InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Longest Journey ❯ Shards of Her Soul ( Chapter 9 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Chapter 9: Shards of Her Soul

Kagome and Suma sat outside in the formal gardens near the front of the shiro a month and a half after she'd first arrived. It was a beautiful day, and as such, Kagome had decreed that, if they had to spend it working, they'd do it outside, so they could at least take advantage of the weather. Not to mention which, the gardens had finally been finished, and were once again blooming beautifully, as the gardens of a wealthy and powerful daiyoukai should be.

The two females had become fast friends, even though, to begin with, the youkai woman had tried to keep the proper Mistress/Servant relationship between them, being that it was with Kagome, that hadn't worked, and she'd finally given up after the Lord had taken her aside and given her permission to treat Kagome the way she wanted to be treated.

Suma looked down at her lists, and began to smile. The next item on the agenda to be refurbished was the Lady's suite of rooms, and she was going to enjoy this. Sugimi-sama had already spoken to her about what he wanted to see in his Lady's rooms in the way of comfort... but had left all decorating up to her, and now, it was time to begin readying her rooms. Once they were done, they'd be gorgeous.

"So, Suma, what's our next two projects?"

Eyes twinkling, Suma smiled over at her. "Reading my mind again, Kagome-sama. I was just looking over the list. Next up: your rooms."

Kagome shook her head. "No, those can wait - they're not that bad. There are other places around here that need the attention much worse."

Suma sighed. "No, Kagome-sama, Sugimi-sama gave me strict instructions about this. His rooms have already been done - and he wants yours done next. There is no changing his mind on this."

Kagome frowned. "But... we're only courting, Suma, what if he decides we won't suit, after all? Then whoever he does find to take as a mate will be stuck with rooms decorated the way I like. This should really wait 'til he's sure I'm what he wants."

Suma stared at her incredulously. "Kagome-sama, don't you know anything about courting and mating? I mean, from what I understood, you traveled with the Lord's younger hanyou son for several years, and a youkai taijiya, plus you know the Lord's eldest, Sesshoumaru-sama of the West. How can you not know?"

"Umm, know what?" She shook her head, confused. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Taking in a deep breath, Suma let it out, then smiled. "Okay. Sugimi-sama is courting you, right?" At Kagome's nod, she continued. "The courtship isn't for his sake, Kagome-sama. It's for yours. He already knows what he wants, and as soon as you decide what you want, and that you are ready for him, he will mate you." At Kagome's shocked blush, she grinned. "As far as Sugimi-sama is concerned, you're already the Northern Lady - his Lady."

Kagome sat back on her heels. "Huh. Well... I had no idea. Look, uh, he already told you what he wants done in the rooms, right? As Suma nodded, she smiled. "Fine. Then the only things I care about furniture wise, is I want a futon that is somewhat more elevated off the floor than is traditional. If it's needed, I can sketch the design of the piece, and that can be taken to the carpenters so they can have a blueprint of what I want."

She tapped a dainty finger against her chin in thought. "As for colors... let's see. What are my Lord's colors, anyway?"

"Red, blue, black, and white."

"Ah. Okay. I want a contrasting scheme of black and white - and offset with accents of red. I think that's enough to go on for now - and I have something I need to speak to my Lord about." She stood up quickly. "You know where to find me if you need me, Suma. Talk to you later!" She flew off down the path back to the front entrance to the palace, leaving a startled youkai woman behind her wondering what had gotten into her friend.

While Kagome had been listening to Suma, something had occurred to her - and she wondered if Sugimi had even thought about it. He hadn't been around his youngest son, since he'd died the day Inuyasha was born, but Kagome had, and she was suddenly afraid. Inuyasha struggled to control his blood, to keep his youkai side from overwhelming his mind and turning him into a vicious killer.

It had suddenly come to Kagome... she couldn't even consider putting a potential child of hers through that. She really needed to talk to him - now. This could change everything with Sugimi - she knew, as the Lord of the North, he'd need an heir - and she couldn't give him one that could conceivably become a crazed murderer. She couldn't.

Finally tracking him down to the dojo, she burst in, only to be caught off guard to see her Lord, along with another attractive youkai male, in the middle of a sparring session. Sitting down quietly, she just watched, enjoying the show.

Both males were bare-chested, and Kagome stared hard at Sugimi, unable to look away. As if he weren't gorgeous enough with all those clothes on, he was even more divine without them - and suddenly, she found herself swallowing very hard when she thought of sharing a bed with him, arousal zinging instantly through her body.

Completely unaware of the fact that her aroused scent had been caught by both males, she was quite startled when they stopped their sparring session, and Sugimi suddenly growled dangerously at the other youkai - obviously warning him away - as his eyes bled red and he leapt towards her, crouching over her, glaring at the offending male.

The other youkai, eyes flashing between red and his normal ice-blue, scented the air nervously, and then stared at the feral Lord, unsure of whether to challenge or not - but had his mind made up for him in a hurry when Sugimi let forth with a thunderous growl that shook the entire dojo, and unleashed his aura. The other male could not hope to compete, and fled the scene without a backward glance.

Kagome had been shocked out of her aroused state by the behavior of the two, and was completely confused as to what had just happened, when Sugimi turned towards her and pounced, still growling, only now, with a more seductive tone rather than a dangerous one. Without really thinking about it, just going on instinct, she tilted her head back and bared her throat - and he purred, nuzzling her neck, and licking her courting mark. She didn't know what was going on, but having him hover over her, purring, and kissing and licking her neck, was certainly worth it.

After a few minutes, Sugimi sat back, and his eyes were golden again. She looked up at him, and he could read the confusion in her eyes. Chuckling, he pulled her into his lap, and holding her tightly to his chest, he nuzzled along her cheekbone, dropping little kisses on the velvet skin.

"Kagome, my love, your scent is just too enticing - I almost lost it." Breathing in deeply, he grinned. She can't help the way she reacts to me any more than I can help how I react to her.

"Unfortunately, it's enticing to other males, as well. That, I could do without. I can see that I'm going to have to keep a close watch on you, my love. You are just entirely too dangerous to let wander around - at least, till you're marked as mine. Then they'll all leave you alone."

That topic brought back her earlier fear, and she sat back with huge, worried eyes, staring up at him unhappily.

"That reminds me of why I came in here, Sugimi. I don't think I can be your mate," she said, brokenly, as tears filled her eyes.

He frowned at her, tightening his grip on her and holding her to him quite forcefully.

"And why not?"

"You'll need an heir, won't you? For these lands, now? she asked, softly.

"Yes, but what has that to do with anything?"

"If we had a child, they would be hanyou, my Lord. And their blood..." she trailed off miserably, before finishing her sentence, "well, just like Inuyasha's - it would be unstable. I can't do that to a child, Sugimi! I've seen the pain and fear it's caused Inu, I wouldn't want to do that to a child of mine..."

He chuckled, beginning to relax as he realized what the problem was.

"You don't have to worry about that, my dear. The reason that Inuyasha suffers with that affliction is that my blood overpowers his mother's ningen blood, ne?" As she nodded, he smiled. "But your blood, Kagome, is different. Inuyasha's mother had no innate power of her own, she was only ningen. Your blood is not quite the same- no ningen with power of their own has blood that's the same as a ningen without power. My blood will not overpower yours, it will blend with it - seamlessly. Any pups we have will be very powerful, and will not share Inuyasha's affliction."

Kagome sat back and stared into his eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely, Kagome." He sighed, and asked, "Since you are already here, we may as well begin the next stage of training, love. Are you up to it?"

She nodded. "What's the next stage?"

"It's time for you to start learning to control the power in the jewel. We only have a few more weeks before we need to leave, love, and I want you familiar with all aspects of the blasted thing before we step foot outside my lands."

She grinned up at him, a mischievous twinkle in her eye, and slid a slender hand down his chest. "Well, I'm ready, but I don't know about you, my Lord. Maybe you should put some clothes on?"

He groaned, shooting her a hot look as he settled her on the mat in front of him, and stood to go retrieve his haori and under-haori. "Do not tease me, my love, or I will not be responsible for my actions. I've had to search out enough cold water to drown the entire palace since I met you - you seem to have a rather detrimental effect on my control."

She blinked innocently up at him. "But my Lord... why would you need cold water?"

At his incredulous look, she fell over with hysterical laughter. "N-no, it's okay, Sugimi, you really don't need to explain it, I was only kidding." She waved her hands at him as she vainly attempted to calm down. "Oh, k-kami, dear one, your face...!"

Her laughter trailed off as he stopped and stared at her with an enigmatic look in his eyes. "You know, that's the first time you've called me an endearment like that, Kagome," he said softly. "I like it."

She smiled up at him. "Well, it just sort of slipped out... because it's true. You are dear to me," she said back just as softly.

He moved back over to her and ran a soft hand down her face, some indefinable emotion in his eye, before he blinked, and his normal, all-business expression took over. Dropping his hand, he sat before her again, and asked her a question.

"What do you know about the jewel, Kagome?"

Her brow furrowed in thought. "Not much, really. I know it was created by Midoriko from her soul as the only way to contain the souls of the youkai she was fighting at the time, and that even the smallest shard of it can grant the holder a great deal of power."

"Have you ever wondered why, though?"

She tilted her head in confusion, not sure what he was asking.

"The jewel, simply put, is part, only part, mind you, of her soul. A miko's soul. Naraku looks to complete the jewel so he may be granted a single wish. However, does that not, with what you know of the jewel, seem a little bit wasteful? To make one wish on a whole jewel, or to take shards of it, and use them as a power source, over and over - one that will never run out? Which would you rather?"

"Well... well, if that's the case, why is he looking to complete the jewel instead of just keeping most of the shards?"

"Because that whole make a wish on the completed jewel is a load of shit, to put it bluntly, my dear. What he's really after is Midoriko's soul - your soul, love. It is you that are the well-spring of the power that everyone is after. When Midoriko first created the jewel, it carried nowhere near the power that it does now - because your soul has gotten so much larger, and more powerful, so has the jewel."

He stared into her eyes, impressing her with the seriousness of what he was telling her.

"You, my dear, are the Shikon jewel, and it's your soul Naraku is after, not some little round bauble that is actually nothing more than a focus for you and everyone else who attempts to use it. It is your soul that contains the power that he is drawing upon. All I'm going to show you how to do is take back control."

She looked at him for several minutes, processing what he'd told her and then nodded once, sharply.

"Let's do this."

---zZz---

A couple of hours later a glowingly energetic Kagome opened her eyes and stared at Sugimi, who was smiling, pleased with her quick grasp of the things he'd shown her. But there were still a few questions she had for him...

"I understand what you've told me, but, honestly, if the jewel is merely just a focusing mechanism, and Naraku knows this, knows about my soul, then why hasn't he already made himself into a full demon? That's what he's been after all this time... kinda like Inuyasha, to tell the truth," she frowned, that thought just occurring to her.

"Because it isn't enough to just have the jewel, he needs to control you. Once he gains the entire jewel, then, he would be coming after you - he can't kill you, but he can break you, in order to have complete control of you, he only needs your soul, not your mind." He grinned and pulled her into his lap, tucking a strand of hair back behind her ear.

"Needless to say, I've just pulled his teeth. Now that you know the truth, you aren't vulnerable to him anymore, but I'm really going to enjoy it when he tries something against you, and it turns back on him. He's such an arrogant bastard."

Kagome laughed. "Oh, and you're not?"

He drew her closer, his eyes going from amused, to something deeper, something hotter and older. "No, love, I'm not," he said, huskily, "I'm just powerful, and don't waste my time on false modesty." The last few words were breathed against her lips, and then, suddenly, he sealed them with his own.

Kagome's eyes had first widened, then began to drift closed when she realized what he was doing, and it was only helped along by the way his voice went deep and silky on the last words. But the feel of his lips touching hers shocked her so deeply with the immediate, and extremely powerful, jolt of electricity that rushed through her, that she gasped, and he instantly took advantage, taking her mouth in a passionate and primal tasting.

This was a conquering kiss, where he overwhelmed her, and took what he wanted, and it turned her on more than anything she'd ever envisaged.

Flooded by sensations she hadn't ever known, she went limp in his arms, unable to concentrate on anything but what he was doing to her with his lips and tongue. Nothing else could ever feel this good, she was sure, and a surge of sheer want went through her, a fire that was only fed by his little nips and tugs on her lips.

Sugimi almost lost all control the moment he tasted her for the very first time, and he had to fight, hard, not to take her right there on the dojo floor. He wanted to wait 'til Naraku was dead - but he was no longer sure he'd be able to hold out. As she moaned into his mouth, desire surged through him, only flaring higher within him when he caught the renewed scent of her arousal. He knew then that he could take her now, and she wouldn't turn him away.

Drifting away from her lips, he nipped and kissed his way down her throat, once again heading for her courting mark, and suckled at it until the whole area was red and swollen. Closing his eyes, he pulled away slightly, breathing deeply to try to regain his control... he was well aware that it wasn't only his body that wanted her - his emotions were fully engaged as well by the woman in his arms, and that made it even harder to stop what he was doing. His whole being longed for her, and he was only holding onto his control by threads.

He had no shame in admitting that he was completely bound, heart, soul, and body to the miko he held - he loved her, like he'd never even understood love could be until now, and he sat back, tilting her chin up to look into her eyes, wanting to know what he would see in them when he told her what he needed to say. He had no fear of rejection here - it was only a matter of time 'til she would completely reciprocate his feelings, and he knew it.

He drew in a deep breath, and then slowly let it out, loosening the sexual tension that was dominating his body, and smiled at her. It was time to tell her everything.

"Kagome... I want you to know that I love you. With everything that is in me, every part of my soul, all of it loves you." He chuckled as her eyes first grew wide, and then softened, lighting with a smile that came from her heart.

"But how can you be sure, so soon?"

He sighed, a slightly sheepish expression crossing his face. "I am afraid I was not completely forthcoming when I told you that I knew I would meet you someday. I told you that Midoriko told me that I would, remember?" As she nodded, a now suspicious look in her narrowing gaze, he continued. "What I didn't mention is that she also told me that we would be soul-mates. I already knew that I would love you when I met you. I had no desire to fight it - the attraction was instant, just like she'd said it would be."

Kagome glared at him. "And you didn't tell me?! Why?"

"Because I wanted you to follow your heart, and not feel like you were being forced into anything, love, that's why. Can you tell me I was wrong to withhold that from you? Would you have really been happy feeling coerced into this? I didn't want you to feel you had no choice. I wanted you to choose to be with me freely, because you wanted to be, not because someone foretold that you would be."

Kagome locked her eyes onto his, searching them for any sign that he wasn't serious, and found none. He really had done it to give her the freedom of choosing on her own, without any foreknowledge. She was touched all the way to her soul.

A brilliant smile lit up her face, so openly, beautifully honest, that Sugimi blinked. He'd never seen eyes like hers - she didn't hide anything, you could see every part of her soul in them, and he absolutely melted at the happiness and love he could see shining through.

"I love you, too, Sugimi. You were right - it was better that you waited to tell me. Thank you for wanting to give me the choice... and now I've made it. I would be completely honored to be your mate."

He pulled her into his chest, holding her tightly to him, so many emotions swirling through him then that he couldn't have pointed to any one and named it - the only words in his mind at the time were ones of ultimate possession.

Always mine, never anyone elses... only mine!

She let out a little huff, and he immediately loosened his hold, as she gasped and breathed in. He realized he'd been holding her so tight she'd almost been unable to breath, and he grinned at her.

"Sorry, love. I just couldn't help myself." She sat back a little in his lap, and before she could even think of moving any further, a furry little bundle landed in her lap, and sat, looking between the both of them.

'It's about time, Great Lord. Now that you've told her everything, do you think that you could show her how to open her mind to me, so that I can actually speak to her?'

Sugimi chuckled as Kagome looked down at the purring neko. "He wants me to show you how to open your mind to him so he can speak to you directly, beloved one. It's simple, really. Do you want to learn?"

She looked back at him with a warm and eager smile. "Sure! What do I have to do?"

"Open your aura to his, and once you've done that, focus your mind on him in the same way, then listen. He'll do the rest, and once he's connected himself to your mind, you'll be able to speak to each other anytime."

Kisho purred as he felt her aura and mind seek his - after all, they were tied together as surely as she and the Great Lord... he felt love for her as much as Sugimi-sama did, just in a different way.

The moment she felt the fire neko's mind join with hers, everything clicked, and she suddenly knew that all that had happened in the last year had had only one purpose - to bring these two into her life, and join them all together.

She was finally home. This was the reason she had been unable to contemplate going back through the well when Inuyasha had marked Kikyou - because her destiny truly lay here, in the past. She never had truly belonged there, and she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, now, that she wouldn't be forced back there when the jewel was completed and Naraku defeated, like she'd worried about for so long.

After all, you can't be expected to exist with only half your soul, and since Sugimi was the other half of hers...

This was her place, ordained by the kami themselves.

Right here, with him, and Kisho.

And no one could say any different.