Crossover Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Journey to the City of Endless Night ❯ Chapter Ten ( Chapter 10 )

Chapter Ten

Inuyasha slowly opened his eyes, squinting as he clutched a hand to his head. He vaguely remembered playing with Rin and the arrival of Kagura. After that everything went black. For the briefest of moments Inuyasha felt a cold chill course down his spine. Had he transformed into his full-demon form and gone on a rampage? He sniffed, smelling blood, but only his own. He groaned as he tried to sit up, wincing in pain as he realized his left arm couldn't support him. The last real thing he remembered was grasping Tetsusaiga for dear life, fighting against the surging blood that attempted to take over. He lay back down, turning his head to see if anyone was near him. Kagome sat not far away, staring off above him. He breathed, “Kagome, what happened?”

Kagome looked down, her eyes full of tears. She said, “Inuyasha, are you alright?”

He squinted again, muttering, “Yeah, I think so. Is the pup okay?”

Kagome nodded. “She's with Sesshomaru right now.” She leaned forward, placing a wet cloth onto his forehead. “You've been out cold for ten minutes. What happened out there? It's not like you to pass out over something like that.”

Inuyasha looked away. He asked, “Did I---change at all?”

“What do you mean?” She nodded that she understood then, remarked, “No, you didn't. It took everything I had to pry that sword out of your hand, you know. I had to treat that shoulder and I couldn't have it poking me.”

He let a sigh of relief escape him. So he hadn't transformed after all. It had taken nearly everything in his power to prevent that from happening, even with Tetsusaiga firmly in his grip. Inuyasha wondered why that might be, but before he could respond, Sesshomaru said, “I see you are awake, half-breed.”

Inuyasha glared up at him, trying to sit back up, his left arm giving out. He collapsed back into the dirt, grunting. “What do you want, asshole.”

“I came to see how you were doing. Nothing more.” Sesshomaru looked from him towards Kagome. “Miko, I'd like to speak with my brother alone.”

Kagome sighed. “It's Kagome. Oh never mind. Don't fight too much, Inuyasha. You already have a broken arm.” She stood, crossing towards the fire.

“Now that you've got Kagome away, what do you want.” He laid his head back, his good arm lying across his forehead. He felt slightly dizzy, suspecting that it had to come from the blood loss. Inuyasha cringed to think what might have happened if he hadn't held onto Tetsusaiga. “Well, are you going to say something or are you going to just stare at me?”

“I must apologize.”

“For what? I did what had to be done. The pup was in danger.” Inuyasha lifted his head, cocking it to one side.

“I have behaved below my status for quite some time where it concerns you. I have fought with you over Tetsusaiga as if it were a child's toy.” Sesshomaru's golden gaze locked on Inuyasha's.

Inuyasha flattened his ears to his head. “I don't understand. As long as I can remember you've despised me for being a half-breed. Inheriting the Tetsusaiga didn't help matters. What gives?”

Sesshomaru sighed. “Much like you, I've been given some advice. I've been making excuses for a very long time. Inuyasha, you are the only blood relative I have left. As much as I'm supposed to loathe that, I realize I am acting beneath myself.”

“Are you apologizing for being a jackass for all these years?”

“Yes.”

“Why? Why now? You've never cared how I felt before. It doesn't make any sense.” Inuyasha pinned his ears back more.

“Because, even though you did not have to, you stood up for Rin on more than one occasion. And, even though it is hard to admit, you make a lot of high class demons look weak. You've done things with Tetsusaiga that it was not originally forged to do. Not many can claim that. The way you fought today speaks more about you than I was ever willing to admit. Not only did you take a hit for Rin, you managed to continue fighting until someone could relieve you.”

Inuyasha looked down. He looked back up, his eyes locking onto this brother's. “Well, if anything, Naraku seems to want us to kiss and make up. He keeps pushing us at one another.” He smirked. “Might be the biggest mistake he's ever made.” He scratched at his cast, grumbling. “Damn this thing itches.” Inuyasha looked away then, whispering. “Just what happened out there, anyways?”

Sesshomaru said, “Kagura surprised you by attacking as you were coming to join the miko at the fire. She broke your arm with that hit and you suffered severe blood loss. However, you did manage to send two attacks of the Wind Scar towards her before you collapsed. From there, I carried you to a tent where your wounds were tended.”

Polgara stuck her head into the tent, asking, “So, how are you feeling, Inuyasha?” She eased herself next to him, lifting the rag that Kagome had placed upon his forehead. She felt for a fever, nodding when she found none. Then, she lifted the gauze over his shoulder wound, finding that it had reduced its size by a third. She gasped, “I've never seen anything quite like this.”

Inuyasha grunted. “It'll be gone in about an hour.”

“Remarkable.” She smiled. “Dear, you really gave us a scare for a minute there.” She stood. “I'll check on your arm a little bit later. No sense in disturbing it.”

Inuyasha began scratching again as soon as she mentioned the arm. “Why did you put this stupid thing on it?”

“Dear, don't scratch. It's healing. I had to reset your bone.” Polgara exited the tent then, leaving the two brothers alone once again.

Inuyasha sighed. “Did I hit that bitch at all?”

“No, but you came very close. Wielding that sword with one hand and the blood loss you were enduring slowed you.”

Inuyasha snorted. “I could have taken her out. I know I could have.” He shuddered inwardly, thinking exactly how that might have come about. He clutched Tetsusaiga in his hand, grasping its hilt as if the struggle with his demon blood might begin again. Inuyasha glared. “You didn't have to carry me away from the fight like that.” He sighed. “Where is the pup, by the way?”

Sesshomaru sighed. “Half-breed, you don't need to put on such a big performance. I realize you were struggling with more than meets the eye, though truth be told your blood did not change scent. I could sense you were fighting something the way you held Tetsusaiga before you collapsed.” He paused. “Rin is resting in my tent.” He stood, offering to help his brother up. “We must now join everyone as they want to discuss Naraku.”

Inuyasha tried to push him away, easing himself into an upright position. He slowly stood, then used Tetsusaiga as a crutch as the blood rushed from his head. Inuyasha felt Sesshomaru grasp his good arm, leading him towards the exit of the tent. He growled half-heartedly, “I can walk by myself.”

Sesshomaru didn't let go, easing Inuyasha out of the tent slowly. Inuyasha gave in, feeling even more light headed. Once they reached the rest of the group, Sesshomaru eased Inuyasha down onto the ground next to Kagome. He then sat down next to his brother, still holding him up slightly.

Inuyasha batted at his brother's hand trying to get him to let go. He snarled, “I'm sitting. Quit touching me already, damn it. I'm fine. It's nothing but a scratch.” Inuyasha closed his eyes, leaning forward slightly to regain control over his body before the nausea could over come him.

Belgarath asked, “First of all, let's discuss what happened. What was that attack you launched at that woman?”

Inuyasha kept his eyes closed, replying, “I used the Wind Scar. Apparently I missed.” He winced when he felt Kagome adjust his bandage over his cast. It felt better than when he had first awoke, but it still stung. “It's a technique my sword uses by finding where my aura and the other aura of the demon I'm fighting collide. When you slice through it, it sends energy back towards the attacker.” Another hand on his good arm caused him to open one eye, seeing his brother reach out to steady him. He snapped his hand away from his brother, jabbing Tetsusaiga at Sesshomaru to ward him away.

Polgara said, “She said that she was a sorceress. What did she mean by that?”

“I don't think she's the same as you. She employs her fan when she launches an attack. She's a full blooded wind demon that happens to be an incarnation of Naraku,” Sesshomaru continued.

“Incarnation?” Silk asked.

“Yes. Naraku was not born like us. He was birthed when a human wished for the power of demons to win the heart of a priestess,” Sesshomaru said. “Because he was born from many demons, Naraku uses his own flesh to birth another that he then controls. Kagura is one of these.”

Inuyasha snorted. “He's a half-demon because he still has Onigumo's heart. If he didn't have that, he'd be full. It doesn't matter. I'm gonna kill him.” He swayed again as he tried to adjust himself on the ground. Inuyasha felt someone grasp him around the waist, seeing Kagome sit behind him. Inuyasha almost began to protest until he felt too weak to bother sitting back up. He eased back, continuing, “I still don't know why he's wasting time here. He has a playground all his own at home that's big enough.”

“So this Onigumo summoned these demons?” Belgarath asked.

“Yes and no. He was severely burned at the time and could not speak. He called out with his soul to summon these demons that formed Naraku. He did not use any spells to do this as you've described,” Sesshomaru commented. “He became possessed, and as my half-breed brother already mentioned, Naraku still possesses Onigumo's heart, causing him to be a half-demon.”

“I see. It still doesn't make sense why he would summon you here to our world or why he'd be at Cthol Mishrak,” the Godslayer remarked. He then sighed, throwing his hands up. “Why me?”

Zakath glared at him. “It's my country, Garion. If I lose Ancient Mallorea it'll only be a matter of time before the rest of the Continent rebels. If this Naraku gets any more power he'll have my Empire on a silver platter. If I tell the Melcenes a half-demon from another world was trying to take over the world by raising a bunch of demons, they'd lock me up for insanity for sure.”

“Melcenes?” Sesshomaru asked.

“They're skeptical people on the other side of the continent on an island. We have them run the Empire and they have us in theirs so it makes a big one. Mainly they handle the day to day affairs of bureaucracy.” Zakath pinched his nose. “They're skeptical people. It's bad enough that they have to admit to Belgarion's existence here. It unsettles them greatly to find out that something such as that exists. It's not as if they're Tolnedran's though. I have heard of how stubborn they are about such matters.”

Ce'Nedra's voice raised a few octaves making Inuyasha flatten his ears and Sesshomaru to growl to his right, “What does that mean, Your Majesty!”

Silk snickered. “Nothing, dear Ce'Nedra. It's just Tolnedrans are hard headed about things such as this. It's a charm of your culture.”

“Dear, don't screech. It hurts Inuyasha and Sesshomaru's ears.”

“Screech!” It reached another octave.

Garion sighed. “Please, don't get mad. He didn't mean it as an insult.” He turned towards the two dog demon brothers. “Would you know of any reason, though, why he might go there? Or what he might be after?”

“No. He's already gotten himself a huge portion of the Shikon no Tama. I don't understand why he'd bring us here and lead us to you. Unless he doesn't know about you, that is. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want that sword of yours coming near me,” Inuyasha replied, cracking one eye open from his place lounging on Kagome's lap. For the first time since they had left the Stronghold, Inuyasha didn't feel threatened by anyone when it came to Kagome, nor did he feel himself going out of control just by being near or touching her.

Polgara nodded. She lifted something off her lap, remarking, “I'm sorry, Inuyasha. I couldn't save your clothes.”

Inuyasha slowly sat up, looking at the red fabric of the fire rat. “Feh, that'll be fully repaired by morning. I've ripped it a lot worse in the past.” He sat back, adjusting his back in Kagome's lap as he felt the blood rush out of his head again.

“Repair itself? What is it?”

“It's the robe of the fire rat. That cloth is better than any armor you'll find.”

“It's remarkable.” Polgara held the shredded fabric up. “I also thought this would help hide your ears, although it's not nearly as durable as your outfit, I suppose.” It was a red hood, much like the ones Belgarath and the Godslayer wore, although theirs were brown and gray. “I figured it should match your outfit so I went with red. I made it when we stayed in the Stronghold. You can pull it up over you head and it'll hide your ears without making them too itchy, I hope.” Polgara passed the torn garments and the hood to Inuyasha.

Inuyasha held up the hood, looking it over. “It'll work. Better than them stupid hats I've had to wear in the past. I hate hats.” He draped it over his lap, his good arm resting on top of the two garments. Inuyasha sighed in contentment when he felt Kagome's fingers massage his ears.

Beldin asked, “What is the Shikon no Tama, exactly?”

Kagome adjusted herself behind him, pulling her jar out from her dress bodice. She said, “Here are three shards of the Shikon no Tama. It's the Jewel of Four Souls. Currently it's been shattered and we're trying to complete it. When the jewel is in the possession of someone with evil it makes them stronger. It makes demons stronger and they all seek it for the most part.” The jar passed towards the smelly dwarf.

He held the jar up, looking at it. “Hey blockhead, do you remember reading about a jewel other than the Master's Orb in either prophecy or maybe the Angarak prophecies?”

Belgarath scratched his beard, thinking. “I think the twins said something about questioning a passage about a jewel that was referred to as The Orb of Good and Evil Intent. I always assumed it was about our Master's Orb. It could be this Shikon no Tama.”

Kagome accepted the jar back, sliding the string back over her head. She then, much to Inuyasha's satisfaction, rubbed his ears. “Naraku has a lot of these in a larger hunk at this point. It's why he's able to make these incarnations cause it amplifies his natural powers.”

“Do you think Naraku might be after the Orb, father? If this isn't giving him as much power as he wants, maybe he wants our Master's Orb,” Polgara commented.

“Could be. It doesn't make sense to me. Anything else we should know?”

Inuyasha cracked an eye open again, leaning into Kagome's hand at the same time. “If you see anyone or anything with a spider scar on their back, they're most likely an incarnation of Naraku of some sort. If you're smart you won't use any of your sorcery powers on the little girl with the mirror. Not unless you want the shit kicked out of you. She'll reflect it back on you and it'll hurt you more than it'll hurt her.”

“Alright. That makes sense. I guess we should get some rest before we have to keep going on our way. We have a long trip ahead of us to reach Thull Mardu, after all,” Polgara said.

Inuyasha grunted as he sat up. He felt Kagome move his bandage, leaving it off as the wound had shrunk another full three quarters. He adjusted his arm, finding it still stiff and sore, but not nearly as bad as before. Then he slipped the tattered fire rat robe back on as he stood, heading towards the tent he and Kagome would share. Once inside, he sat down, sighing.

“Something the matter, Inuyasha?” Kagome asked, sitting down in her own corner.

He looked over at her, noticing that she was pulling out her pajamas. He shook his head. “No. Just tired a little bit.” Inuyasha crossed his legs, sliding the fire rat robe back off. He set it onto the floor then his under clothes on top of it. “Damn it. I had to rip my clothes all up.” He reclined in his corner of the tent, yawning slightly.

Kagome nodded. She set her pajamas down, joining him by snuggling up on his good arm side. She rested her head on his bare chest. “You scared me today.”

Inuyasha looked down at her before he put his arm around her. His golden eyes softened and he sighed. “Kagome, it's alright.”

“You got really hurt today.” She looked up at him as she sat up.

“Feh. Nothing worse than normal.” He tried to dismiss the frightened look in her eyes.

“But it could have been really bad.”

He winced as he sensed that she was going to start crying. “Hey, no, don't do that Kagome. I'm fine. My arm will be all better by morning and my shoulder's okay now.” He lifted her face up to look at him. “It's going to be alright. That stupid bitch just caught me by surprise. If she had faced me directly I would have won.” He smirked slightly, hoping to get her to smile.

Kagome blinked back tears. She then hugged him suddenly, causing him to fall back. She said, “Don't scare me like that again, okay?”

He grunted, easing them back to a sitting up position. Inuyasha held her chin in his clawed hand. “I'll try.” He leaned in then, kissing her, his tongue delving deeply as she opened her mouth. It wasn't like the kiss at the Stronghold where he had felt he had to enforce his claim. This one was slow and sweet. Her arms locked around his neck as she leaned in. If he couldn't tell her in words what he wanted and how he felt perhaps actions might. After he broke the kiss off, he pulled her close to his chest, whispering in her ear, “Mate.”

Kagome pulled back, asking, “What did you just say, Inuyasha?”

Inuyasha blushed. He turned his head so he wasn't staring into her brown eyes. He jumped to the other side of the tent, crouching down, his good arm holding him up. “It was nothing.”

She crossed her arms. “I say it was a lot more than nothing, Inuyasha. Did you just say “mate?”

Inuyasha drooped his ears. “Yes.” He sat back down, crossing his legs. Inuyasha looked away from her, whispering, “But I'm a half-breed---”

“I know what you are, Inuyasha. I have no problem with who you are and I wouldn't change you for anything in the world.” She looked at him, her eyes softening. “Do you still want to become a full-demon?”

His head snapped back up. “Why would you ask that?”

“So you don't?”

Inuyasha wasn't sure what he wanted, but deep down he knew that wishing to become full-demon might mean he'd be what he had feared being just a little while ago. He looked up at her. “I don't know.” He looked at his hands.

“What are you saying, Inuyasha? You should know that I've never cared that you're half-demon. It's never mattered.” She placed her hand onto of his. “And what do you mean by mate?”

Inuyasha bit his lip. “It just slipped out. I shouldn't have said it.” He began to scoot towards the tent exit, trying to make his escape before anything else he hadn't intended slipped out.

Kagome cocked her head to one side. “No, I'm glad you did. You've been acting weird for the past two days. Is this why?”

He looked up, noticing her eyes filled with confusion, then he looked back down, shaking his head yes. “I'm still just a half-breed---”

“I already told you that I don't care and that I prefer you as a half-demon. What are you trying to tell me?”

Inuyasha looked down at his hands, flattening his ears as he realized he was trapped and even if he ran this time she'd follow and demand an answer. He whispered, “I'm trying to ask would you accept a half-breed as a mate.”

Her eyes grew wide in full recognition of what he was asking. “Inuyasha, are you asking what I think you are?”

Inuyasha pulled further away from her, thinking she had rejected him. “I understand if you don't.”

Kagome grasped his hand, getting him to sit back down. “Inuyasha, I never said anything like that. I'm just trying to makes sure I'm hearing you right. Why all of the sudden?”

Inuyasha drooped his ears further. “I don't know. I've just felt nervous lately. Polgara told me that I shouldn't make the same mistake twice.”

She squeezed his hand. “Inuyasha, I really don't care, though, if you are half-demon.” She blushed then, looking away. She didn't let go of his hand. “How long have you felt this way?”

“Awhile. I guess we're driving my brother nuts.” He smirked slightly.

She smiled at him. “You know, I haven't said no. I wouldn't mind being a half-demon's mate. Why don't you let me decide.”

Inuyasha locked eyes with hers. “What are you saying, Kagome?”

“I'm saying I'll think about it. I don't think right now in the middle of camp that we should go through with it.” She blushed profusely then hugged him. “Listen, why don't you get cleaned up and we'll get some rest. It sounds like we'll have a long ride tomorrow.”

Inuyasha nodded. “Alright.” He shyly smiled at her when her lips upturned in a smile as well. He gave her one more hug, inhaling her scent. “Promise me you'll think about it, okay?”

“I promise. Now go. You smell bad.” She wrinkled her nose.