InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Reunion ❯ Chapter Twenty-six: More surprises ( Chapter 26 )

Chapter Twenty-six

A/N: Greetings. I have an announcement. Summer vacation has started. This means that my chapters will probably be farther apart. I will make an effort to keep them at one a week but I can make no promises. I have been getting requests for a sequel to 'Be Careful What You Say'. I am going to begin that in the near future. And my daughters have made a request of me. Since I have figured out what I was doing wrong to post my stories on Fanfiction, they want me to do a Harry Potter story that I had discussed with them. (They are in the story as exchange students, with me as the new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, teaching non-magic tactics to deal with magic attacks. And convincing students that muggles can be dangerous.) I can hear the laughter. Plus my wife is wanting me to begin on my novel, since that has a 'chance to make money' as she puts it. Thank you for the wonderful reviews. I appreciate all of them and I have been getting great reviews on Fanfiction, as well. I don't own Inuyasha. My oldest does own a rosary like his, except for the sit part.

Kagome didn't know where she was going, she just knew that she had to get out of that garden as fast as possible. Her eyes were filled with tears of pain, anger, and resentment. 'How could she do that to him? To us? She had no right to bind Inuyasha in such a way!' As she ran, fury and despair built inside of her. It seemed that the fates were against her and Inuyasha. When they surmounted one obstacle, another would rise up in it's place. Finally, she could run no more and she collapsed in room that she had run into. She hugged her knees to her chest and sobbed. 'It's not fair! I've done everything to have him. He's mine and I'm not going to let some old girlfriend take him from me now!' But a little doubt rose in the back of her mind. 'But what if I can't have him? What if this binding keeps us apart?' "What are we going to do?" she moaned to herself.

"I don't know yet, but we'll think of something." came a voice from the door. Inuyasha stepped into the room and gathered Kagome into his arms as he sank to the floor next to her. "My soul may be bound to her, but my heart is yours, Kagome. And that won't change."

Kagome leaned into his embrace and sobbed against his chest. After she had calmed she lifted her head to look into her beloved's eyes. "Inuyasha, is there any way to break the binding?"

"I don't know of anything other than death and I'm not ready to kill Yukiho over this just yet."

"Of course not! I wouldn't suggest that though I felt like killing her when she told us that she had bound your soul. I think I understand what she was trying to do but it was still wrong. It's almost like she raped you or something."

Inuyasha shuddered. "Yeah. It does feel strange and it does explain some things."

"Like what?"

"Well, I haven't felt exactly the same as I did before I was pinned to the tree. I just assummed that it was because I had been sleeping for fifty years, but now I see it for what it was."

Kagome raised her eyebrow in question.

"Well, it's kind of like a drain on me. Sometimes I would feel a little off, not weak or tired, just not on top of everything. It's hard to explain."

"And you think that was because of her binding to your soul?"

"That would be the pluasible explanation." Sesshoumaru's voice came from the doorway.

"And just what do you know about it?" asked the irate Inuyasha.

"More than you would believe, brother." Sesshoumaru regarded his brother for a moment. "You do realize that the easiest course of action would be to dispose of this human who has bound you to her. I could do that if you are too squemish about slaying a human."

"No, Sesshoumaru." protested Kagome. "I won't allow you to kill her. She may have done something wrong, but she had good intentions."

'You won't allow me to kill her? Your audacity never ceases to amaze me little miko.' Sesshoumaru thought. He regarded her in silence for a moment. "Good intentions are no excuse. Many people have had good intentions, but it didn't save them from hell."

Kagome blinked at the closeness to the old adage that Sesshoumaru had come. 'I know that I've never said that around him! The saying must be even older than I thought.' She pushed the errant thought aside. 'I have more important things to think about than an old idiom!' "I still don't want her dead. It might hurt Inuyasha."

"Feh!"

"Perhaps and perhaps not. Our father survived a broken life bound when my mother died and then took Inuyasha's mother as his mate. Our blood is strong enough to survive the death of a mate."

Inuyasha looked at his brother. Something about the way he said that made him think that he knew that their blood was strong enough, and not because of family pride.

"I still don't want to take that chance. Are there any other ways to break the bond?"

"There may be a way. I have heard of rumors that a bond can be broken if certain conditions are met."

"And what are those conditions? I don't like the idea that my soul is tied to someone I don't want it to be tied to."

"Before I tell you of the conditions, I believe we need to return to the garden. I must have certain information that only this human woman can provide."

"Think you can handle it Kagome?"

"Yes, I can handle it. The main reason I left the garden was to keep from tearing that wench apart! Inuyasha snorted I want to find out how to get this woman out of our lives."

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Yukiho started to follow Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru but was stopped by Miroku's staff.

"I believe that they need time alone." he stated, flatly.

"Yukiho, you have some explaining to do." Lady Mariko sounded very upset.

"Indeed." Lord Genki did not sound pleased with Yukiho. "You have lived with us for all these years with us under the impression that you were Inuyasha's mate."

"But I am his mate!"

"He is bound to you by a mating ritual. It is not the same thing and you know it!" Sango was vehement in her reply. "He does not love you!"

"He does! I know that deep down, he still loves me."

"That is not all that you need to explain." Lord Genki was still very angry.

Yukiho blanched. "My lord, please forgive me, but can I wait to explain that until Inuyasha comes back. I want to tell him this first. Then I will tell all of you."

"Yukiho, you have hidden much from us as it is. We deserve an answer."

Sango and Miroku were mystified. What else could she be hiding?

"I know, my lord." Yukiho was on the verge of tears. "I have never lied to you. You must believe me."

Before Genki could reply to that, a figure appeared in the doorway to the garden. "Mom!" the figure called, and then rushed to Yukiho's side with inhuman speed. The figure was a young woman. On closer examination, a young inu-youkai hanyou woman. She had black hair that was as long as Inuyasha's and the black ears on top of her head that marked her as a hanyou. "I heard that you had fainted, mom. Are you alright?"

"Yes, dearest, I'm fine. I just recieved a shock and I fainted." She smiled at the concerned look in her daughters eyes. "I'm fine!"

"And who is this lovely creature?" asked Miroku. His face had taken on that look that he gets around beautiful women. And Sango's face was taking on that look that she gets when he gets around beautiful women!

Jaken, who had been in the background during all the excitement, looked at the young hanyou woman and paled. "Takara!" he whispered, hoarsely.

The woman's ears twitched on her head, and she turned to face the toad demon. "Why, yes! That is my name. How did you know it?"

Jaken's face paled even more and he began to rock in place and moan.

Rin had stayed near to Jaken because she knew that her lord would want her to stay near to the toad demon. She was looking at him in concern. "Jaken?" she asked, tentatively. "Are you alright, Jaken-sama?"

Jaken gulped loudly and tore his eyes from Takara's face. "I have to find Lord Sesshoumaru!" he all but shrieked and spun towards the door that Sesshoumaru had exited earlier. Before he could get out the door though, Sesshoumaru appeared there with Inuyasha and Kagome.

"I am here, Jaken. What is it that you..." he broke off when he caught sight of Takara. He stiffened and his face went white. "Who are you?" he demanded, in a low growl.

"That is not a very polite way to ask a person's name." said Takara, with a cocked eyebrow.

"I asked you you're name. Give it to me."

"Very well. My name is Takara."

Sesshoumaru's face got even paler. Inuyasha was staring at his brother and was starting to become concerned. Nothing had ever rattled Sesshoumaru like this, not even losing his arm!

Miroku chose this moment to begin his antics. "Ah, Takara! An appropriate name for a lovely woman for you are indeed a treasure. Would you do me the honor of bearing my child?" he asked, taking her hand in his.

No one expected the next reaction. Sesshoumaru growled in rage and leaped at Miroku with every intent of tearing him limb from limb. Only Inuyasha's reflexes were enough to tackle Sesshoumaru before he reached the very startled monk. "Keep your filthy hands off of her!" he raved. Sesshoumaru struggled against Inuyasha's grip and then broke free. Inuyasha placed himself between Sesshoumaru and Miroku. Lord Genki's guards had come up to encircle the group and to get between the enraged demon and their lord. Sesshoumaru backed off and circled until he was between Miroku and Takara. She had a very surprised look on her face.

"Eh, look. I appreciate your concern for me but I can handle people like him. I've been doing it for years." She cocked her head to one side. "Besides, why should you care? You don't know me."

Sesshoumaru turned his head to look at the hanyou girl more closely. His eyes traveled from her face to her feet and back until they came to rest on her ears. He took a deep breath and shook himself. His face took on a calmer look, relaxing back into it's normal expression of cool dispassion. "Indeed." he answered. "You are correct. I don't know you."

Lord Genki was in a quandary. He did not wish to offend the visiting demon lord and yet this action needed to be addressed. "Lord Sesshoumaru." he said, to get the demon's attention. He cleared his throat. "Would you care to explain your actions?"

"No, I would not." Sesshoumaru looked at Takara again before speaking to Genki again. "I will be in the main audiance chamber. Send a servant there to escort me to my room at the inn. We will continue this interview with the human woman who has bound Inuyasha at a later time."

"You presume much, Lord Sesshoumaru. This is my house."

Sesshoumaru looked at Lord Tanaka with cool appraisal. He nodded his head in acknowledgement of the implied rebuke. "In light of my actions, I would ask your pardon for my lack of courtesy. I am accustomed to treating humans as inferiors, not equals. Now, I need to take my leave so that I may regain complete control of myself. " Without waiting for a reply from Lord Genki, Sesshoumaru turned on his heel and started to leave the chamber. Kagome stopped him.

"Sesshoumaru?" He stopped but didn't turn to face her. "Are you alright? Can we help?"

"Thank you for your concern, little miko, but some wounds cannot be healed." Without another word, Sesshoumaru left the chamber.

"What was that all about?" Miroku was shaking slightly in reaction. The rage on Sesshoumaru's face had been directed at him and it hadn't been a pleasant sight.

"Damned if I know. He was acting like he was protecting a mate or something. My brother has always been a little crazy, if you ask me."

Jaken, who had been watching his lord's retreat, spun on Inuyasha in anger. "Don't say that about my lord. You don't know what he has endured or what that girl reminded him of!" Jaken bit off any further remarks. Any other information was his lord's to give, not his.

"Spill it, Jaken. What set Sesshoumaru off like that?"

"Indeed, Jaken. I do not wish to offend him again."

Jaken snorted. "Like I care." He sighed. "Let's just say that the girl and her name remind him of someone and leave it at that. Keep your hands and comments to yourself and stay out of his way and maybe you'll live. Anything else you want to know, you'll have to ask him." Jaken turned to follow his lord. "Come on, Rin. Our lord needs us."

"Coming Jaken." Rin turned to Shippou. "We'll see each other later. Bye."

Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, and Sango looked at each other then at Takara and Yukiho. Takara had moved to stand next to her mother.

"Okay Takara, something about you would set of my brother like that. He acted very wierd, even for him."

"I have no idea, but he knew my name and so did that little toad demon."

"And your sure you've never met him?"

"I've never left this city. I have lived with my mother in the manor for my whole life."

"So, Yukiho. Is this the child you told us of?" Miroku asked this question as he watched Kagome to see how she was reacting to this daughter of Yukiho's.

"Yes, she is. And it is alright to speak about her adoption, she knows that I didn't give birth to her."

"Yes, I know. And I love her just as if she had given birth to me. She took me in when anyone else would have left me to die."

"Well, I couldn't leave her to die, not with her parents as my friends and with me being mated to a hanyou."

"I AM NOT YOUR MATE!" roared Inuyasha.

Takara looked at him in amazement. "Not your mate?! You mean you're Inuyasha?! Mother has told me all about you! She has been so lonely without you! How can you say that you aren't her mate? Did you forget that she was mated to you before that miko pinned you to a tree? We'll have to get you to remember! Mom's really great and she will make you very happy."

Inuyasha was getting a shell-shocked look. He didn't know a girl could talk so fast. Her next statement froze his blood, though.

"We have to tell Inutaro! He will be so pleased!"

Inuyasha turned his head, slowly, to face Yukiho. "Inutaro?" he asked, very low, almost a whisper. "Who is Inutaro?"

Yukiho paled and bowed her head. Her face had turned very pale. "Inuyasha. There is something I need to tell you."

Kagome was getting a very bad feeling. 'I'm not running out, this time. I don't care what she says, I am not going to leave Inuyasha's side!'

Takara was looking at her mother in amazement. "Mom! Aren't you going to tell him?"

"Takara, there is more here than meets the eye." Yukiho couldn't look at her daughter. "I haven't told you the whole truth about me and Inuyasha."

"Mom, you're scaring me!" The Hanyou girl was getting a confused look on her face. "What's going on?"

Before she could answer, they heard running footsteps in the hall. A young man came to a skidding halt in the doorway and rushed into the room. "Mom!" he yelled. "I got here as fast as I could. Are you alright?"

Inuyasha and his friends stared at the new arrival in shock. It was hard to say what they noticed about him most. Maybe it was his hair; it was waist length, gray and tied into a pony tail. Maybe it was his eyes, they were streaked amber and brown. Or maybe it was his ears. They were on the sides of his head, like human ears, but they weren't human, nor were they dog ears like Inuyasha's and Takara's. They were swept up in a graceful curve, like an elves, and covered in gray fur.

"Inutaro!" called Takara. "Come here! There's someone here you have got to meet."

Inutaro ran to his mother's side. When he got there, he looked at the assembled group in front of his mother. "Mom? Who are these people?" His hand went to the hilt of his sword when he looked at the faces Inuyasha and his friends. Inuyasha face was pale with anger. Kagome's face was pale with shock. Miroku's face was impassive, but he had grounded his staff and was holding it in front of him with both hands as if he were making ready to use it. Sango was behind Kagome and had her hands on her shoulder's, lending support.

"Yukiho." Inuyasha's voice was low and full of threat. "Who is this?"

Yukiho had a look of shame on her face, until she looked at Kagome. Then she straightened and looked her straight in the eye. "Inuyasha," Inutaro's eyebrows shot up, "I would like you to meet your son." she finished in triumph, thinking to herself, 'Take that, witch! I told you he was my mate and I am not letting him go!'

A/N: Finally! Man, this has been a hard one to write. It has gone through two rewrites because I didn't like the flow. It still seems a little off, but I think that it will be alright. I am going to try and tie up some loose ends in the next chapter, like how Inutaro could be Inuyasha's son. By the way, -taro means strong or first born son, so Inutaro means Inu's first born son. Takara means treasure. This story has a lot left to it, so please be patient while I get it sorted out and written. Adios!