth as he backed
away.  “No...  You were my woman....  I... I can’t just sit back and let this
filthy mutt steal you from me,” he hissed, his voice starting out small and
broken but growing more enraged as he continued to speak.  Seeing what was
happening immediately, Kagome moved to head off the disaster before it could
start.  Running up to the seething wolf, she shot an apologetic look to her
mate before placing both hands on the other male’s chest to get his attention.
    Thankfully, this seemed to work; Kouga looking down at her curiously while
Sesshomaru tensed in the background.  He was so focused on the pair in front of
him that he completely ignored the Slayer and Monk despite the fact they were
disembarking their Nekomata right behind him.  Even the impromptu entry of
Shippo and his useless half brother wasn’t enough to phase him, his right hand
itching to draw his deadly Tokijin and just have done with the disrespectful
cur.  It was only his loyalty to his mate that stilled his hand, a low growl
bubbling up from deep within his chest.
    Inuyasha, who had been ready to lay into his half brother as soon as his
bare feet touched the ground, took one look at the pissed inu and decided to
rethink his actions for once.  The taiyoukai looked about ready to kill someone
as it was.  All he had to do was shift his gaze slightly forward to see the
reason why.  While he didn’t know much about his own species, even he knew it
was miracle Sesshomaru hadn’t killed the wolf simply to prove who Kagome
belonged to.  As much as he wanted to point out the fact the mighty male had
turned into a whipped puppy over the miko, he decided to keep his mouth shut
and just watch the show.  There would be more than enough time to tweak the
asshole’s nose later.
    Unaware of any of what was happening behind her, Kagome made sure her
friend’s eyes were on hers before she spoke.  “Kouga, did I ever actually agree
to be your woman?” she whispered, a vice gripping her heart as she watched the
youkai react as if he had been slapped.  Shaking his head slightly as
realization and despair appeared on his face, Kouga sagged and hung his head
slightly.
    “No but...  You never really said no either.  Besides, you always acted so
happy to see me,” he protested, not making any move to stop her when she backed
up to put some distance between them.
    “Because you’re my friend Kouga.  A very dear friend.  I wish I had found
the courage to tell you this a lot sooner.  I never saw you as my... mate.
 Besides, unless you’ve forgotten, you’re already spoken for,” the teen pointed
out, her words straight to the point and making the older male’s eyes widen.
    “You mean Ayame?!” he growled out, his gruff voice full of disbelief as his
head tilted to one side.
    Kagome could only sigh, her heart breaking slightly for the female wolf.
 Kouga honestly didn’t mean to be inconsiderate.  His proposal to the young pup
had been so long ago he had forgotten.  In all likelihood, he hadn’t even
really meant the words he had told her when she was a child.  He had just been
trying to cheer her up, give her something to cling onto as she grew older.  He
had probably assumed she would grow out of it and had pushed it into the back
of his mind as harmless folly.  “Oh Kouga, don’t you remember at all,” the
sixteen year old breathed, only feeling worse as comprehension as well as
horror came over the Prince’s face.
    “Wait, wait, wait!  Ya can’t tell me she thought I was serious!” he
protested, his eyes shifting from side to side as if looking for a way to
escape.  It was at that moment Ginta and Hakkaku caught up to him, grasping
their knees as they fought to catch their breath.
    “Of course she did!  Why wouldn’t she?!  Kouga, Ayame has been following
you this whole time because she hopes you’ll uphold that promise to her,”
Kagome whispered, some of Sesshomaru’s youki wrapping around her to comfort her
as her distress grew.  The tribe leader could only rub the back of his head, a
flush over his cheeks as he shifted uncomfortably.
    “She’s just a pup...  Besides, she grew into quite a lovely bitch.  Any
wolf would be lucky to have her.  I ain’t good enough.  I hafta use these
stupid shards in my legs just to have enough strength to defend my own pack,”
he confessed quietly enough that only she could hear, his blue eyes shifting to
the group a few feet behind her.
    “She’s certainly not a pup any more.  Besides, she’s spent this long
chasing you.  What makes you think she’d give up now?” the teen reasoned,
turning her head slightly as she sensed the bit of youki that still clung to
her mate closing the distance; feeling a slight bit of panic when she saw a
hint of red in his sclera.
    Thankfully, the young Lord across from her was too distracted by his
thoughts to notice when she backed away from him even more.  Hoping the added
distance would help placate Sesshomaru, Kagome watched as Ginta and Hakkaku
came to his side.  “What happened Lord Kouga?  Did Lady Kagome turn you down?”
the mohawked one asked innocently, oblivious to the now dangerous aura pouring
from their master.
    “Looks like she did.  Why else would she be trying to get him to date
Ayame?” sighed the other one, running a hand over the lighter gray back of his
hair.
    Feeling equal parts amused as well as horrified, the reincarnated priestess
giggled when Kouga turned on his men and fairly roared at them.  “Rrrrrgh!
 Shut the Hell up you bakas !!” he spat, his fangs bared as a dark cloud of
anger almost seemed to sprout around his body.
    “What’s wrong sire?  A-ayame’s a perfectly good bitch to have as your
woman,” Ginta tried to soothe, his tail bushed out as he shielded himself from
his leader’s wrath.
    While things seemed to be going much better and his mate was a sufficient
distance away from the other canine, Sesshomaru found himself discontent with
being left out of the loop.  Besides, she had spent far too long away from his
side for his liking; a fact he intended to rectify whether she liked it or not.
 With her carrying his first pup, it was only natural he would feel a need to
be close to her.  Still, as his arms wrapped around her and he allowed his nose
to burrow into her midnight tresses, the taiyoukai felt a tension he didn’t
know he had been holding melt away.  It was as if some part of him had been
afraid she would be hurt despite the fact there was no definite threat.
 “Sessho!” hissed a half mortified protest in his ear, his mate turning to give
him a glare as he gave her to most neutral look he could muster.
    She could protest and struggle all she wished but he wasn’t going to
release her until he was ready, an actuality made more apparent by his tail
unraveling from his shoulder to wrap around her waist.  To his relief, she
simply sagged into him; accepting his hold as she returned her focus to the cur
arguing with his men.  From the sounds of it, Kagome was trying to steer his
attentions to another wolf that already longed for his heart; something he
heartily approved of.  If the whelp had his own mate, he would likely leave the
miko alone.  At this point, the taiyoukai wanted nothing more than that.
    Even all his best protests sounded hollow, as if he was making up excuses.
 Just hearing him made Kagome realize something.  While he had certainly had
affection for her, he had been using her as a means to run from the youkai he
truly loved.  He obviously held the female wolf in very high regard with all
the fears he was spouting.  Finally he was gripping his hair in both hands,
letting out a frustrated snarl that effectively cut off his brothers.
 “Alright, ya wanna know why I don’t want to give in to Ayame?!  Fine!  I still
have to get rid of Kagura and Naraku!  I can’t have someone as naive as her
gettin’ involved!  I can’t watch another person I love die at that filth’s
hands,” he spat, the truth hanging in the air like a guillotine blade.
    While not really surprised given his behavior, it still stung the young
girl to hear it.  If only slightly.  After all, no woman likes to hear they
were just a means to forget someone else.  “Don’t underestimate her.  She’s
become very strong and she’s gonna follow you no matter what.  You might as
well accept her into your group so you can protect her,” Kagome pointed out,
taking comfort in her mate’s slightly sharp scent as Kouga spun to look at her
with an utterly guilty expression.  Yet, unlike a certain hanyou, he made no
effort to cover up what he had blurted out.  Instead he avoided her gaze, tail
wrapping around his left leg insecurely.
    “I didn’t mean for you to hear that...  I don’t want ya thinkin’ I never
loved you, cause I did.  I just...  I’ve loved Ayame since that night really.
 I knew she was too young and likely to forget me but I intended to come back
for her when she was older.  That was when...,” he explained, trailing off as a
pained expression crossed his features.
    “That was when Naraku happened and you ran into me.  A woman who not only
knew how to fight but could find the shards as well as help defeat your enemy,”
the highschooler finished, giving him a forgiving smile when he flinched.
    “Its okay.  Really.  Like I said before, I never saw you in a romantic
light in the first place.  I would like us to remain friends though,” she
assured the weight of her mate’s chin on her shoulder reminding her that she
had really lost nothing in all of this.  All that had happened was the truth
was finally known, a huge relief on the part of both parties.
    Kouga merely gave her a sad smile, nodding his head before his gaze shifted
to the Western Lord holding her; his expression sobering immediately.
 Narrowing his eyes, the lupine youkai snorted as he locked gazes with his
fellow alpha.  Snarling quietly in response, wolf Prince simply crossed his
arms as he leveled the other youkai with a glare.  “You better take care of her
Lord Sesshomaru.  If I find out your were just using her to get to Naraku, I
can promise the entire Eastern Wolf Tribe will wage war on the West.  A war
that won’t cease as long as I draw breath,” he declared, his words more of a
growl than actual speech; eyes blazing as his pupils became slitted.
 Sesshomaru merely narrowing his eyes, nuzzling the mark he had made on her
neck in an effort to show just how much the female meant to him.
    While she wasn’t entirely sure what was occurring between the two canine
youkai, Kagome could tell whatever it was the problem was being resolved
peacefully.  In fact, just a simple nuzzle on her marking had made her friend
relax considerably; a sad smile on his face as he gave a small nod.  “Okay, now
that’s out of the way.  Kagome, I’m glad you’ve found happiness.  I always knew
that mutt-face didn’t have near enough balls to admit he liked ya,” the wolf in
human form quipped, chuckling when his old rival shot him a dirty glare.
    Then he was bowing to her, the sudden subjugation making her heart feel
funny as he exposed the back of his neck to her.  Looking at the alpha male
with a disconcerted expression, she had to bite her lower lip against her
natural inclination to ask him to get to his feet.  Lifting his head to look at
her, the young noble took both her hands in his; his eyes briefly going to
Sesshomaru as if to ask permission and getting a barely perceptible nod in
response.  “As of today, the wolves of the East pledge their allegiance to the
House of the West.  Especially to the Lady.  She will be our first priority,
her Lord our second.  If the West should ever mistreat its Lady, we will be
ready to exact her revenge,” he announced, his azure eyes holding a seriousness
she had rarely seen in him.
    Still meeting her gaze steadily, Kouga plunged his sharp claws into the
shin of his left leg; pulling out a tainted shard while he ignored Kagome’s
cries of horror and shock.  Placing the blood coated stone on the dirt, he
ignored the girl’s pleas for him to stop as he ripped out the shard in his
right leg as well.  “My mistress needs them more than I do if she is to defeat
Naraku.  The Shikon is the key to all of this, right?” he explained, his gruff
voice holding a slight hint of pain as he took out the shard in his right
bicep.  Picking up the one he had placed on the ground, he presented the trio
of shards to their reincarnated keeper with a grim expression on his face.
    “Kouga...  I can’t...  You need them too,” she tried to protest, not the
least bit disgust by the blood coating them after all the gore she had seen.
 The only thing that bothered her was that it was her friend’s blood as well as
the fact that he was still bleeding from his three injuries.  The wolf only
shook his head, turning one of her hands over to press them into her palm.
    “I will find another way to be stronger.  I’ve relied far too much on
something that will never truly make me gain strength.  If I’m going to protect
you, I will need to stop relying on false power.  It may be hard but I’m sure
Ayame’s old man has a few tricks to teach me,” the young male assured, his
blood still pattering onto the ground as he gave her and her pack a small wave
while he straightened.  Then he was off in his self-made tornado, Ginta and
Hakkaku looking frustrated before they began chasing him once more; calling for
him to wait up.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Second Month~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
    It had taken some fast talking to explain her relationship with Kouga to
her mate, a fact Inuyasha had been far too smug about.  In fact, the hanyou had
been so annoying she had eventually had to resort to using the word for
subjugation; feeling no guilt as she and Sesshomaru left the prone half breed
behind.  Rising above the trees on the taiyoukai’s youki cloud, she and her
pack had headed off toward the next shard; leaving the former alpha to find
them with his sense of smell alone.
    The next few weeks had passed quickly, Kagome putting off going back to her
time as long as she possibly could.  Unfortunately, she still had school.  In
fact, she intended to keep physically attending until she started to show.  As
such, she was coming up to a point where asking to go back would be unavoidable
and now she had two males to worry about when she asked.  Her only consolation
was that they had gathered a large number of shards.  That meant that at least
Inuyasha might be a bit more willing to go back.  Sesshomaru, on the other
hand, was bound to be a huge sticking point.
    As her second month had progressed, he had clung to her like glue;
unwilling to let her get more than a few feet away from him at a time.  To her
embarrassment, that had also meant when she went to the bathroom.  No amount of
pleading or crying would dissuade him either.  While some part of her was
charmed by his protectiveness, she also felt a touch annoyed.  Before he had
come along, she had been able to pretty much take care of herself.  Granted,
she had a few rough days in the beginning but she had gotten much better since
then.  She had been able to hold her own, in fact she often been forced to with
all the times she had been kidnapped.
    Sighing as she leaned forward to pat one of Ah-Un’s heads, Kagome was at
least grateful she wasn’t riding right beside the overpowering male.  While she
did love him, a fact she still found baffling after how short a time she had
actually known him, she desperately needed some space.  She was much more used
to Inuyasha’s aloofness and she hadn’t really pegged his more stoic sibling to
the clingy type.  It was honestly exhausting and sorta reminded her of Hojo
only not as bad.  However, if the taiyoukai started offering her all manner of
natural remedies, she would gladly go back to her time to deal with the well
meaning teen instead.  It just seemed less weird when her school mate did it.
 “Do you think I have any chance of convincing him I need to go back for at
least a week?” she asked her mount, chuckling when both heads shook as if in
reply.
    “Yeah, didn’t think so but I have to try,” huffed the young girl, taking
the moment to check on the other members of their travelling party.
    Rin was still riding on Kilala, the novelty of riding a giant cat not quite
worn off yet.  This time, however, Jaken was also with the young child; having
outright refused to ride with Kagome.  Inuyasha was still perched on top of
Shippo’s balloon body, his normal brooding expression all over his tanned face.
 If she was honest, the young miko was surprised the hanyou hadn’t brought in
Kikyo yet.  It was obvious to everyone in the group that he was in love with
the undead priestess.  Now that he had a straight shot with his previous woman,
it was strange that he wasn’t taking it.  Making a mental note to talk to him
about it, the young teen could only wait until either she sensed a jewel shard
or they decided to land for the night.
    That was when she felt it, a faint tickle against the fringes of her senses
that tugged at part of her soul.  It was a shard, something she had never
thought she would be relieved to feel.  Thankfully, Sesshomaru was keeping a
peripheral eye on her; making it fairly simple to signal him to land.  Giving
her a nod when he saw her gestures, the taiyoukai began to descend; the others
following suit.  Sliding off the dragon once they were on the ground, the
schoolgirl brushed off her jeans; grateful she was finally wearing some
practical clothes.  Most of the time she had just worn her uniform out of sheer
laziness but, as she had travelled more, she found the short skirt was more
than just a little impractical.  It didn’t offer much protection for her legs
and she’d had to explain many a scrape, cut or bruise to her classmates as part
of her illness.  That, of course, had led to Hojo following her like a lost
puppy for weeks; giving her all number of remedies he had found for bruising
and bleeding disorders.
    Unaware of all the turmoil going through his mate’s head, Sesshomaru
extended his senses into the forest around; a bit stunned when all he could
sense was a youkai bear cub off in the distance.  Frowning, he raised his nose
into the air to try to scent the mother; getting nothing but the smell of blood
and great pain.  Frowning as his beast rose slightly, the mighty inu turned to
look at his newfound pack as they landed.  With him taking over as their alpha,
their safety was now his responsibility.  “Stay,” he ordered, his eyes mostly
focusing on his mate.  While he was certain the others would listen, Kagome was
a whole other matter.
    The girl seemed to have no sense of self preservation, especially given how
she had reacted during all their brief encounters.  If he had wanted to kill
her those times, it would have been depressingly easy; a fact that was
disconcerting given the amount of affection he held for her now.  So he wasn’t
too surprised when she got a certain glint in her eyes and the spicy scent of
her temper accentuated the natural scent of her sakura before stomping her way
toward him.  “Listen you, just because you’re alpha of this pack doesn’t mean
you can just go around ordering me what to do,” she spat, missing the irony of
her own words as she poked his chest rather ineffectually.
    “Technically, it does,” the Lord pointed out, inwardly grinning at his
mate’s capriciousness.  Outwardly, he looked as stoic as ever; though slightly
pissed.
    Rolling her eyes, Kagome huffed as she shook her head.  “Alright, I have to
give you that one but I never listened to ‘Yasha and I’m not just gonna listen
blindly to you now,” she pointed out, giving his muscled chest another hard jab
despite the fact it hurt her finger.  Sesshomaru merely raised a singular brow
in response before simply heading into the forest, the sixteen year old close
on his heels.  A little stunned he had acquiesced without much of a fight, the
time travelling miko decided not to open her mouth and jinx it.  Besides, it
wasn’t as if she didn’t have her own weapons to protect herself with.
    Still, as they got closer to where the shard was, she couldn’t help but
feel a slight bit of apprehension.  This would be the first time she would be
fighting using her reiki while it was mixed with Sesshomaru’s youki.  While she
had control of some of her pure, holy energy, most of what she had available
had merged with the taiyoukai’s own energy and more was being lost to the
combination all the time.  All too soon, their energies would be fully merged
and she had no clue just what that would do to her powers or if she would even
be able to use her reiki.
    As they reached the clearing where the signal was the strongest, all
further thought left her mind as she took in the horrifying scene.  What looked
like hundreds of trees had been either ripped out of the ground or simply torn
in half, creating the meadow they now stood in.  Gore was splattered
everywhere, coating the trees and ground.  Pinching her nose shut against the
overwhelming stench of blood and offal, Kagome allowed her dark eyes to roam
over the horrifying tableau.
    Chunks of meat, gristle and organs were tangled amongst the tall blades of
grass.  Bits of intestine and unidentified, bloodied hunks littered the trees
that still stood.  In the middle of the mess was a titanic, black furred body;
a larger, deformed, twisted copy of whatever the animal had been stood over it.
 The thing looked like a youkai bear but forced into a monstrous form, pieces
of its arm bones sticking out of its hide.  Some of its spine also seemed to
have pierced through the skin of its back, its hulking form shaking as it
stared at what was left of its fellow ursine.  “M-mama...,” gurgled a choked,
clogged voice that made her arm hairs stand on end while her stomach proceeded
to turn loops inside her.
    “Oh God...  The shard...,” she gasped out, losing her battle with nausea as
her stomach heaved.  She had just enough time to run to a bush, puking as
quietly as she could and hoping the bear demon couldn’t smell it over the mess.
    Smelling the sourness of her sickness, Sesshomaru immediately went to her
side; keeping an eye on the transformed cub.  “Th-the shard... it transformed
him.  Made h-him lose his... his mind,” gasped his shaking mate before she was
heaving again, the breakfast she had eaten just minutes earlier pattering onto
the ground.  Nodding, the larger demon nuzzled the distraught girl;
straightening as the bear lifted its nose and scented the smell of vomit.
 Turning its giant head, the transformed cub bared its teeth at the pair of
strangers; gore dripping from its deformed muzzle.
    Snarling in response, the Aristocratic Assassin withdrew his Tokijin;
rushing forward in a blur of speed while his mate got to her own feet behind
him.  Unbeknownst to him, the sickened girl was notching an arrow on her bow; a
determined glint on her eye.  Brown eyes scanned the hulking creature rapidly,
her green tinged reiki covering the tip of the arrow.  Seeing a glint of
tainted pink, Kagome took a breath and fired on her exhale; the arrow flying
straight through the air to pierce the cub’s heart.  A mighty roar ripped
through the air as the ursine reared onto his back legs, blood oozing from its
mouth as it seemed to sway in place for a few seconds.
    Clutching its chest with one paw, it let loose a bloodcurdling bellow that
shook the ground and made Kagome sink to her knees.  Hands flew to her ears as
a pained expression came over her face.  With a vocalization of his own,
Sesshomaru swung his demonic sword downward.  “Dragon Strike,” he snarled,
pushing as much of his reiki tainted youki into the sword as it could handle.
 A strange wind began to whip his platinum hair out of his sculpted face as a
dragon made of pure energy burst out of the tip of the weapon.  Coil after coil
of the mighty beast wound free, the ethereal creature curling behind its
summoner.  Its huge, cloud-like body was tinged a faint pink where it would
have normally been pure white.
    For endless moments, it seemed to just float there; its eyeless face
seeming to glare at the twisted cub.  As it readied for battle, the youki
serpent took a moment to caress Kagome’s cheek with its tail.  Then it was
shooting forward, its jaws opening as the wind it created made a roaring sound.
 The unfortunate youkai child only had a moment to see what was coming before
it was simply torn apart and vaporized as it exploded into a blinding burst of
light.  One last yowl of agony escaped its maw before it simply disappeared
from existence.
    Kagome could only stare at where it had been, her heart aching as she
watched the corrupted shard float slowly to the ground.  Swallowing the tears
that threatened to come, the sixteen year old bent to collect the piece of
jewel; the small crystal turning pink as soon as her skin made contact.
 Closing her eyes, she pulled out the small jar hidden inside her t-shirt;
placing it inside with the others.  “Won’t be too long before we have enough to
add to the big piece of the jewel I have,” she announced, her voice shakier
than she would like.  As much as she tried, she couldn’t stop thinking about
how they had essentially killed a child.
    Eyes travelling to the mutilated mother, she sank to her knees with her
hands clasped in front of her; offering a prayer to the dead beast.  “Forgive
me for what we had to do to your son.  He was in great pain and had lost his
senses,” she whispered, leaning into the taller figure that had walked up to
her; kissing the hand that landed on her shoulder.  Instead of saying anything,
the taiyoukai merely bent his head; seeming to join in.  Then, with a wave of
his hand, the remains of the mother were vaporized in a flash of his green
poison.
    Sickly sweet nausea as well as stinking, sulphur-like guilt; both these
things mixed with the sweet scent of her sakura and made his beast come
dangerously close to taking over.  Her pureness was so fragile and yet so
important, calling him to protect it; to nurture it.  Yet, some part of his
darker nature longed to corrupt it, to see it darken due to his own influence.
 It was part of being a youkai and why so many miko fought to exterminate them.
 All too often, a demon would be drawn by the pureness of the priestess simply
out of the want to see her suffer; to see her shining soul slowly grow corrupt
and wither.
    As powerful as he was, he had yet to feel such a base urge.  Until he had
come across the ningen he was now taking into his arms.  It was as if her soul
was the exact opposite to his, completing him while making him hate it for
complimenting him so well.  It certainly didn’t help that the longer he was
around the young girl, the more he felt something stirring in the back of his
mind.  It was as if some distant memory was beginning to stir, something from a
past life that had meant a lot to him at one time.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Third Month~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
    To say it had taken a lot of convincing for Sesshomaru to allow her to go
home would be an understatement.  It had taken until the start of her third
month to finally convince the stubborn male to take her back to the well and
only under the condition that he be permitted to come with her.  Over and over
she had tried to tell him it wouldn’t be possible, no matter how much he wanted
to.  Yet he had been unwilling to budge a single inch towards the well until
she had agreed.  That hadn’t stopped her from trying to sneak away however.
    Every single attempt was thwarted within seconds by her overprotective
mate, to her rage and her companions’ amusement.  As a whole, with the
exception of Inuyasha, they seemed to agree that she should at least allow him
to try.  After travelling with him for so long, even Kagome had a hard time
saying he still held his same hatred for humans.  There had been many villages
that had needed her help and he had done nothing to harm any of them.  In fact,
he had used his vast knowledge of herbs and salves to help; pointing out plants
that turned out more potent than any Kaede had known of.
    So, with a feeling of deep apprehension, she had finally agreed; making him
promise on his honor not to attack anything without her permission.  Even if it
seemed dangerous.  Often, the things that seemed the most dangerous in her time
were the most harmless; a contradiction that only seemed to confuse the youkai
Lord.  Still, he had given his consent via a small nod; scooping her into his
arms before setting off on his cloud back toward the well.  That had been a
couple days ago and Kagome was beginning to wonder if her mate was delaying on
purpose.
    Letting out a soft sigh, the sixteen year old looked up at the powerful inu
holding her.  The muscles in his pale cheeks were taut, making the magenta
stripes on his cheeks more prominent as his cold, amber eyes glared forward.
 All her earlier bravado drained out of her as she felt his irritation as well
as worry flowing through the connection made by his youki and her reiki.  “I do
not like the idea of you going to your time alone.  Especially when you carry
this one’s child,” hissed his gruff voice, his teeth clenched as his clawed
fingers twitched on her sides.
    “If I cannot follow you, do not linger.  Certainly do not stay a whole
day,” he continued before she could say anything, the sternness in his voice
making something inside her protest.
    “Hey, hold on a...,” she began, feeling slightly indignant that he felt
like he could just order her around.
    Growling, Sesshomaru placed his fangs against his mark; exuding authority
through his youki.  As much as he normally loved the piquant scent of her
temper, he would not be argued with on this matter.  His nerves already felt
stretched thin allowing her to be around a pack he didn’t know in her
condition.  If she did not trust or value the group as much as she did, he
would have whisked her off in her first month.  As an inu youkai, his instinct
was practically screaming at him to keep his mate and coming offspring safe.
 Just the thought of being trapped on the other side of the well, a whole
timeline away from his mate, made his fur stand on end.
    “Do not argue with me.  Please, this Sesshomaru begs of you.  It is hard
enough to let you go in the first place,” he hissed, his sclera reddening as
his darkness surfaced.
    Kagome could only look at him in confusion, unaware of the inner storm
currently overtaking her mate.  Hearing him plead with her was what had gotten
through and she finally nodded with a heavy sigh.  She had planned to stay
there a week, maybe two.  All plans she’d have to change if he came with her.
 At least she would be able to be there a few days to get some of the homework
she had missed as well as turn in everything she had finished while travelling.
 Even doing that could prove to be a challenge as she could just bet the
Western Lord would demand to accompany her to her school.
    That in and of itself could be a fiasco.  Just getting him into appropriate
clothing alone would no doubt be a challenge as the stubborn dog would see it
as below his stature.  Then there was his hair and tail, things that just
couldn’t be easily hidden.  On top of that, Sesshomaru had never seen any
vehicles beyond horse drawn carts in his life.  His first encounter with a car
or a bus was bound to be harrowing, to say the least.  The best she could hope
for was that he would be stuck on this side, allowing her a few hours to get
her affairs in order.
    Reluctantly nodding in agreement, Kagome bemoaned her school record.  At
this rate, her grades would never improve.  She was doomed to getting a low end
job simply because fate had decided to play a cruel trick on her.  Instead of
being a normal teen, she was on the treasure hunt from Hell and mated to a
taiyoukai to boot.  To add to the fun, she was pregnant with a hanyou child at
sixteen and would more than likely end up having to give birth in some hut in
the woods.  She certainly couldn’t risk a hospital birth in her time.  She
couldn’t even make doctor’s appointments, dreading the eventual ultrasound.
    The moment they saw the child inside her, she would be in a lab until she
gave birth.  From that point, they would likely take the child away to
experiment on; liking using some chemical to either make her forget or drive
her insane.  Just thinking about it made her shudder, a hand coming up to rest
on her flat tummy.  While being a mother so young scared her, she already loved
her little bean.  She would do anything to protect the growing dot and honestly
looked forward to holding her child six months down the road.
    Scenting her distress, Sesshomaru let out a low rumble as he nuzzled her;
descending slowly as they grew closer to their destination.  Instead of saying
anything, he allowed his mixed youki to rub her skin in reassurance; glaring
over the top of her head as they moved ever closer to the small box sticking
out of the earth.  While he had no idea what scared her so much, he would do
everything in his power to protect her from it.  Still, it was with great
reluctance that he allowed her to move from his side to the strange portal.
    Just like before, it smelled of death as well as a strange magic; drawing a
quiet growl from deep within him.  Keeping his focus on his expectant mate, the
youkai walked toward the well.  Already, he could feel the beginnings of fear
as well as a sense of loss.  It was as if he had failed without even trying yet
and he clenched his fangs as he fought off the urge to let out another growl.
 He was the Lord of the House of the Moon!  He would not be scared by some
wooden box that had been planted in the ground by a ningen!  So, when his miko
hopped through with a flash of purple, he followed without hesitation; not even
bracing himself for impact with the hardened dirt at the bottom.
    For a few minutes, it felt like he was both upside down and rightside up at
the same time.  He felt a strange pulling sensation on both his body and soul,
feeling unpleasantly stretched as something seemed to be trying to anchor him
to his time.  Snarling in defiance, the stubborn canine kept pushing forward
while continuing to fall.  It was a strange paradox of gravity that made him
feel sick.  Then he was through, the stench hitting him as soon as he felt the
earth under his back.
    Stomach already uneasy from the strange trip, the Killing Perfection
flipped onto all fours; his tail unwrapping from his shoulder to move out of
the way as he started to wretch.  Due to not eating for several years, nothing
came up but thick strings of drool; not making him feel any less humiliated by
the betrayal of his body.  He was a noble, a being that was supposed be well
above something as petty as vomiting.  Unfortunately, his ravaged body begged
to differ; heaving for several minutes until it finally saw fit to settle.
    Hacking as defensive rumbles left him, Sesshomaru found himself simply
unable to cope with the assault on his nose.  The stench he had smelled from
the well seemed like bouquet of roses compared to this outright reek.  There
were so many repulsive smells on top of one another that he wondered how his
human could stand such a vile place.  Shuddering as he fought to cling to
consciousness, the taiyoukai grabbed his mate’s waist; burrowing his nose into
her stomach in an effort to drown out this world of rot with her sweet scent.
    Staring down at the shaking male, Kagome felt all her earlier fears and
anger simply melt away for sympathy.  Being a full blooded youkai, it only made
sense Sesshomaru would be more affected by the smells of her time than his half
blooded brother.  Petting his head as he buried his face in her stomach, she
wondered if there was anything she could do to help his transition.  The only
thing that came to mind was vapo-rub under the nose, a solution she doubted
highly would work for the dog in human form.  It would likely only be a thin
veneer over the stench and would probably make things worse.
    Watching as the powerful male nuzzled her shirt, the highschooler was
struck with a brilliant idea.  Fighting the urge to pet the top of his head and
tell him things would be okay, she took hold of the left sleeve of her t-shirt
and yanked; grimacing at the sound of tearing cotton.  It was loud enough, the
distraught noble was looking up at her; his nose still safely hidden in her
shirt.  “I had a thought.  Here, hold this against your nose.  It should help
until we get you inside,” Kagome offered, giving him the sleeve she had ripped
off.  Nodding in response, he took in a deep breath before straightening;
pressing the material to his lower face.  Taking a cautious inhale, a tension
went out of his body as his eyes widened in surprise.
    Ginning up at him, she took his hand in hers; pulling him behind her.
 Exiting into the warmth and brightness of the sunshine, the teen took a moment
to nod to her stunned Grandpa before continuing on her way.  All she could hope
was that the old man wouldn’t start throwing his fake sutras at the
intimidating demon she was leading behind her.  She somehow didn’t think the
taiyoukai would see the humor in it.  As she entered the house, she realized a
whole new set of problems.  This would be the first time her mother would be
meeting the demon that had gotten her pregnant.   Not to mention her little
brother as well a Buyo.  There was no telling how a true inu youkai like
Sesshomaru would react to a cat.  “Kagome?  Honey, is that you?” called a
matronly voice from the kitchen, making her heart freeze as apprehension filled
her.
    “Y-yeah mom.  Uh, I brought company,” she replied, her pulse racing her
ears while the Lord of the West lowered the bit of cloth against his face
carefully.
    “Oh?  Well, its been a while since we’ve seen Inuyasha,” came the reply
that made a cold sweat pop up over her skin.
    “I-its not Inuyasha mom,” Kagome corrected, giving a side glance to
Sesshomaru as he began to actually sniff the air; seeming to enjoy what he was
smelling.
    That response got her mother moving, the older woman walking to the open
entry to see what was going on while wiping off her hands with a dishrag.  “I
thought he was the only one who cou....,” the matron began, trailing off when
she saw just who saw standing there.  Eyes that so matched her daughter’s
looked over the form of the strange creature, pausing on his markings, armor,
clothing and tail.
    “This is Inuyasha’s half brother, Sesshomaru,” the nervous girl introduced,
a bit shocked when the arrogant, haughty youkai bowed to her mother.
    “Forgive this one for the manner of our introduction.  Had I the
forethought, I would have asked you for the right to pursue your daughter.  As
it is, this Sesshomaru can only humbly ask permission to continue to be by her
side.  I will protect her and our child my life.  She will want for nothing,”
he growled out, his speech making the stunned girl’s heart flutter.
    Even Mama Higurashi was a bit astonished, staring at him like he was from
another planet.  A light pink coloring her cheeks, the housewife  cleared her
throat before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.  Giving the demon
before her a glare that didn’t match the sparkle in her eyes, she cleared her
throat before giving her best ‘take care of my little girl’ speech.  “Thank you
for your apology mi’lord.  But I should be the one to bow to you.  Besides,
Kagome must love you a lot to even consider having a child at her age.  While
its normal in your time, girls here don’t get pregnant until they’re in their
twenties or thirties.  I want you to take care of her and, if you’re still
alive, come back too see us after the well closes in our time.  I want to know
my new family,” she announced before giving the ‘Aristocratic Assassin’ a tight
hug.
    “Thank you for making her smile again.  The light had been gone from her
eyes for so long, we never thought it’d come back,” she continued, worried eyes
travelling to her eldest child.  Kagome could only shift in embarrassment,
rubbing the back of her head as she blushed.  She didn’t even have to ask to
know her mother was talking about her former crush.
    “Hnnn,” rumbled the pure-blooded youkai, his brow darkening as he began to
wonder just how terribly his own blood had treated the young priestess.
    Making a note to ask her later, he simply came into the small home; a
massive curiosity filling him as he took in all the strange devices littering
the oddly structured dwelling.  It was unlike any building he had seen, almost
matching the palace nobles built for themselves while remaining humble.
 Peeking into the kitchen briefly, the Lord was fascinated by the strange items
he saw but merely continued onward.  As much as he wanted to investigate the
room further, even showing an interest in cooking was far below his station.
 He couldn’t afford to seem weak while in a new territory with his mate’s
family.
    So, despite all the questions he longed to ask, the heir to the West moved
up the small set of stairs; following Kagome’s scent to a strange looking door.
 While made of wood like many in his own home, it had a strange, metal ball
sticking out of it and wouldn’t slide to the side no matter how hard he tried.
 Backing away to examine the entry, Sesshomaru was stunned when his human
merely grinned up at him before turning the metal ball and pushing the wooden
board inward.  Then she was leading him into what could only be her room, the
scent of cherry blossoms so strong he thought he had walked into an orchard for
a few moments.
    Watching the dog demon as he proceeded to poke and sniff all of her
possessions, the sixteen year old couldn’t help but smile despite the fresh
apprehension filling her.  He had only shown curiosity so far, making her feel
just the slightest bit of tentative hope for what had to happen next.  She
hoped to make a trip to her school today to get the trading of assignments done
and over with.  If everything went well, they wouldn’t have to stay longer than
today and some of tomorrow.  Her mother would no doubt not allow her just to
run off after not seeing her so long.  Not to mention the fact the older woman
probably had a lot of questions for the stoic taiyoukai.
    Sure enough, a half hour later and she found herself begging him to put on
clothing that had once belonged to his father.  With his height, it had proven
a lot harder to find something that would fit Sesshomaru.  Even most of the
stuff that had belonged to her dad was a bit too short on him.  It was only
after some thorough digging through all the clothes her mother had packed away
that Kagome had finally found something, a suit that was too long for her
patriarch.  They had meant to get it tailored but he had passed away before it
could happen.  It was the only time the teen was grateful for his
procrastination.
    Still, none of that had proven as much of a challenge as just getting the
stubborn aristocrat to even look at the clothing.  All her explanations and
logical arguments landed on deaf ears, the male before her simply refusing on
the grounds that he would not wear ‘human clothing’.  Fighting her extreme urge
to grit her teeth and stomp her feet like a spoiled child, Kagome plastered a
sweet smile on her face.  A smile the inu before her was quickly beginning to
learn meant trouble.  “All right, but if you don’t wear it that means you have
to stay here while I make the trip.  I can’t have you starting a panic or
drawing unnecessary attention.  Your hair and markings are bad enough,” she
pointed out cheerfully, not at all intimidated by the growl that ripped out of
the bristling demon.
    Moments later and they were walking down the street, a certain taiyoukai
twitching every so often while he made displeased noises.  He was almost acting
like a dog with a cone around its neck, making the time travelling miko giggle
at the image that put in her head.  Sesshomaru was sitting on all fours, a
disgruntled expression on his handsome face as a plastic cone encircled his
neck.  Her brain even provided him scratching at the cone with his hind leg,
only increasing her laughter.  This earned her the same look she had
envisioned, nearly making her dissolve in hysterics.
    Pressing a scarf she had given him against the lower half of his face,
Sesshomaru felt a strange mixture of annoyance and begrudging affection for his
odd female.  She was unlike any ningen or youkai he had met before, utterly
unafraid of him and willing to forget all the times he had tried to destroy
her.  She treated everyone equally, adopting both the kit and Rin with relative
ease.  Just thinking about how she would care for their own pup filled him with
a foreign warmth.  Huffing slightly as he rolled his eyes at her antics, the
Western Lord merely continued toward this place called ‘school’.
    As they walked, he found himself thinking about how quickly things had
changed.  Not too long ago, he wouldn’t have even considered taking a human as
a mate; let alone having a hanyou child.  Now he found himself feeling honest
affection for a holy woman, was even protecting her and putting himself through
unusual situations just to ensure her safety.  All too often, he now found
himself in situations he had once considered below him and yet was undertaking
with no complaint.  As much as he wanted to be enraged about all of this, he
simply was unable to find the fire inside him to do so.  It certainly didn’t
help that the miko seemed perfectly happy in this environment, not even
blinking at the loud, metallic creatures that belched a stinking gas in their
wake.
    Finally, he found himself in front of a building that stank of ningen
reaching their hormonal peaks.  From what he had heard, this place was where
people around his mate’s age came to learn several subjects; an idea entirely
alien to him.  It was as if there were no caste system of any sort in this
time, no lords or nobles.  Instead, most of the ningen seemed to exist in a
strange, pseudo-equality.  There were still hints of the past here and there,
evidenced by certain groups excluding others for not being the same but it was
still different than anything he had known.
    The thing that probably disturbed him the most was the lack of any youkai
scent.  He could even sense hidden youki, the implication disquieting him more
than anything so far.  As his ebony haired bride walked ahead of him, he found
himself hanging back.  Despite wanting to stay by her side, he found himself
wanting to investigate what his nose and senses were telling him.  He needed to
know if any of his kind existed here and he had a pretty good way to do so
without being noticed.
    Before she had turned to face her school, Sesshomaru was right behind her.
 When she looked back to see if he was still following her, he was gone.  Eyes
widening as dull panic began to fill her, she used the reiki connected to his
youki to sense his location.  She was only slightly relieved when she got a
rush of reassurance through their bond.  Whatever he was doing, he would be
back.  So, with a slight tinge of apprehension, she merely turned and went into
her school.  As soon as she was inside, she was swarmed by her worried friends;
making her forget her current problem for all of her new ones.
    After a marathon question answering session while making her way to her
homeroom, Kagome finally managed to hand over her hard work.  When she was
handed all the work she had to make up, she felt her heart drop as a sigh
escaped her lips.  Thankfully, she had at least managed to placate her friends
with a series of pretty lies so they wouldn’t attack her on her way back out
the door.  In fact, they were under the impression she had left the jealous guy
for someone so much better that they were gossiping about it when she had left
them.  Shaking her head as she left the school, she felt immeasurable relief
when she saw Sesshomaru waiting outside the gate; his scarf still wrapped
around the lower half of his face.
    Sadness and disbelief weighed heavily on his heart as he waited for his
young mate to close the distance between them.  As much as he hated to admit
it, his kind didn’t seem to exist here.  He had even failed to find any sign of
himself, only adding to his disquiet.  Looking down at the young girl who held
his mark as she asked him where he had gone, he simply wrapped his arms around
her; burrowing into the small crescent mark that graced where he had bitten
her.  “I went to find the truth.  This Sesshomaru did not like what he found,”
he confessed, leading her back the way they had come.
    As they walked, he couldn’t help but dwell on what he had learned; making a
silent vow to take steps to rectify the extinction of his species as soon as
they returned to the time he was from.  All he could do was hope the fact that
he had sensed nothing today wasn’t a bad sign.  While he didn’t really know how
all of this worked; he had a suspicion that if what he had done succeeded, he
would have sensed something.  Still, he had to try; he saw little choice but
to.  He certainly wasn’t willing to let all the youkai in the world go extinct.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Fourth Month~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
    The rest of the visit had gone surprisingly well, her mom accepting
Sesshomaru without batting an eye.  Souta had been more excited than anything,
bombarding the quiet male with question after question about youkai and inu in
general.  Her grandfather had been a whole other story, slapping a fake sutra
over the taiyoukai’s crescent marking with a yell.  The Killing Perfection had,
thankfully, taken it in stride; removing the strip of paper with a stone-faced
expression.  They had left soon after that, the powerful male anxious to be
reunited with his daughter.  There was also the fact that he just seemed to
want to get back to his time as soon as possible, pulling her to the well in
the middle of saying her farewells.
    Taking her into his arms, he had simply jumped into the wooden structure;
seeming to have an easier time on his second time through.  At least he didn’t
get sick like the first time, seeming to have no more ill effects than he would
from walking across a room.  Then he was vaulting out of the well with her
still in his arms, flying off into the air before the rest of her pack even
knew what was going on.  It didn’t take long for him to figure out he had left
everyone behind, however, and he stopped long enough for the rest of the group
to catch up.  At that moment, they had both come to an important conclusion.
 For better or for worse, Sesshomaru had adopted her pack as his own.  An
outcome Kagome doubted the inu had in mind when he deposed Inuyasha of the
position.
    The strangest part of all of it was that the ragtag group was growing
accustomed to it.  Over the months, everyone in the travelling party was
trusting Sesshomaru with more and more.  To the point that it became apparent
they now trusted him as much as they did their former leader.  He had yet to
lead them into danger, going out of his way to make sure they were safe.  There
was also the way he treated the children, allowing them to clamber over over
him how they pleased.  He’d even started to teach Shippo some of the finer
points of being a youkai, including how to use some of his powers.
    He’d even allowed her to continue hunting shards as she entered into her
fourth month.  Looking around the group as they settled around the fire for the
night, Kagome was honestly stunned about how comfortable everything felt.  It
was as if he had always been a part of them, Even Inuyasha had stopped trying
to pick fights; simply sticking to his normal brand of good natured bad-
mouthing.  Even now, the hanyou was perched on a branch to watch for intruders.
 All was as peaceful as it could possibly be, meaning it would be the perfect
time to talk to her friend about her previous incarnation.
    Making sure Sesshomaru was still buried under both Shippo and Rin, the time
travelling teen wandered over to the tree her former crush was currently
perched on.  “Hey, ‘Yasha can I talk to you?” she whispered, smiling as his
honey colored eyes focused on her.
    “Of course Kagome.  Is something wrong?  Is shit head still treatin’ ya
alright?  Cause if he ain’t I can always...,” the enthusiastic half inu began,
hopping off his branch to give his distracted half sibling a withering glare.
    “No, no!  Its nothing like that!  Sesshomaru has been surprisingly sweet,”
she reassured rapidly, feeling a slight bit of amusement at the disgusted
expression that came over her friend’s face.
    “Ugh, stop right there.  Just thinking about the asshole being nice is
enough to make me feel like I’m going insane.  So, what is it?” he deflected,
waving his hands in the air to stop any further conversation.
    “W-well, I was wondering why you haven’t brought Kikyo into the pack yet.
 Its been a few months now and...,” she began, stopping when she saw the dog
eared boy grow more and more uncomfortable the longer she went on.
    Shooting a glance to his half brother and getting a subtle nod, Inuyasha
flattened his ears against his head.  “Let’s... go for a walk...,” he
requested, shuffling in place as he waited for her answer.  The stunned girl
could only nod, her heart sinking slightly as she followed the crimson clad
hanyou into the woods that surrounded their camp.  Picking a trail that ringed
the camp while remaining close, he began to walk; staring at the sky as an
unfathomable pain welled in his golden eyes.
    “I tried...  She... she ain’t the same woman I remember.  She has so much
hate in her scent, so much ill intent...  To mate her would be like an
abomination to the woman she used to be.  She... she tried to get me to give
her the shards you had by using my affection for her.  For the first time since
she was brought back, I saw what others were saying when they told me she
wasn’t Kikyo.  The Kikyo I fell in love with is gone,” he confessed, stopping
in his tracks to lower his head so his bangs hid his face; his shoulders
shaking as he turned his back toward Kagome.
    Watching her macho friend seem to cry, Kagome felt her heart ache for him.
 She had figured out long ago the golem that held part of her soul wasn’t even
close to being Kikyo reborn.  Her actions while she’d had the pieces had been
more than enough proof of that.  Still, the teen had hoped there was still a
little of her incarnation inside the clay doll.  At least enough to fight off
the rising hate and bitterness from all Kikyo had been robbed of in life.  Even
when the undead miko had taken some shards for Naraku, the sixteen year old had
clung onto the notion the husk of her former self was playing some kind of
angle.  “I... I’m sorry,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around him in a
loose hug as she placed a cheek against the rough fur covering his broad back.
    The hanyou only turned his head slightly before seeming to sag, his hands
coming up to cover hers as his ears flattened against his skull.  “You ain’t
got nothing to apologize for...  You tried to warn me.  Everyone did...  I
just... I just couldn’t bring myself to believe that Kikyo was really gone.  If
I had realized the truth sooner...,” he mumbled, grimacing as he turned to look
at the woman behind him.  Kagome could only lick her lips nervously as a
feeling of apprehension began to fill her.  This only intensified when his
amber eyes travelled to the subtle bump of her stomach.
    “This pup would have been mine...  You would have been mine...  Instead
I...  Heh, never thought I’d see the day where I actually envied the asshole...
 He better take good care of ya and that pup,” Inuyasha continued, a faint
chill coming into the air as a familiar youki filled the atmosphere around the
pair.
    Rolling his eyes at the clear warning, the half inu shot a glare over the
top of Kagome’s head before returning his focus to her.  “I’ll always be there
for ya both.  Even after we get all of this settled with Naraku,” he continued,
placing a kiss on her forehead before steering her back toward the camp.
    “And I don’t care what shithead thinks about it,” grumbled in her ear,
likely in response to stinging caused by the swirling aura sent out by his half
sibling.
    Sighing and rolling her eyes at the antics of the pair, she gave her
glowering mate a pleading look as soon as they stepped back into the camp.
 Narrowing his eyes, the taiyoukai simply turned his back on the pair and went
into the forest.  Figuring that was as close to actual acquiescence as she
could get, Kagome heaved a long suffering sigh before plopping in front of the
fire; next to a smiling Rin.  “Rin, honey, be grateful your boy problems
haven’t even begun,” the teen lamented, ruffling the confused child’s hair with
a small smile.
    Huffing softly as he stopped a few feet away from his pack, Sesshomaru
raised his eyes to the stars above him.  He was convinced his old man was
laughing at him somewhere up there.  Especially after their final conversation
just before his father had gone off to save Izayoi.  As much as he wanted to
leave the small group for a while, he couldn’t.  He now valued them on the same
level as his mate, taking his responsibility of keeping them safe very
seriously.
Not only were these beings tolerable but he actually found himself enjoying
their company more often than not.  The slayer’s antics with her monk were
always amusing and watching his adopted pups bonding was an experience he found
himself not wanting to miss.  Even being around his half brother wasn’t as
tedious as he thought it would be.  To his surprise, he was beginning to feel a
kinship with the mongrel.  All too often, their small fights felt more like two
brothers simply giving eachother a hard time.  There was no true seriousness
behind their words or their actions toward one another anymore.
    On top of all of this was his pregnant mate.  Just the thought of her being
alone was enough to set his teeth on edge.  He needed to be near her.  So he
found himself sniffing along the outskirts of the camp for prey, inwardly
annoyed at his own reluctance.  Still, he found it hard to argue with the part
of his soul that seemed almost scared for her.  The part of him that he was
beginning to remember more and more.  A part of him that he was starting to
dream about.
    Dreams that involved heartache and the scent of sakura tainted by blood as
well as madness.  Dreams filled with the stink of acid as a lonesome howl
shattered the sky.  Dreams about a priestess that looked so much like his
Kagome but held much more wisdom as well as sadness.  Just thinking about it
made his fur stand on end and his beast rise dangerously close to the surface.
 Gritting his teeth as he fought against his urge to just go back, he lifted
his nose to sniff for nearby deer.  A familiar, dusty musk graced his senses,
effectively distracting him with a deep, ravenous hunger.  Sparing a last
glance toward the light of the fire, the mighty demon slipped off into the
forest for his dinner.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Fifth Month~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
    Flashes of a past she had never lived haunted her for weeks, a fact she had
tried to hide as long as she could.  Unfortunately, it had begun to affect her
ability to shard hunt and she had started leading them in the wrong direction.
 It was so bad, she could barely keep her eyes open even when under attack.
 So, as much as she hated to admit it, she wasn’t too surprised when both
Inuyasha and Sesshomaru insisted they stop travelling to allow her to rest.
 Though the two brothers were split on where said relaxation would occur.
    While the hanyou wanted her to go back to her time alone for a few days,
Sesshomaru wouldn’t even hear of the idea.  The closest thing to a compromise
the Western Lord could manage was proposing she stay in Kaede’s village, a
suggestion the worn out sixteen year old had leapt at.  The strange dreams she
was having were exhausting her mentally as well as physically.  It was like
Midoriko was trying to tell her something and it was important.  She just
wished she knew what it was so it would stop slowly driving her crazy.  The
worst part was, it looked like Sesshomaru was being effected.  Just lately, the
aristocrat seemed almost worn out himself; dark circles surrounding his glowing
eyes.
    Elsewhere, a pair of hollow, brown eyes stared up at a miasma surrounded
palace.  The smell of the poison thick in the air would be enough to churn even
the strongest of stomachs but the woman standing in front of the looming doors
seemed to take no notice.  Not even when a gust of strong wind whipped a good
whiff of the shit straight into her nostrils.  “My, my.  Seems Naraku’s little
toy has come back,” purred a husky female voice that seemed to be carried on
the breeze, a demoness appearing above her on a giant feather.
    “Is he here or isn’t he?” came the brisque response, the voice coming out
of the golem just as dead as her eyes.  The wind youkai merely rolled her dark
pink eyes before slowly landing beside the clay doll that was known as Kikyo.
    “Yeah, he’s been waiting for you.  Don’t see how you can stand being around
him.  What with him being the one who basically tore you and Inuyasha apart,”
sighed the ebony haired creature, returning the feather she had been riding on
to her tresses.
    “I no longer care about any of that.  I care about nothing, can feel
nothing.  For the first few months after this soul entered this vessel, I could
feel.  Yet, as I am dead, it soon became clear what I was experiencing was
nothing more than a mere shadow of what humans feel.  All I want is all of this
to end, I don’t care how,” sighed the husk, a lone tear rolling out of her dead
eyes.
    If she had been in a different position, Kagura would have felt some
sympathy for the resurrected miko.  As it was, she could only feel a dim sort
of disgust due to the fact her ‘father’ currently had hold of her heart.  Just
thinking about it made her grimace, a hand coming up to rub where a beat should
be.  “You’re not the only one longing for an end...,” she murmured, her pink
highlighted eyes narrowing as the double doors flew open.  Kikyo didn’t seem to
hear, walking toward an unseen presence that let out a low rumble of
satisfaction.
    “I trust you bring good news my dear Kikyo,” purred a loathsome slither of
a voice, the sound of it making Kagura shudder in disgust.
    Kagome shot up into a sitting position, her eyes staring blindly into the
darkness of the hut Kaede had let her borrow.  Panting harshly, she jolted
slightly when something soft and furry wrapped around her.  “Shhhhh, this
Sesshomaru is here,” rumbled a soft baritone, filling her with a sense of
comfort as the faint smell of musk filled her nose.  Whimpering, she turned in
to the larger demon; not caring about the fact that he was as naked as the day
he was born.  Visions of what she had dreamt still filled her head.
    She had been Midoriko, her furthest past life.  She had been nestled in the
arms of someone safe, of someone that held immense power.  The person held a
scent that was achingly familiar.  She was happy, her partner cradling her as
if she was his greatest treasure.  Yet there was a tension, a faint feeling of
doom as clawed hands rested on top of a domed stomach.  Then there was the
sound of rushing feet and loud voices, a deep baritone commanding she stay
where she was while the male holding her released her to get to his feet.  Then
a blur of silver, white, and magenta; orbs made out of deepest honey locking on
her.  Screams for him to stay clogged in her throat as the body she inhabited
merely nodded despite her heart racing in her chest.
    That had been when Sesshomaru had awoken her, leaving her to wonder what
all of it meant.  Why did the youkai feel so familiar to her?  Why was she
reminded of the noble who was currently nestling the marking on her neck?  A
marking that now looked more like a moon tattoo than a bite scar.  Why did it
feel like she wasn’t the only one who had seen the vision?  “Sessho... did you
see...  It... it feels like...,” she murmured, hating how ridiculous it all
sounded.
    “Yes... I have been having the same dreams.  They are memories of the
past...  Our past...  Who we were together...,” husked a sleep worn voice,
fangs gently prickling her neck and drawing a groan from her lips.
    “Do you... do you think that we’re...,” she whispered, her voice small as a
feeling of astonishment began to come over her.
    The scent of her sakura became much clearer, almost sharp as his mate
finally began to comprehend what was happening.  What had been happening from
the beginning.  Their souls were drawn to eachother, effectively forcing them
into this odd situation.  Yet, as much as it should rankle him that fate had
stolen their choice, he found himself actually happy.  It was as if he had
found a missing piece of himself, a part that had been lost for far too long.
 “Yes... we are soulmates Kagome.  I have been drawn to you since that first
meeting in the hot spring,” he confessed, not liking the sharp, salty smell of
her sadness mixed with the muddy smell of confusion.
    Then she was pulling away from him, curling upon the dome of her stomach in
the gloom.  “S-so what does this mean?  Do you have any affection of your own
for me or was it all just brought on by your subconscious memories of our past
lives?” whispered her soft voice, a hint of betrayal edging into her tone.
 Sesshomaru was there in an instant, wrapping her into his arms despite her
doing her best to ward him off.  The more she squirmed, the tighter the hold
became; the youkai letting out a quiet growl in an effort to get her to sit
still.
    “The innate connection between our souls was part of it but there is so
much more.  You are a strong woman, capable of so much more than an ordinary
ningen.  You’re kind to a fault, often putting others before yourself.  I have
seen you do many great things, learned more about you than I would have any
demoness.  I have come to love you over our time together, something I couldn’t
say about any of the courtesans my mother was flinging at me,” he reassured, a
bit surprised he had meant every word.
    Smelling a hint of bright surprise in the sea of salty sadness, Sesshomaru
allowed himself to grin as his grip around her softened.  “Inu youkai...
 Mating for love in our society is almost unheard of.  Especially within the
noble class.  Knowing very little or not even wishing to be around the one you
are mated to is fairly common.  In most cases, it is mere instinct that keeps
couples together.  Being around you, learning about you, enjoying your
presence; all these are things others of my kind would not receive,” he
explained, allowing a deep purr to bubble free of him as he continued to nuzzle
his mark.
    “You mean, only lower inu youkai are allowed to find real love?  That, if
it weren’t for our buried memories, you would have been in a hollow
relationship?” whispered a voice teetering on the edge of sorrow as the small
human he held wrapped her arms around him in a misguided attempt to offer
comfort.
    Inwardly amused at her compassion, Sesshomaru simply allowed it; nosing
into her chocolate colored locks and inhaling deeply.  There was nothing for
her to feel guilty about.  How would he have even known what he would have been
missing if he had never met her?  It wasn’t as if he expected more out of being
mated to whichever female his mother would have inevitably chosen.  There was
no point in feeling sad or robbed by such an occurrence.  “Do not mourn for
what does not matter,” he sighed, not too surprised when his human’s sorrow
only increased.  She was a ningen, much more in touch with her feelings than
youkai normally were.
    Purring louder, the powerful assassin extended his senses to be sure no one
was near before giving his mate’s cheek a lick; savoring the taste of her tears
on some primal level.  As a demon, suffering of others held a strange
fascination for him.  While he fought against this innate part of his nature,
there were far too many others that took true joy in causing said strife.  In
fact, he wouldn’t be surprised if that was the reason for lack of demons in the
future.  “Oh Sessho...  I just can’t wrap my head around your logic.  Even your
half brother longs for a real relationship, to share his hopes and dreams with
someone he truly trusts,” a soft voice pointed out, drawing him out of his
strange thoughts to focus on the girl in his arms.
    Kagome could only look up at where she thought the taiyoukai’s face was,
her poor night vision making it hard to see more than shadows.  Despite how
truly blasé the male sounded about his situation, she couldn’t help but feel
sad.  The only reason the youkai trying to comfort her didn’t feel robbed was
he didn’t expect any better.  Him mating her had been a very spur of the moment
action and likely wouldn’t have happened if she hadn’t been around him while on
her period.  The thing that really struck her was just how calmly he was
accepting something that went against everything he had been taught.  He almost
seemed content, something she doubted he would have been with a Lady from
another clan.  A fact she doubted the arrogant creature fully recognized.
    Sighing as she rested her cheek on his bare chest, she merely shook her
head as callused hands moved over her delicate skin.  She could continue to
waste her breath on something the male was destined to never understand or she
could simply accept the fact that this was just the way things were.  Maybe,
over their long life together, he would gradually begin to realize just why she
felt so much sympathy for youkai in his position.  As it was, all she wanted to
do was resolve what was going on with their past lives.
    While she agreed that there was more than their subconscious memories
keeping them together, the sixteen year old found herself wanting to know for
sure.  After her experience with Inuyasha, she had a reasonable fear about
interference from past lives.  She needed to know that the feelings she had
were her own and not just Midoriko’s.  Not just for herself but for the child
she carried and the dog demon doing his best to lure her back to sleep with low
rumbles and gentle licks.  So, with a gentle kiss under her mate’s neck, the
schoolgirl allowed herself to go back to sleep; hoping she might be able to
talk to her past self in her dreams.
    Gradually, oh so gradually, endless blackness turned into a misty pink.  A
pink that swirled around her body to form a fog that held the scent of cherry
blossoms.  “Welcome child.  It has been a long time since we have spoken.  You
have so many questions, so many worries,” whispered a voice that sounded so
much like hers.  Yet it was older, a touch raspier and held a depth of sadness
the teen couldn’t even begin to fathom.
    “Y-yes!  After what happened with Kikyo, I need to know..,” began her own
voice, sounding echoey and distant in the massive chamber.
    “I know.  I am you after all.  And yet... I am not.  I can understand your
concerns as well as thirst for the truth.  Yet, to do so, you must remember
your own past.  You must remember just who Sesshomaru used to be to us and why
he will continue to be so,” sighed the voice from before, the pink mist
swirling to form a pseudo window.  Inside the window, a sepia toned movie began
to play.  Walking forward, Kagome felt her reality tilt forward as she fell
into the past.
    At first, it felt like she was suspended in mid-air; neither floating or
falling.  Then the wooden floor of a feudal shrine came rushing up at her and
she was hitting it with a sound ‘smack’.  Groaning as she slowly pulled herself
up, Kagome felt her jaw dropping open as she took in a scene that looked like
it could be a memory from the future rather than the past.  There, in the arms
of a being that looked far too much like Sesshomaru, sat an older priestess
that was her mirror.  The hairstyle was different and the features held an
inner wisdom and calm she could only hope for, but the woman looked exactly
like her.  Even more so than Kikyo ever had.
    Holding her head as she tried to wrap her mind around what she was seeing,
brown eyes travelled to a swelled belly and she felt dizzy.  Midoriko was
heavily pregnant; a serene, yet worried expression on her young face.  In fact,
the miko looked only a couple years older than she was currently; a wisdom
beyond her years in chocolate colored eyes.  “They’ll be coming soon Noriyasu.
 Coming to stop the birth of our baby.  Soon, one or both of us will be dead
and a half truth legend will be spawned in our wake,” whispered a voice so like
her own.
    A low growl was the response, a thick aura filling the room and making
Kagome shudder.  It felt just like youki and yet it was mixed with holy energy,
very similar to what was happening now with Sesshomaru.  “I will not allow any
of them to lay a finger on you.  You will both be safe, even if I have to lay
down my own life to assure this,” rumbled a deep, animalistic voice, holding a
deep rasp that made goosebumps cover the teen’s skin.  Midoriko could only
smile sadly, her eyes travelling to where Kagome stood.  This made the
schoolgirl jolt slightly, feeling like her past self could see her despite that
not being possible.
    As if to solidify this assumption, the shadow of the past gave her a sad
smile.  It was then the door to the chamber was thrown open, a panting guard
standing in the entry with wild eyes.  “Mi’lady, mi’lord... the villagers...
they’re...,” he began, interrupted by loud yells that came from the courtyard.
 Instead of answering, the dog demon was on his feet; heading toward the guard
to walk with him out to the courtyard.  Midoriko could only watch, looking like
she very much wanted to stop the youkai.  Instead, she merely gave her male a
nod of consent when he turned to spare her one last glance.  Heaving a sigh as
he left the room, the priestess looked skyward as she closed her eyes and began
to pray out loud.
    “I know what we have done is considered the highest sin but I will never
ask forgiveness for the fault of finding love where there should only be hate.
 All I ask is that the vision you gave me was false.  I do not want to lose
both in the same day,” she whispered, tears streaming down her pale face as her
shoulders shook.
    Suddenly the scene changed to outside, obviously some time later given the
dead bodies and how exhausted and battered Noriyasu looked.  Platinum locks
hung in his pale, blood coated face.  His eyes were feral and on the edge of
madness as he bared his sharp fangs at the oncoming wave of warriors the
villagers had hired to ‘kill the demon corrupting their miko’.  Claws were
fully unsheathed and the green stripes on his high cheekbones were now jagged
as he bordered on changing into his true form.  He had lost a lot of blood and
his left arm was hanging uselessly by his side, mirroring an event that would
happen to his reincarnation in the future.
    Watching as the gruesome scene unfolded before her, Kagome felt her heart
sink into the pit of her stomach as a hollow sore began to form in the center
of her chest.  As much as she wanted to rush forward to protect this creature
from the rush of humanity charging him, there was nothing she could do.  This
was nothing more than a past that had already happened and she was a mere ghost
witnessing it.  Still, none of this stopped her from hollering out to the
youkai to stop as his youki began to swirl around him; signaling his imminent
transformation.
    For just a second, the demonic Lord tilted his glance toward where she was.
 Then he was swallowed up by a pink tinged energy that would have normally been
pure white.  With a silent explosion of air, the cloud grew and dissipated to
reveal a massive, horrifying looking dog.  Wide, wild eyes stared down at the
humans now backing away, its floppy ears tilting back as the fur around its
neck stood on end.  Letting out a roar that shook the earth and threatened to
shatter eardrums, the beast shot forward with murder in it blazing gaze.
    Unfortunately, the warriors appeared to have knowledge of demon slaying.
 Other than backing away, they showed no fear.  In fact, the leader wordlessly
coordinated his men to scatter around the berserk canid.  Then, with a wave of
his hand, he called his men to reach into their shirts for what Kagome could
only assume was a poison bomb.  Swallowing the sick feeling forming inside her,
the young girl placed a hand on her own rounded stomach as tears flowed freely
from her eyes.  Still, she watched; knowing that this was the whole reason she
was here.  To learn what had happened in her original life and how it was
affecting her current life.
    Yet, as a poisonous miasma exploded around the towering creature, it was
all she could do to keep what she had eaten earlier where it was.  The howl the
youkai let out also didn’t help, full of an agony she couldn’t comprehend.
 Immediately, the white canine staggered; coughing as blood began to pour out
of its mouth.  Shuddering as it sank briefly, the noble being closed one eye
before standing tall and letting out a howl that nearly brought down the very
sky itself.  A vocalization that told everyone he intended to take as many as
could with him.  Then he was plunging his claws into the soil below him, an
acidic, green substance bubbling forth within seconds.
    Watching in horrified fascination, Kagome observed the substance melt a
samurai in seconds from the feet up.  The man was alive and screaming until his
vocal cords had been dissolved, his face still showing his agony up until the
end.  The taiyoukai that had called forth the gunk wasn’t unaffected, his own
body beginning to melt away much more slowly than the human caught in the
noxious puddle.  Letting out a soft snarling sound that resembled a dog trying
to laugh, the terribly beautiful canid fell to his knees; splashing his own
poison onto his shimmering, white body.  Huffing out what looked like a
defeated sigh, the canine that was Noriyasu tilted his head back to let out one
last, mournful sounding howl.
    With a whirling motion that made the sixteen year old feel dizzy, the scene
changed back to Midoriko.  Comprehension was all over her beautiful visage, her
eyes wide as her hands cradled her large belly.  “Please, kami no...,  n-not
now,” she breathed, her voice breaking as her expression twisted into terror
filled pain.  Then the scene slowly began to go black, blood spreading out from
under the miko’s robes as she began to call for help.  Help that would never
come.
    As the blackness began to part, Kagome was greeted with the sight of a
hollowed out Midoriko giving service to some sick villagers.  All spoke of her
kindness and her capacity for just giving everything she was.  Yet, there were
some whispers, whispers that made the sixteen year old feel sick at heart.
 Whispers of how it was fortunate she had been broken free of ‘that demon’s
spell’ before she had given birth to an ‘abomination’.  Whispers the broken
woman undoubtedly heard, a hand going to a her flat stomach; as if to comfort a
child that was no longer there.
    Then she was getting to her feet, wandering out of the village as reality
rippled and shifted to even further in the future.  They were inside a cave
now, the previous version of herself seeming to meditate as demons threw
themselves against a barrier she had built.  Opening her tired eyes as a sheen
of sweat coated a sickly brow, Midoriko held out her palms while a small, pink
light formed inside them.  “I knew just making the jewel could draw demons to
me but I didn’t care.  I could feel myself dying without him and I wanted to do
one last thing for him before I died.  For us both.  I wanted to make a heaven
for us both, somewhere we wouldn’t be separated due to our souls being polar
opposites,” sighed a voice in Kagome’s ear as she watched the Shikon Jewel
slowly form.
    With a flash of blinding pink, the small trinket settled into the exhausted
miko’s hands as all the life seemed to drain out of her.  Her once pink skin
was now gray and dull looking, her shiny hair hanging like a limp wig as she
seemed to slump.  All at once, the barrier protecting her was gone; allowing
the flood of demons waiting just outside to rush in.  The first to grab her was
a serpent youkai, the others coiling around it in an effort to stop it from
eating the jewel that had called them like a siren’s song.  The half swallowed
holy woman only smiled before letting out a breath, forcing her soul into the
jewel.  Unfortunately, due to her tenuous control over her powers, the youkai
were caught and pulled in with her; freezing their corpses in place as the
souls inside began their eternal battle over the object’s polarity.
    Kagome jolted awake, a foreign name dancing on her tongue as her eyes
stared into the darkness.  A soft rumble from behind her only set her off, the
floodgate yawning open as she turned to sob in a muscled chest.  A chest that
was inhumanly warm.  Callused, claw tipped fingers rested on her back as a nose
nudged the top of her head, a soft, worried noise escaping the normally
emotionless creature holding her.  “I know Kagome...  I saw it too but it
changes nothing.  It is merely a chapter in our lives that has long since
passed.  At least our souls found eachother in the end,” assured a deep
baritone from above her, holding just a hint of emotion.
    His mate merely shook her head, the salt of her memories nearly choking him
as his own tears struggled to surface.  He remembered more than the images
themselves.  He could feel the emotions involved, his heart nearly breaking by
the time it all ended.  He had loved the woman Kagome had once been very
deeply.  So deeply his soul felt compelled to reincarnate until he found her.
 With this in mind, it was no wonder the very thought of mating anyone before
he had met her had turned his stomach.  Just thinking about it had made him
feel like killing something and was one of the reasons why he was away from his
lands so often.
    Huffing as his brow crinkled, he found himself actually thinking about his
mate’s very human ideals about relationships.  Maybe the way his kind had been
going about it was wrong.  Maybe just mating for position and family wasn’t as
fulfilling as he had once believed.  Maybe just instinct wasn’t enough to make
either party truly happy.  Maybe actually feeling a connection to your mate was
the right way after all.  Licking some of the tears from his miko’s cheeks,
Sesshomaru allowed his mind to wander as the night wore on.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Sixth Month~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
    A purple clad figure watched the small group gather the pieces of his
broken jewel, a sickly pale hand moving through ebony locks as a sneer curled
purple tinged lips.  Dark purple eyes narrowed as he picked up one of the
crystal slivers the golem at his feet had brought him.  As much as he wanted to
act now, he resolved himself to wait.  Things would be so much more
entertaining the closer he struck to the miko’s birth date.  Still, he could
only be idle for so long.  Next month was the latest he was forcing himself to
wait til.
    Gritting his teeth as he fisted his hand in the clay doll’s hair, Naraku
took some pleasure in the faint sound of phantom pain from the figure.  The
thing may look and sound like Kikyo but it was only some sick re-creation.  An
unholy thing that held a languishing piece of soul trapped inside its earthen
body.  An abomination that preyed on the souls of the dead to prolong its own,
tortured existence.  He couldn’t even say if the thing had any actual feelings
or not.  Still, it was warm and moist where it counted; looking enough like the
fallen priestess he had lusted over to allow himself to relieve his sexual
tension.
    He had tried to find pleasure in other women before, Kagura being his first
and only experiment.  The wind youkai had been a newborn, barely conscious and
still covered with fluid from her strange birth.  Pink, empty eyes landed on
him, bangs like Kikyo’s framing the wide, innocent orbs.  Kneeling before the
fully grown woman he had created, Naraku found himself overcome by the
resemblance to the miko that had created him.  In a swift motion, he had pulled
down his hakama to shove his hard, aching organ into a warm mouth.
    As soon as his turgid flesh had touched her tongue, it had gone limp; his
burning passion turning into a sickening guilt.  Pulling free of his ‘daughter’
the hanyou redressed himself as comprehension finally began to show in her
orbs.  Even now he still wasn’t sure if she remembered what he had done but
sometimes, when she thought he wasn’t paying attention, she would give him a
hate filled glare that filled him with suspicion that she did.
    **Growling as he looked down at the paltry copy of the woman who controlled
far too many of his emotions, Naraku found himself reluctantly grateful for the
fact that his ‘affliction’ didn’t go as deep as to require consent.  He hated
this poor creature for entrapping him as tightly as he was.  So he took
pleasure in fucking the shade of his miko as roughly as he could.  Even now, he
was pulling the golem up by her surprisingly real hair; sneering at her blank
face as he untied his obi.  Reaching into his baggy, violet colored hakama, he
grasped his hardened member; poking the rigid flesh through the small opening.
    Lowering her head down to his erection, the half kumo tilted his head back
as his eyes fluttered closed.  Warm, wet mouth surrounded his aching flesh, a
faraway sound of gagging filling his ears as he moved her up and down on his
shaft.  “You deserve every bit of this pain.  For putting me through what you
have,” he hissed, his muscles tensing as the sound of sucking fills the
chamber.  He is coming close to his end far too fast and he grits his teeth as
he pulls free to shoot his load over a face that has haunted many a dream.
    Not quite done with her, the enraged hanyou pulled the former miko to her
feet; positioning her exposed slit over his softening manhood.  Since she had
arrived, he had forbidden her any form of covering over her feminine parts.  He
wanted her open to him at all times, a fact the earthen creation hadn’t
objected to.  Even now, as he was sliding his half flaccid sword into her
sheath, she simply looked down at him with maddeningly dead eyes.  Snarling, he
shoved her head down onto his shoulder as he began to thrust; the feeling of
her walls around him only partially satisfying.**
    Kagome shuddered as she felt a pair of malicious eyes slide over her skin.
 Looking up at the sky as she stopped, she placed a protective hand on the
swell of her womb.  At six months pregnant, it was now extremely difficult to
travel.  As such, the time hopping teen had begrudgingly accepted a hut that
had long been abandoned.  A fact even Inuyasha didn’t argue against.  Instead,
the normally vocal half-breed had seemed almost relieved she had consented to
stay; glaring at the others if they so much as mentioned the word ‘jewel’
around her.  Only her own mate seemed neutral on the matter, expressing the
opinion she would be safe as long as she was with him so she could do as she
pleased.
    Sighing as a prickle of reiki tainted youki touched her arms, the teen
sighed as she allowed her gaze to travel to the taiyoukai who was her constant
companion.  Despite an outward appearance of aloofness, Sesshomaru was
protective to a fault; making sure to stay near her even though he was out of
sight.  At least he wasn’t clinging to her like in her earlier months.  In
fact, sharing the memory of their past lives had seemed to calm him.  He almost
seemed at peace, the warmth in his eyes growing steadily deeper as time went
on.  It almost seemed like he was legitimately falling in love with her, a fact
that made her feel warm on the inside as well as a little nervous.
    Over their months together, she learned a lot about the dog that was her
mate.  His character, while a bit abrasive, was fairly strong and held good
morals.  As such, she could also feel herself falling deeper for this youkai; a
being she would be with for as long as they both continued to exist.  If their
circumstances had been normal, the taiyoukai would have likely courted her over
a long period of time.  As it was now, it was like reality was trying to catch
up to where they now found themselves.  All the things that should have
happened before the mating where happening now and the teen found herself more
than a little amused.
    Watching a cool being like Sesshomaru learn what true love was an
interesting as well as heartwarming experience.  It seemed to color his
everyday actions, especially with the children.  Overall, he seemed more
patient; even caring.  All too often, he was actually playing with Shippo and
Rin; allowing the kit to practice magic on him while the small girl adorned him
with countless flower wreaths.  It made her almost look forward to their own
child.  With the way the taiyoukai was acting, he would be putty in the pup’s
tiny claws.  While he certainly loved both the kitsune and his adopted
daughter, this child would be his own blood; undoubtedly unlocking instincts he
didn’t know he had.
    Giving a smile to the trees that no doubt hid the male stalking her, Kagome
made her way to Goshinboku.  Visiting the ancient tree helped her stay calm
despite her urge to move as well as gave her a sense of peace overall.  Despite
knowing it was best she stop now, especially with the shards being further and
further away from Kaede’s village, the young miko couldn’t help but feel antsy
at just how long she would be forced to be idle.  In the time it would take for
her to give birth, Naraku could likely get his hands on all the pieces she had
missed.  This would put the hated hanyou at an advantage.
    As he watched his mate make her way to the sacred tree his brother had been
pinned to, Sesshomaru could smell each emotion as she felt it.  Confusion,
frustration, anxiety and contentment.  Quite a heady mix for inu youkai but, as
her other half, the taiyoukai found himself especially affected.  He both
wanted to whisk her into his arms for some time away from both their pack as
well as their children and just pin her against a tree to show her with fang
and claw just who she belonged to.  Snorting out the thick mixture in his nose,
the western lord shook his head as he forced himself to focus.
    As the son of the house of the moon, he was above such base urges.
 Besides, his human deserved better.  Over the past few months, she had proven
her worth as his companion and their pasts together had nothing to do with it.
 While the knowledge made him feel whole in a way, his past wasn’t him.  Up
until he had mated Kagome, he had lived life on his own terms.  While he would
never regret mating the young girl, he would forever hate the fact their mating
was so rushed.  Looking back on how things played out and adding it to how he
felt about her now, he wished for more time to actually allow all of this to
occur before he had marked her.
    Yet, as much as he hated to admit it, he knew it wouldn’t have happened
that way.  Even with their past lives out of the picture, he was unlikely to
have developed such deep feelings for the ningen before he had taken her as his
own.  His upbringing ran far too deep in his psychology, making any form of
romance seem superfluous to the canid.  As things stood now, he could make up
for all of it.  He could allow his walls to fully come down, to woo the time
travelling priestess.  He could show her just how much he cared about her, just
how far he would go to see a smile on her face.
    No matter how long he lived, he doubted he would get past the irony of
everything that happened.  Yet, he felt almost blessed as he watched the sun
dance off her ebony hair; one of her hands almost constantly resting on the
highest point of her domed belly.  Just seeing her so laden with his child
filled him with urges that were nigh impossible to deny.  Not to mention her
scent, the aroma rolling off her becoming almost like an aphrodisiac the
further she progressed.  Lately, all he wanted to do was have his way with her
as often as possible against as many surfaces they could find.  He wanted to
taste her skin, her sweat, her blood as he took his pleasure from her, their
pup moving under his hands as she wailed his name to the heavens.
    It was only his ignorance on pregnancy that kept him from acting.  As much
as it galled him, Sesshomaru had made no effort to gain any knowledge on the
subject.  He had deemed it something only women and midwives should know, a
fact he was frustrated at himself for now.  Because of his arrogance, he was
now unsure if having sex with her at this stage of pregnancy would be dangerous
for her or their pup.  Not only that, but he found himself reluctant to expose
his defect to her by asking.  He had no doubt she would have the answer he
sought but some part of him didn’t want his mate to see him as anything less
than perfect.
    Leaning her head against the rough bark of the ancient tree, Kagome smiled
up at the sunlight dappling through the leaves.  A particularly large spot was
centered on her swollen tummy, as if the ancient foliage was celebrating her
condition.  Sighing softly as she closed her eyes, she silently gave in to
something only she knew; her form slumping as her grin held a defeated tinge.
 “Alright Seshho, I know you’re there.  Might as well enjoy eachother’s
company,” she called, not surprised when her mate was by her side as soon as
she finished speaking.
    A low rumble that vibrated the ground was his only verbal response, his
body language abnormally tense as his eyes went from her face to her large dome
and back again.  It was almost as if he wanted to ask her something but was too
shy to do so, an idea that charmed her as much as it amused her.  What would a
nobleman like Sesshomaru possibly be too ashamed to ask her?  Inwardly rolling
her eyes at her own thoughts, Kagome simply leaned into the reticent male;
closing her eyes as a strong arm wrapped around her shoulders.  “This one...
 How is our pup...,” the Killing Perfection whispered, his tone telling her he
wanted to ask so much more than just that.
    “Seems to be healthy.  Haven’t felt any kicks yet but I think that’s fairly
normal for this stage,” she replied, deciding to play innocent for the time-
being.
    The smell of her sakura on the verge of ripening into cherries was slowly
driving him mad.  Huffing out a gruff noise filled with need, he felt his beast
rise slightly to the surface as he placed his free hand on the crest of her
full womb.  “Good.  Now we wish to ask you something else,” rasped the darker
part of himself, leaning in to lap and nip at the blue crescent mark nestled in
the crook of her neck.  He could smell hints of her spicy-sweet lust blossoming
in her natural aroma, only pulling him deeper into his feral mindset.
    Fangs growing large in his mouth while the edges of his vision began to
color crimson, his demon took more and more control; having grown tired of its
host’s hesitance.  If ending their torture meant asking a simple question, then
he was damn well going to do it.  The beast did not care for petty arrogance or
looking like less in front of its chosen mate.  All it wanted was an end to its
maddening need.  “We wish to ask if mating with you would hurt the pup,” it
sighed, sucking an earlobe into its mouth as it pet the bulge caused by their
growing offspring.
    “Wh-what?” came a half conscious response, her sweet voice muzzed with need
of her own as she arched up into the heat of his body.
    “We want to rut our mate.  Even moreso with your pregnancy.  Seeing you
swollen with our child drives us wild.  But we cannot slake our thirst as long
as there might be a chance we can harm you or the child,” the dark being
explained as calmly as he could, his instincts dangerously close to taking
over.  The only thing keeping him grounded was his proximity to his brand, his
nose burrowed in the center while his palm cupped the taut flesh protecting
their child.
    “O-oh...  Uh, i-it won’t.  Not until the later months of the pregnancy.
 From the eighth month on, there is a small chance such... activity could bring
on premature labor,” came a response that had an immediate reaction.
    As soon as she was finished speaking, he was covering her; his vision going
blood red as his platinum hair came down in a curtain around their faces.  Her
plump pink lips beckoned him as they parted to speak, all words dying in her
throat as he took her lips with an intense hunger.  Growling low in his throat,
he felt his barrier come up around them on its own; making him feel more at
ease now that they wouldn’t be interrupted.  Letting off the pressure of his
kiss a bit, Sesshomaru removed the clothes that separated him from his gravid
mate.  “‘Maru!  W-wait!  I-I mean, right here?!” gasped a breathy voice in his
ear, sounding halfway between violated and eager.
    “Yessssss.  Rrrright here my chosen.  After so long without you, we cannot
bear to wait,” husked his voice, sounding like two of him were speaking at the
same time as his sclera turned a horrifying vermillion.
    His youki whipped into the air around him, her reiki coating the powerful
energy like a blanket as it caressed the young miko’s skin.  Kagome could only
squirm, her milky cheeks pinkening as embarrassment was added to the heady
cocktail of her pheromones.  “We will not be found, my Kagome.  I still do not
wish for anyone but me to see your ravishing beauty,” he assured, his beast
taking a few steps back but still lingering near the surface.  Thankfully, that
assurance seemed to be enough, his woman giving him a slow nod as she closed
her eyes.
    Her breath caught in her throat as the powerful inu above her let out a
raspy snarl in disapproval.  “No, I want you to watch me as this Sesshomaru
take you,” hissed an inhuman vocalization, making her open her eyes on sheer
instinct.  What she saw made her very much want to close them again.  To say
the taiyoukai made an intimidating figure would be a severe understatement.
 The white in his eyes had gone blood red, the markings on his cheeks had gone
jagged, his canines were so long that they easily poked over his lover lip.
 Even the fur on his tail was bushed out in, the appendage having unwrapped to
stand in the air.
    As soon as her eyes landed on him, however, he seemed to gentle; an inner
tension releasing as he relaxed.  Snarl turning into a lust filled smirk, her
intimidating male nosed at his mark before proceeding to rip open her red
maternity shirt.  Gasping as slight mortification mixed with the desire burning
within her, Kagome nervously licked her lips as she wrapped her arms around
Sesshomaru’s thick neck.  “Just be gentle?” she whispered, her eyes widening as
surprisingly careful lips covered hers.
    “As long as you carry our child, I will do nothing too rough.  After you
give birth, however, you are fair game.  We cannot begin to tell you the thing
we wish to do to you, only that you are sure to find new heights of pleasure
with each one.  You have made us realize what true hunger is, our Kagome, and
we are starving,” rumbled in her ear, the dual tone making the small hairs on
her arms stand on end.  Then the monster in the skin of a human was kissing his
way down her still developing body, stopping to take one of her small breasts
into his hot mouth.
    As a slightly rough tongue wrapped around her tender flesh and began to
suckle, it was all she could do to keep from uttering a deep groan of
satisfaction.  The smoldering embers in the pit of her lower belly flared into
a full on bonfire as she arched into the towering male.  While she would never
admit it out loud, the teen had missed the sexual attention from her mate.
 This feeling only increased the further she got in her pregnancy and she had
started to secretly question if he was disgusted by her changing body.
    With him pinning her down while switching to her other breast, she found
herself glad to be proven completely wrong.  That was when her breast milk
began to flow, effectively halting all thought as an electric current of pure
need shot right to her nethers.  Moaning out the youkai’s name, the young miko
wound her hands in the impossibly silky locks as she felt Sesshomaru pull
mouthful after mouthful; soft purrs of need leaving him.  One of his hands
moved out of her sight, a sudden rush of cold air on her nethers telling her he
had removed what remained of her clothes.  Then two roughened digits were
pressing on moistened folds, swirling and teasing around her pearl in tandem
with his suckles on her nipple.  Just as she was edging into madness,
everything stopped and she fought just to catch her breath enough to give the
arrogant Lord a piece of her mind.
    Swallowing the sweet, faintly sakura tainted fluid, Sesshomaru found
himself fighting off an extreme urge to cum already.  Gritting his teeth as he
used all of hs legendary willpower to stave off his end, he released her
tantalizing flesh as he pulled his fingers from her wetness.  Chuckling as he
smelled the faint beginnings of her peppery temper, the Aristocratic Assassin
gingerly placed himself on her quivering opening before thrusting forward.
 Just the feel of her was nearly his undoing, his beast surging forward to
clamp his fangs on the squirming girl’s neck.
    Her blood flowed rapidly in her veins, the sound of her pounding pulse
tempting him to taste the sweet nectar just below the skin.  Still, he held
himself back.  As long as she cradled their pup in her body, she was safe from
his darker urges.  So he contented himself with lapping at her pounding
jugular, his hips moving slowly as she began to moan long and loud.
 Exclamations of his name echoed off the tree he was rutting her against, blunt
nails scraping harmlessly down the contours of his muscles.  He could tell by
the passage fluttering around him that his chosen was close as he found himself
cradling her belly with both hands as he encouraged her to cum.
    With a cry of his name, she clamped around his forming knot; drawing him to
his own nirvana as he exploded within her.  Letting out a howl of conquest,
Sesshomaru burrowing his claws in the soil beneath them to prevent the deadly
weapons from going into her soft flesh.  Even if she had been a youkai, it was
unlikely she would be able to withstand his acidic venom.  He doubted even he
could take a good dose of it after what he’d seen happen to himself in the
past.  Nuzzling into the bosom of his panting beloved, the canid shuddered
slightly as he felt himself become stuck fast within the sixteen year old.
    Trying to catch her breath as her vision came back, the young woman began
to giggle slightly as she turned her head to kiss the demon’s cheek.  “I love
you Sesshomaru.  And after all the time we spent together, I finally have a
good idea.  You can sense the jewel shards, can’t you?” she pointed out, her
declaration coming out of nowhere and startling the male badly.  Funny thing
was, the teen was surprised she hadn’t thought of it sooner.  Not only had he
been able to help pinpoint locations but he had even started that altercation
with Kouga over the fact his pieces had been closer.
    Such a simple thing could be the answer to all her hesitations and guilt
over having to be idle.  The only hiccup would be whether or not she could
convince Sesshomaru to travel on his own.  With how protective he was, the
taiyoukai was unlikely to acquiesce in this century.  “Indeed, this one can.
 Yet this Sesshomaru fails to see why you would ask such a thing,” rumbled a
deep baritone, holding just the faintest edge of warning.  Sighing and deciding
to ignore the clear signal, Kagome decided to ask anyway; knowing it would be
one Hell of an uphill battle.
    “I would like you to go look for shards for a while...,” she whispered,
grinning nervously as the Lord of the West unleashed a low snarl of
displeasure.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seventh Month~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
    No matter what she said, Sesshomaru refused to budge from her side.  As
much as he shared their pack’s hatred for the half spider, he didn’t want to
leave Kagome for even a few minutes.  So, as much as she loathed to do it, she
had stopped pushing the issue and merely accepted her circumstances.  Not that
she had much room to complain, mind you.  With the knowledge she wouldn’t harm
their pup, the assassin had grown much more amorous.  In fact, he took every
opportunity to drag her off somewhere for a session of lovemaking that made her
quiver on the inside just thinking about it.
    Still, that didn’t mean she didn’t need some space to herself just to
relax; the constant presence of her mate irritating her just as much as it
comforted her.  Before she’d mated him  she’d had at least gotten some
breathing room.  Now she almost felt suffocated, as pleasant as his presence
was.  So, as much as it drove the taiyoukai batty, she often took walks when he
was distracted; enjoying her very brief time alone.  What she didn’t know was
that Sesshomaru’s concern for her was more than warranted.
    Evil eyes watched from the darkness of the branches, fixing on a gravid
stomach as a disgusted snarl fought to escape from a pair of twitching lips.
 The foolish woman had been taking the same path alone for weeks now, making
what was about to happen all too easy.  So, pulling back the head of his baboon
hide, Naraku dropped upon the unaware priestess; covering her mouth as he used
his miasma to knock her out.  Once she was limp, he was taking off; knowing her
absence would be more than enough to set off alarm bells.
    Unaware of what happened, Sesshomaru rolled his eyes as he watched the
children.  Right now, Rin was busy playing what was called ‘house’ with the fox
kit.  A game he wasn’t entirely sure he approved of.  From what he could
gather, it involved Shippo being the ‘father’ while the small girl acted as
‘mother’.  Little dolls made of grass were the children, the way the pair acted
making him feel more than just a little disconcerted.
    Raising his head to look at his halfling brother, the deadly inu gave the
hanyou a silent command to watch the children.  Then he was spinning on his
heel to spread out his senses, an almost aggravated expression on his sculpted
face as he tried to assess where his miko had run off to while he’d had his
back turned.  When he could find no sign of her, instant unease and boiling
fury welled up inside him.  “Naraku...,” he spat, his eyes narrowing as the
sclera turned a vicious red and his youki snapped in the air like angry
tentacles; effectively alerting his pack to the fact there was something
desperately wrong.
    Well used to how the youkai worked after months of travelling with him,
Miroku and Sango gathered the two children to them; letting Jaken fend for
himself as they watched their alpha.  Taking a singular glance to assess the
small gathering, the Lord of the House of the Moon formed his youki cloud under
him before heading into the sky.  The others followed suit with their weapons
at the ready, the squawking toad lagging behind as he hollered for them to wait
up.  This complaint was, of course, largely ignored.
    Even Inuyasha made no move to take over or even question his half brother,
merely riding on Shippo’s balloon-like body as they headed in a seemingly
random direction.  While he couldn’t so much as scent his missing friend, he
knew his ass of a brother could.  Hell, the bastard could likely just sense
where she was through their mating mark; filling him with a jealousy tinged
relief.  As much as he hated to admit it, Sesshomaru was good for Kagome.  She
was smiling again, joking more and even seemed a lot more patient in general.
 It was as if the asshole were smoothing out all of her rough edges.
    As much as it hurt him on the inside, he felt an odd happiness to watch her
blossoming.  While he was unlikely to ever truly find what she had, he was
content just being by her side.  So he had taken a background role, being
silent when he normally would have thrown a few barbed insults.  Even now, as
much as he wanted to just rush blindly ahead, he followed his hated half
sibling.  Begrudgingly, he silently admitted he would be lost without the
arrogant prick.  Kagome’s safety had to be first, especially with her carrying
his niece or nephew.  He just hoped they could make it before Naraku did
anything too awful to her, just the thought of it making his blood roar in his
ears while his vision grew far away and red tinged.
    The smell of something sickly and rotting, almost indescribable and filling
both her nose and mouth as her eyes fluttered open.  Gagging thickly as she
fought to keep down the food she’d eaten, Kagome covered the lower half of her
face as she curled around her stomach protectively.  A purplish, sickening mist
filled the air so thickly that it appeared violet, thick waves of smoky
tendrils visible in the gloom.  Coughing as her eyes began to tear up, the
heavily pregnant teen immediately began to look around her for a means of
escape; despite knowing full well she would find none.
    Heart racing in her chest as she found only steel bars encircling her, the
time traveling miko placed both hands on her stomach as her youki tainted reiki
formed a green tinged, pink bubble around.  Over a matter of seconds, the
tainted air is changed to clean.  Yet, she hoped her poor child hadn’t gotten
too large a dose.  Heaven only knew what that miasma did to an unborn fetus,
especially given what it was capable of doing to adults.  “Kukukukuku...,”
cooed heinous, cold laughter that held more madness than humor, making her hair
stand on end as all her earlier worries were wiped away by fear and hate.
    “So good to see you could finally join us my dear.  However, I’m afraid
your meager attempt at self defense will prove useless,” slithered a cruel
baritone, the tone sliding over her skin like something slimy and making her
shudder with disgust.
    “You’re free to try Naraku but my reiki has changed since you’ve last met
me,” she challenged, the fury zinging through her veins making her sound more
confident than she really felt.
    On the inside, Kagome was utterly terrified.  All she wanted was to get
through this with her baby intact, a venture she doubted would be easy.  Still,
she refused to show this monster just how scared of him she was.  She wouldn’t
give him the satisfaction of seeing her shuddering like some trapped rabbit.
 She would stand toe to toe with him, defiant until her last breath.  Not even
when Kikyo stepped up to stand by his side did she falter.  Only the golem’s
battered state filled her with a vague sympathy, something that was easily
shaken off in this tense moment.  “Oooooh, aren’t we confident for a mere
reincarnation.  Are you still so confident against the powers of the one who
came before you?” rasped the hated chimera, his purple eyes flashing as Kikyo
sent out a wave of reiki to clash against hers.
    Sesshomaru jolted slightly in the air, his eyes widening before  he was
forcing himself to go even faster.  He could sense the impact against his
woman’s energy barrier, urging him to get to her side at all costs.  By some
miracle, his pack was keeping up with him; filling him with pride as he sped
toward a point in the horizon.  Thankfully, it wasn’t much longer until he
could see a purple haze in the air at an incredible distance away.  Gritting
his fangs, he felt his inner beast mixing into his consciousness; adding to his
strength as well as viciousness.  If anything dared to hurt his mate or his
pack, they would have Hell to pay.
    The others could only do their best to keep up, determined not to be a
burden on the taiyoukai in his hour of need.  He would require their strength
in the fight to come, not to mention the fact they were invested in Kagome’s
well-being as well.  They would be there to help fight, come Hell or high
water.  Sango alone considered the younger woman as a sister, let alone how the
two children felt.  There were none in the small group that wouldn’t lay down
their lives for her.  Still, they felt a small measure of relief when they felt
a blaze of familiar youki come from below them.
    Even Sesshomaru was unperturbed by the lupine’s presence, silently
accepting the wolf Prince’s help as they gradually closed in on their
destination.  Wishing he could go faster, the Lord simply kept his eyes focused
on the foggy spot they were closing in on.  Every so often, his body would
shudder as her protective field was impacted again and again.  Thankfully, she
hadn’t been injured so far; his youki seeming to strengthen the aura
surrounding her.  Yet he had no idea just how long that could last, only adding
to the crawling feeling on his skin as he tried to force some more speed from
his cloud.
    Standing her ground as holy energy continued to explode against the
greenish pink dome around her, Kagome closed her eyes as she closed her eyes
and focused on the well of reiki still inside her.  Immediately, she was
greeted by her mate’s angry youki; the stinging energy wrapping around her in a
protective cocoon.  Then it was surging out from her, feeling as if it was
coming from Sesshomaru himself as it charged past her barrier to knock over
both Naraku and her previous incarnation.  Taking a breath, she forced the
foreign energy into phantom claws to hold them down as she stretched out her
senses.  When she felt Sesshomaru not too far away, she began to feel a bit of
hope for getting out of this mess alive.  Yet, she knew she couldn’t keep this
up for much longer.
    Already, she could feel her energy draining; her body growing more fatigued
as the confrontation continued.  It wouldn’t be much longer before she simply
couldn’t defend herself, a prospect that truly terrified her.  “Sesshomaru,
hurry,” she pleaded, watching as the trapped pair struggled against the
seemingly endless youki.  A powerful pulse was her only response, the earth
seeming to shudder as a terrible power became noticeable off in the distance.
 Stilling briefly, the sneering half kumo turned his head to glare at the
ceiling; a disgusted smirk on his almost handsome face.
    “Yes, hurry you giant mutt.  Hurry so you can watch as I tear your child
from your woman’s womb!” he spat, his eyes flashing as his miasma surrounded
him in a thick, pseudo chrysalis.  Then he was bursting out of it, effectively
dispelling the youki pinning him and the shade of Kikyo down as extra, spider-
like limbs burst from his back.  Chuckling insanely as his demonic eyes fixed
on the sixteen year old, he charged forward; hitting her barrier with all the
force he could muster.
    It was all Kagome could do not to show how afraid she was, glaring at the
strange hanyou as the claws at the ends of his horrible limbs scrabbled against
the almost glass-like dome.  To her absolute horror, the tip of one of them
actually managed to scratch the hard surface formed by her mixed reiki.  With a
bone-chilling screeing noise, it wiggled into the fissure the very tip of the
appendage beginning to make its way inside.  All she could do was hold her
breath and pray, the intense power from earlier growing closer at an alarming
rate.
    Just as the wriggling limb began to cause cracks to form in the shimmering
half circle, a loud roar split the sky; threatening to shatter eardrums from
the sheer volume.  Then something titanic was slamming into the building, bits
of wood and debris flying up into the air from the impact.  Freezing in place,
Naraku turned to look at the settling smoke cloud; an uneasy expression on his
visage as he saw the massive silhouette pulling itself up into a standing
position.
    Two, blood colored eyes opened in the gloom, glowing brightly as a low,
grinding noise began to vibrate the entire manor.  It was almost like two
continents grinding together, the powerful youki pouring off the hulking thing
enough to bring most to their knees.  Paling as his eyes widened, the hanyou
began to try to pull free of the reiki barrier; growing frantic when he found
himself trapped.  Cursing, the once cocky abomination placed both hands on the
smooth surface of the energy in an effort to force himself free.  All he got
was a shock that burned his palms for the attempt.
    Another of those inhuman noises came from behind him, only causing the
terrified terrorizer to increase his pitiful attempts.  Even trying to tear off
the limb wasn’t working, some of the miko’s reiki wrapping around the enclosed
limb to prevent such an action.  “Release me you foul wench,” spat the panicked
half-breed, his formerly human features twisting into something dark and
monstrous.  Something that made Kagome scream despite her resolve not to show
fear.
    Then there was swift movement, something impossibly large moving.  The wind
caused by the creature’s action whipped Kagome’s hair out of her pale face, a
fur covered limb knocking Naraku away from her.  The only thing left was his
twitching ‘leg’, a noxious fluid leaking from the arachnid-like limb.  It was
black with a sludgy texture, looking and smelling like something that had been
rotting in the sun for weeks.  Gagging thickly, the extremely pregnant girl
sank to her knees as she covered her nose with both hands; doing her best to
keep down the lunch she’d eaten.
    A grating, beastly sound boomed through the remains of the building, Kikyo
slowly getting to her feet as the canine shaped behemoth obscured by floating
dust leapt where the loathsome Naraku had flown.  Blood poured out of the
former priestess’ mouth, hollow, yet sad eyes fixed on her reincarnation.  A
deep tiredness also shown in those faraway orbs, a shaky hand pulling out a
short dagger from the depths of her haori; bringing the blade up to her neck
while the horrified teen lowered her only protection.  “No, no please don’t do
this,” cried a voice that had yet to see a fraction of the pain she had.
 Smiling bitterly, the clay zombie cut her own throat; gargling on the blood
that immediately threatened to choke her.
    Feeling sick to her stomach as she knelt by the dying ‘woman’, the sixteen
year old found herself openly sobbing as she pleaded for the other female to
hang on.  Hands immediately flew to the gushing gash, pressing against the torn
flaps of skin as she tried to call forth her healing energy.  Unfortunately,
none was coming forth; her powers exhausted from their excessive use.  Vision
going watery as Kikyo’s breathing began to grow ragged, the broken girl could
only motion frantically to Inuyasha as he hopped off a transforming Shippo.
    As the hanyou rushed toward the pair, an awful ripping sound was heard no
too far away; followed by gut wrenching screams of unimaginable agony.  “What
is it?  Are you...?” the worried male began, his words halting in his throat as
he took in the scene before him.  Almost immediately, his heart was dropping
through the floor; the center of his chest becoming a black hole as he knelt to
take the shoddy copy of his former lover in his crimson clad arms.  As false as
she was, that didn’t make watching her die again any easier and he found
himself broken as he looked at a helpless Kagome.
    “‘s okay Yasha....  W-wan... die... wan.. Wan p-peace...,” garbled her
choked voice, her life’s fluid flowing freely from both her neck and her mouth
as her skin grew paler.  Swallowing thickly, the hanyou could only nod; broad
shoulders shaking as he bent to take her lips in a final kiss.
    Kagome could only stare at the floorboards, caught between vomiting and
sobbing as the gruesome sounds in the background began to taper off.  Although
she couldn’t see it, she could sense when the formerly respected miko passed;
feeling a piece of herself finally return.  Inuyasha’s tortured howl confirmed
it, her heart clenching for her friend as she felt the powerful youki of her
transformed mate approach them from behind.  A low, gentle rumble vibrated her
small body as a broad nose pressed against her back, the ground shaking
slightly beneath her as the giant dog that was her mate took a seat beside her.
    To her shock, his own mournful howl joined that of his half brother;
creating a haunting chorus for a woman that had both brought incredible pain
and fantastic joy in her revival.  Even in her final moments, her passing was
being grieved.  Wishing she could join in, the teen leaned into the furry leg
of Sesshomaru’s true form; listening to the strange funeral song until it
ended.  Soon, they were all gathered in a field far away from that forsaken
place.  A modest hole had been dug for her body and a modest service was given
to her as she was buried.  Inuyasha insisted on there being no marker on the
grave to prevent another Urasue incident.  Then they had left, only a wreath
from Rin to mark the place where a revered miko rested.
    Burying his nose in his mate’s hair as he allowed her untainted scent to
soothe him, Sesshomaru lett out soft purrs to comfort his distraught female.
 From the scent of salt on her sakura, she was just as affected by the clay
creature’s death as his bastard half brother was; a fact that baffled him to no
end.  “‘Maru?  I-is the bastard dead?” whispered a half hopeful voice, the
question perking his interest as he shifted his gaze to the top of her head.
    “Yes, this one made sure.  He was melted in this Sesshomaru’s poison after
being torn apart so badly he couldn’t possibly muster the energy to escape,” he
assured, the way she relaxed in his hold warming his heart.
    “Good, at least we can gather the rest of the Shikon without worry now,”
sighed her sweet voice, the faint sound of the monk exclaiming happily coming
from behind them as they made their way back to Kaede’s village.
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