InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Written in the Stars ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Chapter 1

“Come now, Izayoi! It cannot be that dreadful!”

Izayoi Higurashi whirled and faced off against her twin brother, growling her discontent. “It is worse, you bloody baka,” she snarled, using one of her sister-in-law's favorite terms. “I don't need a baby-sitter! I'm not a pup!”

Amber Higurashi, Inusouta's mate, heaved a huge sigh in understanding. “We totally agree with you, Iza,” she said, “but your father thought it would be best if you didn't go alone on your search.”

Inusouta nodded. “You should be delighted the old dog is letting you go at all. He could have just as easily forced Mother to go.”

“Keh!” the lovely eighteen-year-old replied, sounding much like their father. “Unlikely, given the fact that she's pregnant. He simply chose the lesser of two evils, in my opinion.”

Amber and Inusouta exchanged a glance. It was true. Three months ago, when Inuyasha had informed his family that someone was pregnant, Amber had prayed and prayed that it had been her- only to find out after both of them had taken modern-day pregnancy tests that it was her mother-in-law.

Needless to say, Kagome was both completely surprised and rather baffled. Sure, she and Inuyasha had wanted another child, but it had been fourteen years since she had her last child, Suki- and not once in all that time had she conceived again. Yet here she was, at thirty-five, five months pregnant with her fourth child.

Amber was happy for her in-laws, yet at the same time both horribly jealous and sadly depressed. She and Inusouta had been married by human custom for about six months and she still hadn't managed to conceive a kit. According to youkai law, she was still considered fair game to other male youkai (or hanyous) for claiming, and would remain so until Inusouta got her pregnant. A way of preserving one's family, she supposed. The white gold wedding band on her left ring finger meant nothing to youkai- they wouldn't hesitate to try and claim her in hopes of siring their offspring on her.

“Well, pest,” Inusouta said with a half-hearted grin, “at least you get the company of not only your charming brother and lovely sister-in-law, but you get to haul along one of Miroku and Sango's entourage as well.”

“Masao is not the problem. You know we've been friends for years. My problem is Daddy sending along you to watch over me!”

Miroku and Sango had gladly given their permission for Masao to accompany Izayoi on her quest to find the remaining shards, claiming it would be good for the young man to test his skills while (secretly) helping to protect the young female hanyou from danger.

Inuyasha nearly had an apoplexy when he heard that Masao was going to join his daughter on her journey. “Absolutely, positively, under NOcircumstances is a whelp of that hentai going anywhere with my baby girl alone!” he had bellowed, loud enough that they could've heard him through the well.

And so the solution of sending Inusouta and Amber along with them to search for shards was created. Now they were facing off against Izayoi's wrath as she claimed she didn't need her proper-talking twin to baby-sit her.

Amber shrugged. “It could be much worse,” she reminded the raven-haired beauty. “You could be traveling with Kanamaru.”

Izayoi rolled her eyes. “Kami, no. You're right. That would be much worse.”

Their Uncle Sesshoumaru's only son, Kanamaru, was about as unlike his regal, expressionless, emotionless father as you could get. He was both a hopeless flirt and a tease, not to mention possessing a temper that rivaled Inuyasha's. He was rather like a mix of Miroku and Inuyasha, with a dash of cockiness that came from knowing he was the next Inu no Taishou.

He was a royal pain in the tail.

Inusouta gave his sister a pointed glance. “So you will cease all this nonsense so we can leave? I am impatient to get this over with so that I may concentrate on siring some pups.”

Amber blushed and punched her mate in the arm. “Announce it to all of Sengoku Jidai, why don't you?”

Izayoi gave them both a very bored look. “If you have to do that while we're on this trip, do it far, far, far away from me. I don't want to know.”

Masao emerged from his parents' house, his mother's Hiraikotsu strapped to his back. He was dressed in his normal dark green haori and brown hakama, although his black bodysuit sleeves could be seen as they came to a point over the backs of his hands, secured by a band around each middle finger. His dark brown hair was cropped short except for a small ponytail at the nape of his neck- just like his father's. Violet eyes sparkled in the morning light. “Good morning,” the handsome young man greeted his friends.

“Masao! Wait!” Everyone turned back toward the house, where Miroku and Sango had emerged as well, their newest son, Kohaku, nestled comfortably against his father's shoulder. Sango snapped her fingers a few times and a tiny twin-tailed youkai cat appeared, jumping onto Sango's shoulder.

“What is it, Mother?” he called back. “We have to get going!”

The taijiya rubbed her cheek against Kirara's soft fur for a moment before letting the cat jump down, where she ran over to the group. “Take Kirara with you. She's restless around here.”

He knew his mother was lying, but he allowed the tiny cat to jump up on his shoulder. “All right, then,” he agreed. He winked at his parents. “Maybe we'll find her a mate or something while we're at it.”

Sango puffed up in indignation. “Don't you dare!”

Masao chuckled. “Don't worry, Mother. I won't let anything happen to Kirara. She's in the best of hands.”

Inuyasha and Kagome appeared and walked toward the group- Inuyasha with his hands stuffed in his sleeves like usual and Kagome carrying her bow and a quiver full of arrows. Already showing quite a bit, the miko was dressed in modern-day pants and a light pink maternity shirt, which was tented slightly by the small bulge of her swollen belly.

“Here, Izayoi,” Kagome said as she handed the weapons to her daughter. “Use them well.”

Izayoi nodded. “I will, Mom. Don't worry- I'll bring back the last shards for you.”

Inuyasha glowered. “I don't like this. We can just wait for your mother to whelp and then we can go find the rest of the shards. We've waited what- nineteen years?- to get the last ones… What's another few months?”

“Osuwari!”

“Ow!”
Kagome gave her now-flattened mate a rather irritated glare. “I'm not going to give birth and then immediately go wandering off across Japan looking for shards with a newborn! Izayoi's our best chance!”

Inuyasha's response was somewhat muffled by the dirt, so Kagome gave her children a bright smile. “Come back safely, okay?”

The four companions nodded and then turned away, heading for the unknown. Amber shifted the rather large backpack on her back as she turned back and waved.

Inusouta chuckled. “I thought you could not wait to escape.”

“Bad dog! I adore your parents!”

“But not when we are in the process of trying to conceive a pup.”

Amber flushed and focused on the road ahead. “Yeah, well… some things your parents don't need to know about.”

Masao smothered a laugh. “Why do you think I volunteered to come on this trip?” he asked with a wink. “I can't exactly find a wife if I'm living with my parents and my constantly-underfoot siblings.”

Izayoi gave him a sideways glance. “You're looking for a wife?”

“Indeed. But I refuse to ask every woman in Japan if she'll bear my child. Thankfully I have more of my mother in me than my father.”

Inusouta snorted as he stuffed his hands inside the sleeves of his dark blue haori- looking much like the human version of his father. “Unlike Nozomi, eh?”

Masao groaned loudly at the mention of his 15-year-old sister. “I cannot understand why she insists on asking every good-looking male in the village to marry her. It is beginning to fray my nerves.” The young taijiya shuddered. “I don't know how Mother put up with Father during all their travels. She is truly amazing.”

Amber smiled. “Love conquers all.”

Izayoi huffed as she mimicked her brother and folded her hands inside the wide sleeves of her purple haori. She was dressed more like a man for this trip, only because she didn't want to be hampered by the narrowness of a kimono. So she decided to play fashion designer and opted to wear a purple haori that hung to just above her knees and secured with a purple sash, with black tight-fitting pants underneath. Now she had freedom of movement should she need to do any hand-to-hand combat, although she wasn't sure if her twin would allow her to actually fight.

Masao glanced at Kirara where she rested peacefully on his shoulder. “This is weird.”

“What is?” Inusouta asked as he looked at his friend.

“Us. We are practically the same group that made up our parents' party back when they were searching for the shards and Naraku.”

He pondered that for a moment. “Inu-hanyou… well, between Izayoi and myself, we make up a whole hanyou…”

Izayoi paused long enough to swing a kick towards her brother's leg, which he nimbly avoided as he continued to ponder. “Izayoi has the miko part covered… Amber is the kitsune…”

His mate glared. “Do I look like a seven-year-old kit to you?”

He squeezed her butt out of sight of the others. “You look like a piece of heaven,” he murmured in her ear.

“Stop that…” she nearly purred back. “You're acting like Miroku.”

Masao rolled his eyes. “I think the pervert is covered by you, `Souta.”

“I only ask one female to bear my pups, Mas. Unlike your sire.”

The younger man laughed aloud. “So I guess I'm the taijiya… but we still need a monk, I think…”

Izayoi giggled, sounding more relaxed with every step she took into the wilderness- and away from her father. “I doubt we'll find one to join us. Unless you're looking specifically for a lecher, then I think we would need Kanamaru for that.”

Everyone groaned. “Absolutely not,” came the chorused reply.

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And so they traveled, deciding to head in the direction of the last shard that Izayoi had found and recovered a few weeks before. So far a week had passed and there had been no hints of a jewel shard anywhere.

Amber sighed as she stared at the fish cooking for dinner over the fire Masao had prepared. She was getting rather sick of fish, but they hadn't come across a village yet, so they were just going to have to deal with it.

Standing up and stretching, she shifted to hanyou form and sniffed the air. Inusouta glanced up at her curiously. “Something wrong, vixen?”

“No,” she replied with a grin, “but I think I scent a hot springs nearby. You want to… help me take a bath?”

The inu-hanyou jumped to his feet so fast it appeared he hadn't been sitting at all. “Letzgo!” he said as he lifted the kitsune-hanyou into his arms and headed in the direction she indicated.

The sun was almost down, yet Inusouta decided to shift to hanyou anyway so he could get there that much faster. Amber giggled in his arms. “You forgot the soap,” she murmured as she reached up and fondled a black furry ear.

Her mate whimpered. “Please don't make me go back to get it,” he pleaded as he headed toward the scent of the steaming spring.

She chuckled evilly. “You'd think you were in heat or something.”

The hot springs appeared and quick as a flash, he had her stripped of her clothing without releasing her from his arms. “I'm about to be,” he smirked as he tossed her mercilessly into the water.

Spluttering and dripping in delightful appeal, Amber glared up at her still-dressed mate. “Bad dog! No treat!”

Inusouta pulled off his clothes without taking his eyes off his drenched kitsune. Water dripped delicately off her semi-slumped gold and black ears and her tail was completely submerged. He was amused to see that her sapphire gaze was locked on his nude and very aroused body.

“Wanna bet?”

Amber licked her lips, eyeing him carefully. “Probably not.”

He chuckled mischievously as he jumped into the water with her. He moved closer to her, shaking himself like… well, like a wet dog.

His mate managed to hold herself back and not fling herself at the gorgeous hanyou. “Now what? You forgot the soap,” she reminded him.

Two arms snaked out and captured her waist, pulling her nude body full against his own. “Exactly. Forget the soap. I have much better plans for us.”

Reaching up, she rubbed his ears again, earning her another pleading whimper. “As do I,” she whispered as their mouths met hungrily in a fervent kiss.

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A/N: There you go! If y'all approve and would like more, please review for me- the more I get, the more likely I'll continue! :) Thanks, everyone!