InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ To Be Cursed ❯ Chapter Two ( Chapter 2 )

Inuyasha had spent the night split between sulking in the trees and growling at nothing. He knew that Kagome had spent time training with the houshi and the old miko but he still stuck to the idea that she would never be stronger than Kikyou. He had openly scoffed when Kagome told him of learning to use a sword with Sango and had nearly laughed out right when Sango made mention that Kagome shouldn't carry a sword just yet.

 

He had never bothered to watch the girls practice and had assumed that Sango had said such a thing simply because Kagome was no better at sword play than she was at anything else. Sure, she brought a few helpful things from her era - such as ramen - but really she wasn't all that useful. He found that he spent just as much time rescuing her or keeping her out of trouble as he did looking for jewel shards; never mind the fact that she hadn't been kidnapped in well over three years and that the rest of the group aided in her rescue just as much as he.

 

As far as he was concerned, the group would do better with Kikyou by their side instead of Kagome; she was a fully trained miko and could sense the shards just as well as her reincarnation. His thoughts took him back to the day he first met the futuristic miko and he remembered how he thought her to be Kikyou, his only love. He had soon found out that although they had possessed the same soul, they were nothing alike.

 

Sure, Kikyou was no longer living but she was far more willing than Kagome and Inuyasha found he much preferred the dead priestess's body to what he had seen of the living one. Kikyou was statuesque; the lines of her body were long and lean whereas Kagome was curvy, far too curvy as far as he was concerned. Kikyou had an ethereal beauty about her and seemed to him that she should have been royalty. Kagome wasn't nearly as pretty as Kikyou and Inuyasha couldn't help compare the two.

 

He had heard Kagome's soft sobs and smelled the salt of tears on the air and felt a small twinge of guilt. A tiny voice in the depths of his soul told him he was far too harsh on her all the time; that she truly did have worth to him and the entire group and that all she had ever done was love him. That traitorous voice took him back down memory lane to the nice times he had spent with the young miko. When she had stood up to Sesshoumaru on his behalf and gone into his father's tomb at his side; the time she had kept silent vigil over him on his human night when he had been weakened; when she had taken an arrow in the back to save him.

 

The feeling of guilt was back, stronger this time, and his ears drooped slightly. Kagome had always been very good to him; she trusted in him without fail and always stayed by his side. He had repaid her with nothing but cruelty and insults. He looked once more to her prone form, curled around Shippou in her sleeping bag, and almost wanted to apologize. Almost. Another voice piped up then and squashed down his conscious.

 

Sure, she had said she loved him but the fact remained that he didn't love her. And although he didn't return her feelings, in his mind she was his. No one would take her away from him, even if he didn't really want her. She held no purpose for him and it was only his pride in the fact that he had `found' her that kept her around. He thought he could just as easily get Kikyou to join the group and the hunt for the shards. As if summoned, he saw a silver, reptilian body slide across his vision and he was off into the night, leaving his comrades behind.

 

After a few strong leaps through the tree tops, Inuyasha found Kikyou awaiting him in a clearing and he wasted no time in closing the distance between them and sealing his lips against hers. He instinctively fought back his body's urge to cringe at her cold touch and the scent of death and decay that permeated her flesh and pulled back to look at her before kissing her once again.

 

That kiss had sealed his fate and made his decision. Soon, the dead miko would be taking Kagome's place. Whether she returned to her time or not was her choice.

 

~*~

 

Kagome sat still, plastered against the rock at her back and could only stare at the figure in front of her. Her eyes started at his feet and slowly roamed up the expanse of his body. He was dressed in full battle regalia and looked every bit the royalty he was known as. Armor adorned his chest, though his swords were absent, and as her gaze lighted on his face, her breathe caught in her throat. Flawless alabaster skin was decorated with a single indigo stripe from cheekbone to temple and a small smile played about his lips. His hair glowed like spun moonbeams in its high ponytail and warm golden eyes burned brighter than the sun.

 

She knew she was staring…alright; she was flat out gawking but Kami! She couldn't help it! Standing before her was one of the most beautiful creatures she had ever seen and although her brain was sending repeat messages to her mouth to close and her body to bow, she could nothing but stare at him. He seemed the perfect mix of his sons and there was no doubt that the demon in front of her was none other than the late Inu no Taisho.

 

“Kagome-sama, while I am flattered by your appraisal of me, I don't have much time to speak with you.” His smooth voice flowed from his throat and gently graced her ears. He watched in mildly veiled amusement as the fog cleared from her eyes to leave a surprised look and a soft blush graced her cheeks.

 

The young miko was sufficiently stunned. She had no clue why the Great and Terrible Dog General was appearing to her, how he knew her name or why he was referring to her with such a title. “Sugimi-sama please, I am no lady and deserve no such title. How do you know me and why are you here?”

 

That statement granted her a beautiful smile she blushed again. “If you require no such title, then neither do I. After all, I am no longer a lord. As for how I know you and why I am here, the answer to those questions coincide. I have known who you would be long before you born in a time five hundred years from now. I was a powerful lord in my life and had the gift of foresight. I knew it would be you who would pull Tetsusaiga free and help control the wrath of So'ounga. I am here to beseech your help Kagome.”

 

Now that had her attention. She was known of by one of the most powerful demons to have ever lived and he was here from the afterlife to request her help? Standing from her place on the ground, she absentmindedly brushed dust from her clothes and turned her face upward slightly to lock gazes with him again. “What could I possibly do that would drive you from your rest in the otherworld to seek me out? If you are looking for a powerful miko, you are around fifty years too late.”

 

Inu no Taisho was by no means ignorant of the situation she spoke of. He had been watching the progression of his sons' lives since he had been taken from the land of the living and was well aware of how badly Kagome had been treated by his youngest. He felt ashamed that his own blood could treat anyone as badly as Inuyasha had treated this beautiful young miko. Even Sesshoumaru wasn't as cruel as Inuyasha had been to her, which would help him in his cause.

 

Looking down into her glittering blue eyes, he felt a pang of regret. Regret that his son hadn't treated her better and even regret that he hadn't lived long enough to truly know the wonderful woman in front of him. Even though he had dearly loved the mothers of his sons, Sugimi thought he easily could have loved Kagome as well. Although there was no chance he could take her as his maybe he could at least help his son see the treasure she was.

 

“Kagome do not downgrade yourself so; there is no reason for it. Inuyasha is a crass and cruel person; far from what I had hoped him to be. I am here for you and only you can help me. My son is suffering from a curse and you are the only one that can lift it. He needs you, even if he will never admit to it.” He saw her eyes widen suddenly and already knew the question that would form on her lips.

 

“Inuyasha?” She spoke quietly, her voice a bare whisper between them.

 

Shaking his head sadly, he replied. “No, not Inuyasha. The farther his heart follows its dark path, the more lost to the light he is. There is no saving him because he does not wish to be saved. He will follow the undead priestess until the ends of the Earth, regardless of how much you try to dissuade him.” He paused then, letting his words sink in and taking a small break before continuing what he had to say. He was sure there would be fireworks at his proclamation.

 

The confusion and pain in her eyes made her seem so much more vulnerable and innocent than he knew her to be and briefly, he felt guilty to be laying such a chore on her already burdened shoulders. It could not be helped however. “I need you to help Sesshoumaru. There is a curse that has been placed upon him that will force him into his true form on the night of the full moon. If he were whole, this wouldn't be a problem, however with only three limbs he would be a sitting duck if he were not within the safety of his castle.”

 

Now surprise and clear incredulity replaced the sadness and befuddlement as her eyes widened even more. “What? I am supposed to help Sesshoumaru? The same Sesshoumaru that despises humans and has tried to kill me? And how am I supposed to know how to lift a curse?” She was rambling she knew, but she couldn't stop the torrent of words that flowed from her lips. It was all too much for her to comprehend.

 

He smiled at her again. Truly she was an amusing creature and far more entertaining then anyone he had ever met. “Yes that Sesshoumaru. Lifting the curse right now would be impossible and can only be accomplished with time. For now, you have to help him resolve the problems that come with said curse. He will not survive without the use of all of his limbs. You are the only one that can restore to him what was lost.”

 

“What?” Was the highly intelligent response that greeted him and he couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped his lips.

 

Turning serious once more, he stared deeply in to her eyes as if willing her to trust in him; and she did, without even knowing why. “Kagome, you have to retrieve his severed arm and restore it to him.”

 

She sputtered then and waved her hands in the air. “That isn't possible!”

 

Another smirk played across his lips at her antics, “And, pray tell, why?”

 

Her eyebrows rose to disappear under her bangs and she looked at him as though he had grown a second head. “Why? WHY? I'll tell you why. His arm was lost to the underworld in the battle with Takemaru! And you seem to forget that Sesshoumaru would sooner kill me then let me close enough to explain my presence. I may respect you but I will not walk in to the lion's den that way.”

 

Warm, rolling laughter bubbled up from the depths of the dog demon's chest and filled the small clearing, causing Kagome to stop in the middle of her tirade and look at him questioningly. “And what is so funny? Neither one of your sons like me very much, you know.”

 

His demeanor sobered then and a serious look crossed his perfect features. “His arm is no longer in the underworld. I was able to convince a few of the higher powers that it was to remain in my tomb. I truly am sorry for how you have been treated by Inuyasha but Sesshoumaru does not hate you nor does he truly even hate humans.”

 

Bright blue eyes widened once more. “It's back in your tomb? That doesn't make it any easier though. And what do you mean, he doesn't hate humans? I have heard him say it on more than one occasion.”

 

A perfect silvery eyebrow arched in a motion that reminded Kagome very much of Sesshoumaru. “How does that not make it easier? You would be entirely unable to venture into the realm of hell but you have been to my tomb before.”

 

Kagome threw her hands into the air in a frustrated gesture. “Because! Your tomb just so happens to be in Inuyasha's EYE! I can't just go up to him and say `Hey, let me in your old man's tomb to fetch your hated half-brothers' arm so I can restore it to him.', ya know? And you still didn't answer my other question.”

 

Another deep chuckle came from the Inu youkai and his brilliant golden eyes danced. “My dear, I can easily help you to my tomb and as far as your other question goes, it is just as I have said: he doesn't truly hate humans.”

 

Seeing a truly puzzled look on Kagome's beautiful face implored him to continue. “Sesshoumaru's mother, Kaori, and I were never mates, though I did love her. Our relationship was an entirely political one. Her family had a pure bloodline, as did mine, and our fathers thought it would benefit both families for us to come together and create an heir for the Western Territories. While my lands would get a pure-blooded heir, her family would be paid handsomely and that was enough for them, or so I thought.

 

Kaori stayed at the Western Palace and raised Sesshoumaru. I had offered her to stay at the castle beyond her role as his mother but she had politely declined stating that there was a human man from her own village that she deeply loved and as soon as her time with Sesshoumaru was through, she was planning on returning to her beloved and becoming his mate. I had arranged things so that she and her mate would have a small village on my lands that would be their own. It was my way of providing for the mother of my child.”

 

He paused then to catch his breath and regard Kagome. Her brilliant sapphire eyes were wide with intense interest and he smiled at her, unable to help himself. “Kaori had two days left at the palace before she and her intended would take over the village. I had transferred two of my guards and a handful of servants to her care and all of them were heading to her new home in her village with a load of her belongings when they were attacked. From what I know, her father had wanted her to seduce me into taking her as a mate so he could get his fingers into my territories and when she refused and told him of her intended, he hired assassins to hunt her down.

 

She died due to her love for a human, as did I a mere year later. While Kaori had been at the palace, I had met Izayoi, Inuyasha's mother, and had fallen deeply in love with her. I only had yet to mark her when she was taken from me. I died protecting her and Inuyasha. Sesshoumaru knew of all this and could only assume that love was a weakness and had banished it from his conscious feelings. He turned his anger towards the humans simply because both his parents had loved them. He feels no real hatred towards your race; he is simply misguided. Do not forget Rin. Love still exists in his heart and eventually, he will realize that it is only a weakness when it isn't true love. I truly loved Izayoi with all my heart and even though I died that night, I had never been stronger.”

 

The late Taiyoukai had been lost amongst the halls of memories and when his tale was finished he looked back to Kagome and found her blue orbs lined with unshed tears. “Kagome, what is the matter?”

 

Kagome had stood by and listened to the tale Sugimi had to tell and found that she was entranced by it. The way he spoke and the story itself made her think of some of the fairy tales she learned as a child; his story was one full of sorrow, pain and love. He spoke so passionately about the people he had loved and to think that he had gone through so much made her heart clench for him. She thought about all he had said and felt she understood Sesshoumaru's reasons for acting the way he did towards the ningen race but she also realized that he couldn't hate them as much as was proclaimed. There was Rin.

 

“I just…I hate hearing about people that love one another so very dearly and can't live their lives with them. My mother once told me that love hurts, but it isn't always supposed to hurt. I am sure that your love for Kaori and Izayoi hurt every once in awhile, but surely not always and I guess that alone makes me realized that Inuyasha would never love me. My love for him always left me hurting and it still does.” She finished in a quiet whisper, her emotions riding high and closing her throat while her head drooped.

 

She was shocked to the core when she felt a soft but strong hand under her chin and snapped her head up to come face to face with the image of the once powerful Taiyoukai. “I am sorry Kagome, both for making you cry and for having to leave. I wish I could stay here just a little while longer but my time is up. I will return to you in two weeks time.”

 

Kagome blinked and he was gone, leaving not even a trace that he had ever been there to begin with.