InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Nigatsu no Hoshi (Stars of February) ❯ Chapter 16: Powers of the Legendary Jewel ( Chapter 18 )

Chapter 16: Powers of the Legendary Jewel of Fate

After all had made it home, safely, it was about 3 in the afternoon (they slept in ^_^) and kagome and Sango had made everyone their lunch (although it was the first meal of the day for them). Each couple sat side by side snugly, and ate mostly in silence. Kagome and inuyasha had caught a couple of rabbits on their way back, so the group were having a pretty large meal.

Inuyasha plopped backwards as soon as he took his last bight. "man, ever since the runt left, there's been food left over after every meal!" inuyasha noted. Kagome sighed, "yeah I know. I guess we are still adjusting to only having to cook for four." Everyone kept silent for a moment. "I wonder if shippou-Chan is enjoying his new life in china, with his mother." Sango broke in. "I'm starting to miss Katasuki as well, she was very kind, and very knowledgeable" Miroku added, rewarded by a questioning stare by Sango, "whaat? Sango my dear, she has children! I am not that kind of a man. I am serious though, if it were not for her vast knowledge of the books, then who knows what would have happened to kagome-sama."

Kagome's mouth made a small `o' at the mention of the past ordeal, `I had almost forgotten about the whole thing!' she thought as she reached a hand up to her forehead, where the Hateshi no Hari was sunken into her skin.

FLASHBACK*~*~*~*

Katasuki approached kagome, who sat staring at the shimmering crystal in her hand. "here kagome, it is best you keep this safe, close as possible" she stated, as she extended a hand to the other demoness. Kagome took the offered hand, and stood up, facing Katasuki. "I know this all to well Katasuki-sama, but where do you suggest I keep it where there is no threat of it easily being stolen?" Katasuki thought for a moment, "I am not quite sure…" she couldn't finish the thought before kagome broke in, "oh! I remember now! In the story book from my time, it shows the Megami Ningen with the crystal on the top of her head, I could never tell if it hung from something, or if it was a part of her…the shikon no tama was a part of my body, so it makes sense that this would be no different."

"well there you go! Here, hand me the Hateshi no Hari, I will place it so that it is properly centered. No woman of great legend can be running around with a lop-sided accessory, I will not allow it." she chuckled, as did kagome. She handed her the jewel, and the kitsune placed it above her brow, perfectly centered. "okay now kagome-sama, I assume you know what to do, right?" she questioned, and kagome nodded. She had done this before with the shikon no tama, so she knew the process well. She closed her eyes, and cleared her mind so all she saw was the jewel, and then she drew its energy towards her, until she felt it connect with her flesh.

"Very good, all done! It looks great on you, it contrasts nicely with you hair and eyes."

"Arigatou for your help Katasuki" kagome smiled.

END FLASHBACK~*~*~*~

After the girls had cleared the mess from lunch, they gathered their things and headed to the stream for a bath, Kami knows they need one. Each stripped of their clothing and dipped into the cool water, both shivering on contact. They shifted uncomfortably, not really sure of what to talk about. Both knew what they wanted to ask each other, but felt awkward asking. They soon grew tired of the silence though, both being outspoken, "so how was it?" they both asked at the same time, resulting in a girlish giggle from both.

"you go first, Sango." kagome insisted. Sango blushed, "fine, I will. To put it simply it was nothing short of fantastic, I have never felt closer to heaven than I did in his arms last night. My mother always told me that losing ones virginity was very painful, and said it was a good thing that I would not be experiencing it. you see, since I was a firstborn-female and a warrior of the clan, I was not supposed to marry, because I could not fight if pregnant. So only the males could marry, or the youngest females in families, who were already forbidden to battle."

Kagome looked at Sango with a sad look upon her features, as Sango shared with her something that she had never told any of the group. `it must have hurt Sango to know that she was never to love anyone, that must be why she stayed so far from the Houshi, and seemed so inexperienced with men.'

Sango noticed the look on her friends face, and regretted changing the subject. "but you see, that it turned out that my mother was wrong! It wasn't a painful experience for me, but the most blissful one I have ever had! Maybe now I could even restore my clan with Miroku! Things have turned out for the best, I'm finally truly happy! I have a hope for the future, and it's a very bright one." Sango said as she could barely contain herself from jumping up and down with glee.

Kagome smiled with her, "I'm glad Sango, that's fantastic, I wish that fate will continue to shine upon your future." As soon as the words left her lips, she gasped. `fate, future…I wonder…' she thought as she felt the gem upon her forehead begin to grow warm in energy. "Sango come here." She calmly stated, Sango nodded and scooted closer. "what is it kagome?"

Kagome reached a hand out to the other girl, and place it on her heart. She then moved her other hand so it was right infront of her own chin, the index and middle finger extended, and slightly crossed over each other, and the thumb pointed upright while the other fingers were limp. `a spell casters stance?' Sango wondered at the familiar position of her friends hand.

Kagome kept silent for a moment as she retreated into the depths of her mind, seeking the power of the Hateshi that she knew would come to her, `got it'.

Sango almost jumped when kagome began speaking again, even if it was a quiet tone. `what's she saying?' then Kagome's words grew just over her whisper, and Sango could clearly make it out.

"The one telling from the commencement the finale, the one telling from long ago, things yet to come. The eye of fate, seer of expectations. Let me glance into your future." Kagome chanted over and over. Sango felt a warmth extending from her chest where Kagome's hand lie, and wondered where in the world she came up with that chant, and what she was planning on doing with her new and untested powers.

Kagome stopped chanting as an onslaught of images flooded into her minds eye. They were fogged at first, but the more she concentrated, the more she could make out. She saw Sango with Miroku, infront of one of the homes in the demolished slayers village, although, the houses were all refurnished. And then she could hear sounds slowly surfacing, she could here the laughter of children, there were two of them. From what she could make out they were both boys, and when she got a glimpse of them, she smiled to herself. They were two boys, twins obviously, although ones hair was darker than the others. Both had bright brown eyes, and both were in slayer's clothes.

Then the images fled as she came out of the trance. Sango was still looking at her friend questioningly, and she couldn't help but smile back. "What is it kagome? What did you see??" she asked eagerly. Kagome shook her head, "I can not tell you exactly what I saw, it is the law of fate. But I can tell you that your future will be a very happy one, oh yes, and I hope you like children."

"What?!" Sango asked, not quite sure she heard the last part right. "What? I said you'd have a happy future."

"No, the other part, I could have sworn you mentioned children."

"I said no such thing, you're hearing things Sango." kagome said as she smiled innocently.

"So you're gonna play that way huh?"

"Don't look at me like that Sango, what are you doing, oh no, Sango!!" kagome screamed as the older girl lunged at her and tackled her into deeper waters.

Once Sango let her up for air, kagome stood up, gasping for air, her hair in a mask over her face. She picked the locks away from her nose and eyes, and glared at the now laughing Taijiya. "why you!" kagome yelled as she splashed water at the other girl.

Sango sputtered out water, and then splashed back. soon they were engaged in a heated water fight, and the sound of their shrieks and laughing filled the surrounding forest, filtering all the way back to the camp where the guys lounged in the hut.

"Sounds like the girls are having fun ay inuyasha?"

"Feh, you can say that again. If they're not careful, their gonna drown each other with excitement."

"Aa, but inuyasha, that means we'd get to go rescue them, and pull their naked and wet bodies from the water." ""wap!!**

"and what may I ask, was that for inuyasha?!"

inuyasha glowered at him, "from this point on, you are NEVER to imagine my mate in such a way, or I will make sure that yours will never be very satisfied. Got it Houshi?" he threatened as he flexed his claws in his face. Miroku gulped audibly, "calm yourself my friend. I can assure you that I only have eyes for my dear Sango."

"good, or else you'll be living the rest of your life as a eunuch." He said as he smirked at him, rewarded by a weary laugh from the monk.

Now Miroku was definitely scared to ask his friend how his night with the aforementioned inu-demoness was, for fear for his happiness. There was however, a way to get no the same track without touching the subject of the girl. "so inuyasha, was this your first time?" inuyasha stiffened, and almost choked on his own tongue. "well..umm…sorta…but how bout you monk, are you the man you've always made yourself out to be?" inuyasha retorted.

"my good man, of course I am, how could you ever doubt me? I may be a monk, but I have certain duties as a man you know."

"keh! Bullshit! I could smell it all over you since the day I met you, you were as much a virgin as I myself! Haha, how does it feel monk? I bet you feel about as big as Myouga right now huh?" inuyasha said, trying to hold in his laugh, which was becoming increasingly hard at seeing the look of horror on the other mans face.

Miroku didn't know what to say, `ah crap…well this sucks...come on, come back comeback! Hah!' "either way, I kept Sango begging for more! How bout you? Was kagome `tired' after one go?"

Inuyasha wanted to rip the other guys head off, but knew how the monk was, and restrained himself, figured he could get him back. "in fact, you're right monk, she was completely knocked out after one go, and so was I for that matter. You see, you're missing one very important thing. The initial mating ceremony in youkai's, is also a literal binding of the soul, and both mates reach unimaginable levels of power and sensitivity, that it is impossible for even the strongest of youkai's to do it twice on the same night. However! After the first time, both partners can keep going for at least two days straight, no problem."

Miroku had nothing to say to that, his friend had clearly beaten him. Just then, the door flap burst open and the two laughing girls stumbled inside.

"You two weren't drinking again were you?" inuyasha questioned.

"Hehe, no inuyasha! We're not drunk. How could we? Sango and Miroku here finished off the booze last night! Hehe"

"Miroku come here" kagome called, getting another suspicious look from both inuyasha and Miroku, who was inching over towards her. "don't be scared, I don't bite." "liar…" inuyasha said, loud enough that they almost didn't catch it, and kagome blushed again.

Once she had Miroku situated infront of her, she positioned her hands as before, and started chanting again. "The one telling from the commencement the finale, the one telling from long ago, things yet to come. The eye of fate, seer of expectations. Let me glance into your future."

"what is she doing to him Sango?" inuyasha asked in deep confusion. "she's looking into his future, looking at the course that fate has lined out for him. Or at least, that's what she told me." Inuyasha returned his gaze to his now silent mate, and didn't notice Sango fidgeting uncomfortably.

After all the images played through her head, she released the monk and smiled at him, patting him on the head. "good boy!" she turned to look at her friend behind her, not noticing the `wat-the-hell' look on the monks face. Her eyes met Sango's, and she winked at her and gave her a thumbs up. "I told you Sango!" "I never doubted him kagome, it was you who insisted!."

Both the guys looked on, completely dumbfounded. "do inuyasha now kagome!" Sango suggested excitedly. Kagome looked over to her mate, and thought for a moment. "no Sango." "what?" "I said no, I don't want to look into his future."

"but why not kagome?" inuyasha asked, sensing his mates distress through the marks connection. He could feel her aura stir with anxiety. "because…because inuyasha, looking into your future, will mean seeing my own as well. And I don't think I'm ready for that. and for some reason, fate has been cruel to you all your life, I am not sure why you were destined to be with the `Eye of Fate', or whatever I am. But I'm just scared to know the truth. Maybe I will one day, but not yet." She said, finally looking up at him.

Inuyasha searched her eyes for a moment, and then decided not to push it. he had noticed as well, that his life was never a blessed one. But he never thought of why he would have been so clearly destined to be with a chosen one of legend, maybe he just shouldn't think too much about it.

~*~*~*~

for the next few hours, both couples spent the evening in the hut, snuggled up against each other as kagome described to Sango and Miroku what weddings were like in her time. Sango was VERY intrigued, and Miroku liked to see her smile, although he was really thinking, ` great, now she's going to want all these things kagome is telling her, and who knows how much that's going to cost us. Oh well, anything for my dear Sango. and besides, I have a feeling that a whole lot of ominous-looking-clouds are going to be appearing soon.'

~*~*~*~

after kagome and Sango had finished planning their wedding, Sango finally realized something. "hey kagome, why aren't you going to get married to inuyasha? I mean, you are a human."

"WAS a human Sango, I am no longer. Both me and inuyasha are inu-youkai, and being mates is as good as being married. And I know from my new instincts, that the male is dominant. As a human would take the husbands last name, I take on his heritage. So even if I was human when me and inuyasha mated, then I still wouldn't have had the right to ask for a marriage. That's okay though, the mating ritual was more than I could have ever asked for."

"but what about the beautiful diamond ornament you said the husband was supposed to give you, as a sign of your love, and as a sign that you belong to him?

"oh you mean this?" she said as she moved her clothes away so she could see the marks on her shoulder and chest. "it may not be a diamond, but, I think I've had my share of unique jewels, and this is more from the heart, than a showy display. It also carries a special scent, that lets all youkai know that I belong to him. So as you can see, its basically the same thing, but on a different level."

Sango thought for a moment, "I guess you're right kagome. I myself wouldn't beg the Houshi to go through a large expensive ceremony. Besides, I don't think I would have wanted anything that large anyways. Maybe just a small ceremony with you, inuyasha, Kirara, and Myouga. Those are the only people I know."

"Sounds good to me Sango! besides, the both of us are as good as married already! So why worry about the details, aye?"

"Right" Sango said as she moved forward to embrace her friend, and both were soon crying on each others shoulders.

~*~*~*~*~

the rest of the night was pretty uneventful, except the fact that it had started to rain in the late evening. The four of them ate dinner, which was leftovers from lunch. And then the couples settled in the hut. Usually inuyasha would have slept outside, but because of the rain, all four had to fit in the small hut. Each couple shared their sleeping bags, they laid one out on the ground (completely unzipped) and used the second one as a large comforter.

Everyone fell asleep comfortably that night, feeling warm and safe in the arms of the other. But something awoke kagome some hours after going to bed. It wasn't a noise, or any kind of scent, just a strange feeling that wouldn't let her sleep. She finally opened her eyes, giving up on trying to doze off again, and was greeted by the serene sleeping form of her mate. She studied his face intently, taking in every curve, the shade of his lips, the complete calmness of his features.

The more she stared, the more the feeling of restlessness grew in her. Finally, she just couldn't resist it anymore. She maneuvered her hand in-between their bodies, trying not to disturb him. She placed her hand over his heart, and moved her other hand under her chin. She closed her eyes, and willed the power to come. `The one telling from the commencement the finale, the one telling from long ago, things yet to come. The eye of fate, seer of expectations. Let me glance into the future that is ours.' She chanted in her mind.

Then, the images came. She saw a little girl, about the age Sango's boys appeared. She had long silver hair held in a high ponytail, and dark silver eyes. The sweet smile never left the little girls face, and she was sitting in the lap of an older man it appeared, she couldn't make out the face though.

Then she heard the tauntings of a boys voice, followed by the entry of a small inu-youkai child. He had shoulder length dark chrome hair, like Kagome's, held in a small braid at the nape of his neck. The boy started rough housing with the older girl, who cried out in surprise. Then the male who's face she couldn't make out, "hey you two! Stop messing around! Souta, get off Suteki! You know how your mother gets when you come back with battle scars." …'inu-inuyasha?' she thought as she finally saw the mans face. It was inuyasha, only he appeared to be a little bit older, barely noticeable in his features, but by his tone of voice, and the way he held himself, he was at least 10 years older. Then she saw herself walk into the picture, and embrace the two children. And then embrace her mate.

All of a sudden the visions fled, and she thought it was over. But then the sounds of screams came into her mind, and a new vision flew before her minds eye. She saw herself fighting an enemy, who's demeanor she did not recognize, it was a woman, she could tell that much from her demonic laugh. She saw herself being attacked, with what appeared to be a miko's arrow, but for some reason, she herself wasnt moving out of harms way. Then the most horrific scene came before her eyes, as she watched as inuyasha took the blow, flying from out of no where, and…the vision ended, but she could still here the screams of her future self, calling out to her mate, `NOOOOO, Inuyasha!!!!!'

As the vision faded, a new one began. `no! I've had enough of this! Let me out, I don't want to know my future!' slowly, the vision retreated before it began, and kagome opened her eyes. She waited for the focus to return to them, but it never came. Then she realized that it was because her eyes were overflowing with tears. She wiped them away quietly, and then focused in on her hanyou's face again. Anything that would reassure her that her love was still alive.

He was still there, and still appeared to be sleeping. As she calmed, she focused in on his aura. It was calm and still, he was fast asleep. `my love, what am I going to do? Was my vision correct? Is there any way to save you from this horrible fate I witnessed?' then she remembered a verse from the story book of the Megami Ningen, `The chosen one of fate, the condemned of the gods. Always giving, forbidden to have.' She never understood what the line meant, since the story was a happy one. But it must have been an authentic verse from the original legend.

`there has to be a way to change what I've seen, or else the powers of fate would never have given me the power to control it, right? I will save you inuyasha, I will not let you die. I was sent to you to change your life, to heal your faltered string of fate, and I will NOT fail you.'

With her self reassurance, she felt ready to take on this new task, as soon as possible. `which will have to be in the morning because I am bushed! Man, this whole Eye of Fate thing is really tiring.' She leaned in and kissed inuyasha sweetly on the lips, although it wasn't what she wanted at the moment, she wanted to take out her anxiety in a much more heated kiss, something more desperate, and passionate.

Just then, a strange warmth awoke inuyasha. The mark was burning on his shoulder, almost painfully. He awoke to find his mates lips against his, and saw her aura flaring with a whirlwind of feral emotions. He pushed his lips into hers, and pulled her closer to him. Kagome moaned into the new sensation, it looked like her silent plea would be answered. She pushed back harder, and inuyasha titled her head back, and Kagome's mouth opened, inviting him in. he took it without a second thought, and kissed her as deep as he could. her desperateness was intermingling with his own soul. After a good minute, the kiss ended, and inuyasha pulled her away from him, so he could look into her eyes. "what was that about?" he whispered to her in a tone that was inaudible to humans, as he searched her sad eyes for an answer. She only shook her head, `it was just a bad nightmare, more like a night terror. It disturbed me, and I just needed to feel you, to make sure this was real."

He kissed the top of her head, "its real kagome, don't worry. I'm here, and ill always be here to protect you. So stop being stupid, and go back to sleep bitch."

Kagome gave him a sad smile, and kissed his forehead, "thank you koibito. I love you." He smiled back, and touched their foreheads together, "and I love you--itai!" he hissed. "what is it?" kagome asked worriedly. "Damn! That jewel of yours is on FIRE, what the hell?" she looked down into the depths of the cover, hoping he wouldn't know why it was reacting. "I don't know, maybe its because I was scared, my aura was flaring because of it, maybe it got hot as well. I don't know." Inuyasha thought for a second, "yeah, you're probably right. Get some sleep kagome, you look tired."

"Alright, thank you inuyasha, I don't know what id do without you." She said, pain lacing every word, as she closed her eyes, quickly being claimed by the darkness of sleep, thankfully, a dreamless one. Unbeknownst to her, her mate didn't fall asleep, as quickly, he still lay awake and perplexed at the strange actions of his new mate. `What's wrong kagome? What don't you want to tell me?'

_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_

Suteki: alright, so what you think?! You light the new plot twist. Yeah yeah, I know I gave Kagome's daughter the same name as my pen name, but aye, I like the name alright?! Any of youz got a problem with that? no? that's what I thought. Great, now I'm in angry-Italian mode. Hehe, alright, hope you guys are happy with the double update, hope it makes up for my recent absence. Okay, ill see you all soon!

Next Chapter: What Else Does This Thing Do? Kagome goes into the woods to meditate, she can feel that there's more to the newly arisen situation than meets the eye. `Why did it show me so much? And why do I feel the need to press on?'