InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Duty Of Blood ❯ Lords,Ladies,and Electric Shock ( Chapter 3 )

I don't own Yasha-Baby, but that's ok. I live with a real live Duo-clone! ^_^ As usual, I make no money from this fic, so don't bother to ask me for your share! Lol

The Duty of Blood
By Caliko

Chapter 3

Kagome heard a sigh from the pallet in the corner of the room and glanced up from the robe that she was sewing for Aika. The child was finally resting easily now that the congestion had cleared and her fever broke. Her formally sweat-damped silver hair was matted, resting lightly on her small curved back as she hugged her pillow in sleep.

:::Demon blood.:::: She thought, smiling. The small part that the child contained healed her tiny body faster than pure human genetics would.

"She is well." It wasn't a question. Kagome turned slightly to watch the tall youkai. His aura seemed to chill the room, rendering the fireplace useless. Sesshoumaru moved to stand over Aika and brought his clawed hand down on her brow, pushing the bangs off her forehead. "That is unusual, considering that she is human."

"Mostly human." The mother corrected. "Inu Yasha is her father, you know."

"Yes." He moved away to stare into the twins room, particularly at the young demoness that slept within. "Tell me - why are they the way they are?"

He didn't need to explain what he meant. Inu Yasha and Kagome wondered the same thing at first. One child was mostly human, the other mostly demon. Yet, they were twins, born within minutes from each other. Of course, the easy explanation was that they were fraternal twins… yet She didn't believe it. For one thing, Kagome had an ultrasound in her fifth month, and there was only one baby then. She hadn't began to really show until the seventh month, and then almost doubled her girth by her ninth month. Still, the Miko did have one theory.

"I think my miko powers began to purify her while still in my womb. But, to do that without harming the baby, it had to draw out all of her demon blood and power from the fetus slowly, allowing her to grow human flesh. I believe that the Shikon somehow intervened, causing the demon blood to form another child. Until my fifth month, Inu Yasha swore that there was only one scent, one heartbeat. After that, there were two - one human, the other youkai. I woke up almost a lot in the middle of the night, the Shikon Jewel glowing hot, making it seem almost daylight in here. I think at those moments, it was protecting both children from my power.

I don't know exactly how or why, but that's what happened. Before my fifth month, I had a normal pregnancy. A little morning sick, a bit tired. But nothing unusual."

Sessoumaru nodded, no expression on his face. "When you remarry, it should be to a human. You won't always have the Jewel to intervene."

Kagome arched her brow, reminded yet again how annoying her brother in law could be. "I won't remarry, ever." She said tartly. "Until you can show my Inu Yasha's body, I refuse to believe that he is dead."

Instead of reacting to her remark, he ignored her and headed for the door. "Pack what you wish to take with you tonight. The girl should be able to leave in the morning, and I won't be in this area again until next month."

Sesshoumaru left without giving her a chance to speak. Kagome huffed, annoyed and bitter that he was forcing her to leave the house that Inu Yasha had built for her. The man had no sense of sentimentality. Of course, what did she expect? That he had a heart?

:::That's not fair.::: The Miko thought, remembering the brief glimpse of pain she had seen in his eyes. :::He has a heart - he just doesn't know how to express himself.:::

She frowned, her huffing turning into sighs. She couldn't fight the demon, he was bigger and more powerful than she was. Even if she started to purify him, he could kill her before she finished. More than that, if she was dead, there would be no good, human influence on the girls. They'd be stuck with a cold, arrogant, inconsiderate jerk of a taiyoukai uncle. For all she knew, they'd end up just like him.

:::Over my dead body!::: She swore, then jumped when she heard his thoughts answer back to her.

:::That could be arranged, Miko. For the future, Inu youkai's tend to be more than a little telepathic where there is a blood tie. And, with the birth of your daughters, we do have that blood tie.::::

::::Asshole.:::: She frowned at the door, wishing he would come back just so that she could yell into his smirking face. :::That's just not fair!:::

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It was some sort of nightfall in the universe created by the fang. Inu Yasha stood on the balcony of his father's netherworld castle, gazing at the smooth, barren wasteland that lay before him. The glass-like ground glowed strangely, as if there was a light source deep within the worlds surface.

Unnerved, the Hanyou turned and walked over to the fire pit where his father sat warming sake. "Ok, Old Man, what's the first chore you have for me?" He asked, crouching on the floor across from his father. Inu Yasha was determined to get the whole thing over with. If he needed a cup of Sesshoumaru's blood to get out of here, he'd get it. He didn't know how, but he'd figure it out when he got that far.

Inutaisho leaned back on his elbows and smiled slowly. It was an evil look, one that promised torture and bloodshed, making Inu Yasha choke on the knot that rested in his throat.

"What's that look about, Pop?" For some reason, he suddenly knew that getting his brother's blood was the easy part.

"I am thinking of where to start, Boy. You see, I've been watching you for years - ever since you gained the fang. I've watched you argue with your mate, chase that corpse around Japan, try to kill your brother, curse around ladies, abuse that helpless kit, display obscene ingratitude when given help you desperately needed, and take everyone around you for granted. It would take me months to list all of your faults, Inu Yasha. You have that many. Luckily, you've fallen into my hands." The Taiyoukai's grin became wider, showing off his fangs. "I've decided that you can best earn your way out of here by learning how to correct your worst points."

Inu Yasha shuddered, his eyes swirling. "I'm not that bad!" He blinked. "I'm a good father!"

"What about when you tried to teach Aika to track?"

"What do you mean? She did good!" :::Don't say it! Don't say it!::: Inu Yasha pleaded silently.

"She was lost for two days."

:::He said it.::: "She found home! And, she learned how to use her nose!"

"She was hysterically crying, covered in bee stings, and had a rash on her ass from wiping herself with a poisonous plant when she did her business. Not only that, she only found home by accident when that bird youkai dropped her through your roof."

"How was I to know she'd try to eat it's eggs?"

His father shook his head. "Boy, Sesshoumaru was at least ten years old when I began to teach him to track, and I NEVER left him alone in the middle of the forest until he was sixteen!"

"You think Aika was too young?" Inu Yasha winced, seeing his father's point.

"She was four years old!" The older Youkai growled. "You see what I mean, Boy? You never think things through! That's what we're going to work on first! You need to learn to think!"

:::Ok, this doesn't seem too bad. And maybe the old man is right. Maybe I do need to learn to think before I act.:::: Out loud, the Hanyou asked, "How?"

Inutaisho smiled. "I'm glad you asked, Pup. I'm glad you asked." He held up these two round disks attached to wires, that were attached to some machine that looked as if they belonged to Kagome's time. "We're going to use this."

Inu Yasha smirked. "And what's that supposed to do?"

His father merely smiled. "When you went to visit the future, you left your sword at the temple when you had to go out. I watched a lot of that telly-veesion thing. I got the idea for this from one of those plays where there were people trying to win prizes. Every time they answered a question wrong, they jumped, screaming. It has something to do with some magic power that hurts them when they pushed a button on this thing. I thought it looked useful, so I created one the same way I made my palace. But, instead of answering questions, you will have to study these books on manners." The older man patted a stack of books that appeared next to his leg. "Every time you do something wrong, or say something crass, your going to get hit with it's magic. If I have you recite poetry, or pretend to compliment your mate, and you say something wrong, your going to get hit with it. In short, when ever you start to act like your normal self, your going to hurt."

"Pop, that's crazy!"

"Hmmm.. they called it electric shock treatment on that telly-whatever thing."

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Sesshoumaru grimaced as his sister-in-laws complaints became louder and more bloodthirsty in his mind. She had stopped muttering them under her breath about an hour ago, but mentally, she was far from done. At this rate, he was worried that he would never survive the next fifty years or so with the woman living under his roof. He would be driven insane within six months.

That, he could not allow. He would be better off sending them to one of his brothers estates, but he knew that the Miko would not be capable of training them properly. Also, Tai was his only heir at this point, until he had children of his own. She would need to learn what it meant to be a Youkai lady.

The Taiyoukai didn't spare any thought to the other twin. As a human, she wouldn't be accepted by the other nobles of his class. She could easily be married off to a human lord, which was his intention, but none from his society would accept a mostly human hanyou for a mate. A concubine, maybe. But that, too, was unacceptable for one of her birth.

Sesshoumaru felt his stomach twist, and realized that it was time for him to hunt. Leaping into the trees, he made his way into the heart of Inu Yasha's Forest, and waited for likely prey. Once again, his thoughts ran in the direction of his newly extended family. Keeping Tai with him was a necessity. However, the other one could be sent, with her mother, to the estate that was left to his brother on his father's death. No one would dare ostracize the girl for her human blood, since it was originally a human settlement before his sire conquered it. The hair, of course, would have to be veiled, but no other precautions would be necessary.

Still, the Miko would not be able to teach her what she would need to know. Another Lady would have to be installed as Aika's tutor. Or, better yet, kill two birds with one stone. Marry the mother to a human lord with a domineering mother still living. The Mother-in-law would take over the running of the castle and the training of both mother and daughter.

He smirked as he imagined the fights that would break out between the Miko and the Mother-in-law. Amusing as it would be, it was too early to make the decision. First, Kagome would have to come out of her mourning. Second, he would have to find a likely bridegroom.

He caught a scent in the air and froze. His prey was nearby. Shutting down his more civilized functioning, he allowed his beast to come out to play. It was time to satisfy his hunger.

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Kagome opened her eyes, instinctively knowing that she was being watched. She wasn't frightened, as she trusted Sesshoumaru to protect her. He had been serious about explaining his duty to her, as head of the Western Inu Clan, and protection of the females and pups were the number one priority. Also, as the minutes wore, she recognized the intruders aura. It was only Shippo.

"Shippo-kun?" She rolled over and opened her eyes. Sitting on the ground facing her, the young Kitsune teen waited for her to wake up. "What are you doing here?"

"Kagome… I heard some rumors in the forest. About Inu Yasha." He looked worried, and she could tell that he didn't want to tell her.

"I know, Shippo. Sesshoumaru already told me what had happened."

"Sesshoumaru?!? Are you alright? Did that Bastard hurt you?" He was growling low in his throat, as if he wanted to hit the older youkai.

"I'm fine, Shippo. I also don't believe that Inu Yasha's dead. I didn't mention this to Sesshoumaru, but I can still sense him. I don't know where he is, but he didn't leave us yet."

"Kagome…" There was pity in the boy's eyes. "Don't do this to yourself. From what I heard, nothing could have survived that explosion."

"He's still alive." The Miko insisted, her expression closing off. "I swear, Shippo, I can still feel him."

"What are you going to do, then, until he comes back." For now, the Kitsune wouldn't push her.

She grimaced, then pushed her hair off of her face. "Sesshoumaru is taking us to his castle. He said that the girls need to be trained to take over Inu Yasha's lands, and that they can't do that here."

"Inu Yasha had land?" Shippo's eyes went wide. "Why were you living in this hut if he had estates of his own?"

Kagome smirked a little, "I don't think Sesshoumaru ever told him that he had an inheritance. It would be like him to keep it to himself if it made Inu Yasha miserable."

"But Inu Yasha was happy here with you."

"Yup. Sesshoumaru doesn't realize that there are more important things than possessions, I suppose."

"Do you want to go?" The Kitsune asked.

"No. I'm afraid that Inu Yasha will come back while we're gone. But I don't think Sesshoumaru will give us a choice."

"No, he won't."

"Will you stay here for me, Shippo-kun? And let him know where we are?"

Shippo bit his lip, torn. He didn't believe that Inu Yasha was still alive. The descriptions of the blast were too horrible, the pictures in his head too realistic. They sounded like something the Hanyou would do to win a battle, and he had seen death too often in his young life to believe that anyone was immortal. Plus, he wanted to be with his foster mother in case she needed him. And yet, he couldn't say know to her.

Instead, he compromised. Sango and Miroku should be back from the exterminators village within the month. With the village slowly being repopulated, they were still needed to teach the young and supervise the housing of the new villagers. Still, they came back often, at least once a month or so. Shippo would stay in Inu Yasha's forest until he could have them watch over the little hut. Then, he would join his mother in the domain of the evil Inu Youkai.

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TBC

Ok.. how was that? I'm sorry it's going so slow, but at least this is longer than 3 pages! ^_^ Will work harder next chappie, k? Don't forget to read and review. I might be able to tear the chappies out faster if I get some encouragement. Anywayz, tell me what you think, k?

Caliko