InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Chosen ❯ The Journey Resumes ( Chapter 7 )

Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or any of the others on the show. However; Shadow, Death Strike, Faele (Fah Eel), Mikel (Me Kel), the Evenstar family, and Falcon are mine

 

Italics = thinking

“….” = talking, or singing

*….* = telepathic speech

 

 

Chapter 7: The Journey Resumes

 

Her soft sobbing had ceased shortly before dawn, but her scent was still that of a female in need and Sesshomaru fought to keep his instincts in check. For the moment he was content to simply be the one holding her as she underwent whatever ordeal she was experiencing. Occasionally she would flex her claws against his shoulder, through the fur of his tail; similarly to a cat's kneading, but each time she would whimper softly and bury her face deeper into his hoari.

 

His need to lash out at anything even remotely threatening had dissipated with her sobs, but he still felt like he needed to kill something. He could not understand himself… he had only felt the urge to strike out like this with Rin and only when the child was hurt. Even now he studied Shadow; wondering what in her inspired him to feel and act this way. Had she been any other female, he'd have simply left her as she was…but now he held her…tried to comfort her even…and had chased away the human female. What has gotten into this Sesshomaru? He thought as he watched the sun rise slowly over the horizon.

 

Sniffing gently, he could smell the sister and the wolf, Koga, nearby and coming closer…their scents coming from the direction of the forest. From the opposite came InuYasha's and his miko's scents and he snorted. It was obvious to him that the two sets had mated the previous night, but that still not explain why Shadow was acting so odd.

 

Glancing down, he was surprised to see her silver eyes staring up at him. She blinked once before swiftly disentangling herself from him…but not soon enough.

 

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Koga and Death Strike walked arm in arm up the path to Kaeda's, coming upon Sesshomaru and Shadow just as Shadow leapt from the taiyoukai's arms. Koga grinned, thinking that perhaps he hadn't been the only Lord to have had some fun the night before, but Death Strike suddenly gasped and slapped her hand over her mouth.

 

“Uh oh…” she murmured softly, but her sister still heard her.

 

Silver eyes flared brightly as Shadow rounded on her sister, growling low and menacingly. Death Strike cringed; whimpering softly under her sister's harsh gaze. Koga and Sesshomaru exchanged a confused glance as the Lord of the Western Lands got to his feet. The uneasiness and fear that radiated from Death Strike made both males glance at Shadow. They could tell she was very angry…but neither knew why.

 

Just then, Kagome made an appearance…only to come to a sudden halt between the twins, looking first from the cringing Death Strike to the still growling Shadow. InuYasha bounded up behind Kagome as the rest of the group exited Kaeda's hut. Uneasiness reigned as they waited for the sisters to do something…anything.

 

“Thank you SO MUCH for the shielding last night, sister!” Shadow spat at her twin through her growling. Death Strike's ears flicked back against her head as her sister continued to lecture her. “I can expect it from Kagome! But you know better! Between the two of you last night, I couldn't even get my own barriers up to block you out!”

 

“Sorry…” Death Strike muttered as she sank to her knees. She kept her eyes on the ground, knowing better than to look directly at Shadow for the moment.

 

Shadow sighed and her eyes reverted to normal. “Please, remember to shield your thoughts the next time you decide you want to have THAT much fun! You are excused from our practice session this morning…We will present your mate with his pendant and explain certain details this afternoon, AFTER I have had a chance to relax. InuYasha, you will be there as well, you will also being receiving a pendant…since you mated our cousin.” Shadow growled again and stalked away from the group; snapping open a gateway and disappearing through it.

 

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“What was that all about?” asked Kagome as the group sat around the God Tree a short while later.

 

“I forgot to shield my thoughts and feelings from the rest of the telepathic web last night…” murmured Death Strike sadly, “Shadow felt everything we were experiencing while we mated; as did everyone else in the web, I assume.”

 

“Tele-path-ic web?” questioned InuYasha as he sounded out the odd word.

 

“Each of our family members possesses the ability to communicate mind to mind, as you have all learned. Most of the Demon Fae have this ability. However, in our family each member is mind linked to the other…we can each feel each others thoughts and feelings at all times. The link is amplified through our pendants,” explained Death Strike, “Anytime we feel a strong emotion or sensation, it radiates through the web to the other family members, like ripples in a pond, unless the person experiencing it puts up a mental barrier or shield to keep the feeling from spreading.”

 

“And since I don't know how to do it, and you forgot….Shadow ended up…” Kagome gasped, fully comprehending just what her cousin was telling her.

 

“So why did I find her with her claws sunk into the side of a tree?” asked Sesshomaru coldly.

 

“She was probably trying to raise her own mental barrier….to block us out, but she failed to react quick enough and couldn't get the shield up. In order for her to keep her own desires in check, she embedded her claws into the nearest hard object. I've seen her bury her claws in stone before when Mikel has forgotten to put up his mental barriers. She was simply making sure she didn't do something stupid,” Death Strike shrugged.

 

“I wonder what she's doing now. She was so angry when she left,” muttered Sango, more to herself than anyone else…but they all still heard her.

 

“Let us find out, shall we?” replied Death Strike as she waved her palm across the air. Where her hand passed, the air shimmered, becoming silvery like a mirror. “Show me my sister,” she spoke simply and the `mirror' flashed, revealing to them just what Shadow was doing.

 

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Shadow stepped through the gateway into her bedroom at home in the future. Growling softly to herself, she walked to her closet and threw open the doors. She pulled out a pair of worn low-riding hip huggers and a backless halter top. Changing swiftly, she pulled her hair into a high ponytail, revealing the dragon and pentagram tattoo on her back. She was studying her reflection in the full length mirror beside the closet when someone knocked on her door.

 

“It's open,” she snapped, turning to see who it was. Mikel walked in, a grin plastered on his face as he greeted his sister.

 

“I thought I'd find you here. We felt your anger and hurt through the web even though you tried to shield it from us. A few of our younger siblings have decided that they would be safest hiding in their quarters while you are in this mood. I assume you were unable to successfully block their feelings from your mind last night,” Mikel chatted leisurely with her.

 

“Indeed,” she snapped back, irritated yet again.

 

“We felt it too…although we could block most of it. Everyone slips occasionally. You have done it as well…and Death Strike never reacted like this. Perhaps you are being too hard on her?” he questioned, sounding more like their father than like her brother.

 

“You sound like father,” she said with a chuckle, “You will fare well when your time as Lord comes. But I get off the subject. I am not overly upset with my sister…I expected this, to be honest. Soulmates can rarely ignore their initial attraction. Personally, I'm surprised that they managed to wait this long…”

 

“Then what is bothering you so, sister mine?” asked a confused Mikel.

 

“The fact that I woke up in Sesshomaru's lap is what's bothering me!” she hissed between clenched teeth.

 

“I see,” was Mikel's reply, “Am I correct in assuming you are attracted to him?”

 

“More so than I care to admit,” she snapped back, beginning to pace in front of her closet, “I don't understand it. He's cold, arrogant, a pain in the ass, and a…a dog!”

 

Mikel listened to her grumble about the taiyoukai and couldn't help but smile. “I can think of a certain sister of mine that is also those and more…although the cold is a façade and the arrogance is just for show. Perhaps you are attracted to him because you are so similar? Or maybe it's because he's your soulmate? Did you ever consider that? InuYasha is Kagome's soulmate, and Koga is Death Strike's….you've seen the silver bonds with your own second sight. Since you can't see your own soulmate bond…how do you know what you feel for him isn't what's meant to be?” Mikel pulled his sister into a hug, running a hand soothingly over her hair. “Perhaps you should simply try to get to know him. Get under his skin….like you did with Matthew…”

 

Shadow sighed and leaned against her brother. Perhaps she did need to give the Western Lord a chance. After all…he had held and comforted her willingly the night before. She sighed again and pulled away.

 

“Perhaps…I will give him a chance. But for now, I have two mate's pendants to acquire and a grave to visit.” Mikel barely had time to acknowledge his sister's wish before she had swept past him and out the door.

 

“She's too stubborn for her own good,” muttered Mikel with a shake of his head.

 

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Death Strike released the casting that allowed their small group to watch her sister and leaned against Koga. Her eyes met his as her sister's word sank in.

 

“Soulmates,” she whispered in awe, “No wonder we were so attracted to each other. Once they have met, soulmates are attracted to each other like magnets until they mate; at which point the need to mate will decrease.”

 

Koga, as well as everyone else, was speechless. Did this mean that he'd never had a chance with Kagome? Must be since I forgot about her so quickly, he thought as he glanced at said girl. Even as he thought about it, he assessed his feels and discovered that he saw Kagome as more of a sister, rather than a mate, now. His arms tightened around Death Strike's waist slightly as he glanced to InuYasha.

 

InuYasha sat with his back against the God Tree; Kagome snuggled comfortably in his lap. Both looked as shocked as Koga felt. Without thinking, Kagome wrapped her tail around InuYasha's waist as Shippo crawled into her lap. Suddenly she sat up straight, ears twitching.

 

“I sense a jewel shard,” she said softly, turning her pink gaze to her mate.

 

“Which way Kagome?” InuYasha asked as he lifted her from his lap and sprang to his feet, ready to head off after the shard.

 

“I think you might want to wait on running off, InuYasha,” stated Shadow bluntly as she stepped out from behind the Goshinboku.

 

“But…how…” sputtered InuYasha. None of them had sensed her presence.

 

“I just returned. I had hoped for a few moments peace, but it seems you have all been waiting for me since I left, no?” Shadow chuckled as she surveyed the group. They were getting restless. She could sense it and sighed. “Alright, let's get this gifting out of the way, explain what needs to be explained and have lunch. Then we can all go loping off after this shard that our cousin feels. Everyone alright with that?”

 

No one said anything to the contrary and Shadow smiled slightly. She presented Death Strike and Kagome with another silver pendant of the family crest and stepped back. Death Strike looked at Kagome and motioned for her to watch closely. Stepping in front of Koga, Death Strike slit her palm with her claw and placed the back of the pendant against the wound. Taking Koga's hand, she slit his palm as well before placing it over the top of the pendant. She turned slowly to look at her sister.

 

“I welcome to our bloodline, the mate of my heart, body, and soul, Koga. Lord of the Southern Lands and my equal in strength, cunning, and prowess; I deem him worthy of our house.” Death Strike's voice was clear and unwavering as she repeated the ritual binding of their house, adapting as was required for her individual mate. Shadow smiled as she felt Koga's presence flare slightly in the web. It was done.

 

Koga removed his hand from the pendant and everyone gasped. There in Death Strike's palm lay the pendant…but it was white as snow except for the dragon's scales…which were varying shades of blue. The group also noticed that the wounds on Koga's and Death Strike's hands had healed and that there was no trace of blood to be seen. Smiling, Death Strike reached forward and clasped the necklace around his neck. She ran her fingers over the pendant once more before pulling her own pendant from beneath her shirt. It was an exact match for the one Koga now wore. She looked to her sister and Shadow nodded once in approval. As one, both twins looked to Kagome; who swallowed hard.

 

Taking the pendant Shadow had given her, Kagome copied Death Strike's previous display: first cutting her palm, and then InuYasha's and enclosing the pendant between their bloodied palms.

 

“I welcome to our bloodline, the mate of my heart, body, and soul, InuYasha…” She paused, unsure of what to say next, but her heart told her what needed to be said and she continued, “Second born heir of the Western Lands, but no less a man for being the younger brother. He is my equal, my protector, and my friend. I deem him worthy of our house!” She stated clearly, letting her voice ring through the clearing and Shadow smiled.

 

After Kagome adorned InuYasha with the pendant; again it was white, but the dragon's scales were varying shades of pink and red as the pendant pulsed with pink light. Kagome's pendant had miraculously changed to match the one InuYasha now wore and everyone, including Death Strike, turned to Shadow for the explanation.

 

Shadow shrugged, knowing what they wanted to know. “It's very simple. You're soulmates. It is rare to find one's true soulmate, but when it happens you can tell because the pendants shift their color. Instead of being black they will become white, accented with color of the fae power,” Shadow turned to look at InuYasha and Koga, “Since you have mated with fae, the blood bond shared between you and your mate will allow you to access some of your mate's abilities. Both of you will not only have true forms, but fae forms as well now. You should both also be able to call upon certain of your mate's fae attacks…just as your mate will be able to access some of your own powers. It works both ways…the blood bond of a mated pair enables the mates to fight better in tandem. You are also tied into the telepathic web that binds each of our minds together. I think that's all you need to know at the moment. You will both be joining Kagome's training when it starts tomorrow morning. Now I think we should get some lunch.”

 

Turning on her heel, she walked away. Dumbfounded, they simply followed after her to Kaeda's hut.

 

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Midday the group set out after the jewel shard Kagome had sensed earlier in the day. They had had lunch with Kaeda and then InuYasha had taken Kagome home to get supplies. After a short good-bye to Kaeda, with each promising to look out for the other, they were on their way.

 

Their travel had been uneventful as evening fell. They had reached Koga's territory in record speed: Kagome riding on InuYasha's back while Sango, Miroku and Shippo rode on Kirara. Sesshomaru floated along side the fire neko as Koga raced along the ground with InuYasha. The twins also ran swiftly along the ground with the hanyou and ookami youkai. The girls laughed and exchanged jokes as they seemingly trotted alongside the racing males; irritating Koga and InuYasha to no extent.

 

As evening fell, they made camp near a hot spring and Kagome was almost immediately up for a bath. InuYasha moved to join her, but Sango, out of instinct, swatted him away. Kagome giggled and told InuYasha to stay at camp as she and Sango headed for the spring.

 

“Are we invited?” asked Shadow, an eyebrow perked slightly.

 

“Sure! The more the merrier!” giggled Kagome as the other two females rose to follow.

 

Minutes later, a sleeping Shippo didn't notice as the males snuck off one by one to spy on the women.

 

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Author's Note: Alright, hopefully this chapter wasn't too boring. I had a little bit of a block trying to write it. But I felt I needed to explain why I paired Koga and Death Strike so quickly. I may revise this chapter in the near future…but I'm not sure. I guess every story has the occasional boring chapter. Look for Ayame and Kikyo in upcoming chapters! What? You thought I was leaving them out? HA!

 

Response Reviews:

 

InuYashasLoveLorn: Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed…and will probably be single for another chapter or two. She and Sesshy need to realize that they are each others equals. Not to mention: hard head, arrogant…and a pain in the ass, lol. Sesshy is going to find out that Shadow can be just as cold…and ruthless…as can be.

 

Taeniaea: Updated as requested…hope you enjoyed and it wasn't too boring. Next chapter should be up in the next 48 hours.

 

Inu-Shinta: Hopefully, D.S.'s and Koga's fast paced relationship has been at least slightly explained. We'll have romance for them as the story moves along. I didn't think I really needed to go slow with Kags and Inu…they have enough sexual tension on the show lol. But they'll get romantic too. Of course…we'll have some kinkiness in here as well. I'm just twisted.

 

devilboy: I'm really glad you're enjoying the story. I had to add couple of chars so that I could hook Koga and Sesshy up. I couldn't make this a Sesshy/Kags/Inu, Inu/Kags/Koga or even an Inu/Kags/Sesshy/Koga story…I've got other ideas for those.

 

facsrne5: I've got niece working on fan art for me. Kagome is on her to-do list, along with Faele and Falcon…and my new bad guy. If I'm going to bring in good guys from the future, I'm sure as hell going to bring in a bad guy too! Lol. Shadow and Sesshy will get together soon…possibly in the next couple of chapters. I have to go slower with Sesshy since he's such a hard ass. As for true forms…I'm working on that...I haven't decided anything yet. I'm trying to keep my chapters about 4 pages long on media miner. It strikes me as a good length…besides four pages on media miner is like 6 or 7 in MS word. Keeping them short also helps me. I don't have to try to pack things in to make them longer and it gives me a nice breather between chapters. I like being able to sit back and think….helps me not to hit a wall. Also, I'm female.