Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Black Widow Miko ❯ Guilt ( Chapter 13 )

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

*Hey guys! It’s me! You remember, -- the one with the nasty cliffhanger. I’ll bet you thought I’d skipped town. I do apologize for leaving you hanging for almost 6 weeks. Suffice it to say, there have just been some truly bizarre things going on in my life. I also have to confess that I wanted to kick half the characters’ butts for misbehaving. (Okay, so maybe I was thinking “spanking” when it comes to Hiei. ^_~) I was looking forward to these events so much, that maybe I was a bit too picky about everything that hit the screen as I typed. The page count for the actual story came out to 58, but I think I must have written at least 90, before the delete and cut options came into play.

I have to thank Ryukotsusei, Hieisexymiko, Raeko, Silvermist Taleweaver, vjmerri, and Ebi-chan for all of their encouragement, help, advice, etc. Your emails & messages kept me going! So, this one is for you guys, whether you like it or not! HA! And just a word of warning before you proceed: I have dubbed this “the emo chapter” based on my mood as I was writing it, and the characters’ moods and events. So, without further ado …

DISCLAIMER: “I … don’t have plans and schemes,
And I … don’t have hopes and dreams,
I, … I, … I … don’t have anything,
Since … I don’t … have you …”
The rights, profits, and public adulation accorded to “InuYasha” and “YuYu Hakusho” are the sole property of their creators Takahashi-san and Togashi-san. The haunting memory of the freakish horror that is the Guns and Roses video version of the golden oldie “Since I Don’t Have You” by the Skyliners, is, unfortunately, probably mine forever now. Ouch.

talking
mental/telepathic conversations - “Hiei” “Kurama” “Youko”
(thoughts to self)

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Last time:

Kurama opened the door to his room. “Well, this is a pleasant surprise. I didn’t expect to see you here, -- at least, not tonight. Of course,” he reached out and pulled her into the room, slowly closing the door behind her, “I knew from the moment we met, that this was inevitable.” And tangling his fingers in her long, pitch-black hair, he bent his head and kissed her.
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Untying his bandanna, so he could locate Kagome with the Jagan, Hiei’s irritation grew by leaps and bounds. He couldn’t detect her aura at all. (She’s not in the house! I don’t fucking believe it!) But, expanding the Jagan’s search didn’t help. She didn’t appear to be within miles of the place. He didn’t want to alert the others, because he wanted to make her talk to him, and listen to him, when he was done beating her. But, if he was really going to have to search for her, he would have to let everyone know, -- she might be in danger.

Just as he stepped back out into the hallway, Yusuke came running towards him, still tying the string in the pair of sleep pants he had yanked on, so they wouldn’t fall off his hips. “Hiei, quick! Koenma says there’s an unidentified youkai here somewhere!”

(Well, fuck!) “And Kagome is gone.”

“What?!!?”

Refocusing the Jagan to find the youkai, Hiei contacted Kurama, “Fox! There’s a … what the fuck is going on?”

“Exactly that,” Kurama chuckled. “And I already told Lord Koenma to quit panicking when he buzzed me. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I am a bit preoccupied at the moment. When we are done, you can try to pry into her mind when she’s asleep.”

Noticing the stormy expression on Hiei‘s face, Yusuke asked, “What is it?”

“Apparently, the wind-witch is paying Kurama a little visit,” he said, annoyed with them all for keeping him from finding Kagome.

“Ho-ly shit. How the hell did she find us?!!” Yusuke demanded.

With an irritated glare, Hiei interrupted Kurama again, “The detective wants to know how she found this place.”

“Hiei, we’ll discuss it later.”

“Don’t bother him -- this is the best he’s had in a long time -- he’s even making the face!” Youko cackled.

“Shut up, Youko, or I won’t let you out to have a go when I’m done.”

“As amusing as this is, it might interest you to know that while the two of you have been fucking one of our suspects, Kagome has gone missing.”

“NOW?” Kurama cursed to himself.“What’s the matter with that woman? I’m going to wring her neck.”

“That might be a bit difficult considering you have your hands full of her enemy’s ass. I suggest you just keep your distance from her.”

“Woo hoo! Somebody’s testy! I think you need to take another trip into the Makai, and pay for a better-class whore this time, if the last one couldn’t hold you any better than that. I would suggest we could ask Kagura to give you a tumble, but you’re not her type, -- she’s got a thing for tall, handsome males,” Youko chuckled.

“I have not been whoring in the Makai, and I’m certainly not interested in Jin’s leavings,” Hiei retorted, with a scowl, as he watched the hallway begin to fill up with Kagome’s sons, Shippou, and Master Zhang, -- all of whom had obviously heard Yusuke running through the halls.

“Ouch! A direct hit!”

“What’s going on?” Daitano asked quietly.

“Your mother is gone, and …”

“And we can’t locate her,” Hiei interrupted Yusuke. No point in getting them riled up about Kurama fucking the wind-user.

Yusuke blinked for a second, and then he nodded his understanding.

“You can’t find her with the Jagan?” the old priest asked.

“No. There is no trace of her for miles. We need to get moving,” Hiei said impatiently.

“Wait.” Zhang reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. “Search for a void.”

Hiei’s eyes narrowed, and he swore to himself. Refocusing the Jagan yet again, he found what he was looking for this time. “The dojo.”

“I thought so.” And the old man started down the stairs.

“Have your ’visitor’ mask her presence, -- we located the miko in the dojo, and everyone is heading downstairs.”

“Good. And I’ll let you know when you can see what you can find out from Kagura.”

When they reached the dojo, Zhang asked them to give him a few minutes to talk to her. Shippou told them he would go fix some coffee and tea, and Yusuke followed him to the kitchen in search of something to eat.

As the Immortal opened the door through the barrier, Hiei caught a glimpse of Kagome before the old man stepped through and closed the door again. She was going through some moves with her jian with furious intent, and in that brief look, he had been able to tell that she was both frustrated and determined. She hadn’t tied her hair back into the long, dark braid he was accustomed to seeing her wear while training, and it was fluttering in the air around her with her movements, except for several strands which were plastered to the sides of her face and neck from the sweat of her exertions. The damn onna looked … tired.

Turning to her sons, he fixed them all with a steely stare. “Do you see what she is doing in there? At this time of night? We had decided we will stand with you three when you press your claims in the Makai for the lands your fathers ruled over, but we were under the impression that you were the ones who would carry the fight. Just who will be in charge once you are in control of the palaces?” The apparition was practically steaming, he was so agitated. He knew there was no chance of him getting to speak with her alone tonight. He ground his teeth.

Eishumaru narrowed his eyes at the little fire demon. “Just what are you insinuating? That we are not capable of running our lands on our own, without our mother’s help?”

Hiei crossed his arms and arched a brow at him. “I am not insinuating anything, -- I am saying it plainly.”

“Why, you little …!”

“If that is not the case, then why is she exhausting herself on your behalf?”

Eishumaru threw his arms up in exasperation. “Because who can stop her when she is determined to do something?”

“If you expect the youkai in the Makai to look to your leadership, you had better start,” the apparition said with a sneer.

“But, she’s our mother, -- we have to accord her the respect she deserves,” Sassouta argued.

Hiei turned to him, with a frown. “She’s a female, who has three powerful sons who should be looking out for her. Do you want her in the thick of the fighting, wielding a jian in close combat, instead of utilizing her strengths at long-range with her hama no ya?”

“Naturally, we would prefer she stay back,” the youngest son said.

“Then you should make her do so. You will have no followers in the Makai if you cannot make one onna listen to you.”

“You have no business telling us …” Eishumaru began hotly, until Daitano reached out and put a hand on his shoulder.

“No, Shu,” he said quietly. “He’s right. None of us want her in it at all, and yet we’ve let her push herself as hard as we are. And she may not be ningen anymore, but she isn’t youkai, either. To top it all off, she’s forcing herself to do something that isn’t just hard for her physically, -- it’s hard for her mentally and emotionally. She can fight, but she’s not a fighter. Fuck.” He turned away from them and clenched his fists. “I don’t want her to have to do that again. Not for me, and not for some misguided notion that she owes it to my otou-san, either.”

Sassouta grabbed his arm and spun him back around. “Well, what do you suggest we do? We’ve tried to tell her a million times that this isn’t her fight. She’s stubborn.”

“Hai, she is. But while we’ve tried to tell her, we haven’t made her listen.”

Hiei listened to them talk for a few minutes, then he turned and walked away. He would find out what he needed to know from the wind-witch, and then tomorrow, … tomorrow, no one was going to keep him from setting things straight with Kagome. Her sons might find it hard to make her really listen to what they were trying to tell her, but he wouldn’t. She had been on her own for too long, and was used to making all the decisions and doing what she thought was right. Well, she would find out that what she thought was right wasn’t always the only option. Or the best option.

The three brothers watched him disappear up the stairs.

“He might have had a good point, but who the hell does he think he is, butting into our affairs like that? We never asked them to fight with us,” Eishumaru grumbled.

“Watch what you say about him, -- he’s my pick for our next otou-san,” Sassouta said with a grin.

“WHAT?!!”

Daitano looked at Sassouta thoughtfully, then looked back up the stairs. “Hmmm.”

“Hmmm, what? What am I missing?” Eishumaru wanted to know.

Sassouta rolled his eyes at him. “And I thought you were usually the observant one. It’s obvious that he cares about her. That’s what that whole lecture was all about. He wants us to make sure she’s safe.”

“Though what he said about the way the youkai in the Makai would perceive her influence over us, if we allow her to take a prominent role in our battles, is probably correct. It’s not the fact that she’s fighting, -- powerful females do that all the time, -- it’s the way she’s planning to do it, and the fact that she does have the three of us, who should be looking after her, instead of the other way around,” Daitano added. “But, I believe you may be right, gaki. He is concerned for her safety, and about the way she is pushing herself in her training.”

“Well, just because he cares about her doesn’t mean he’s the best potential mate for her,” Eishumaru argued.

“Doesn’t it?” Sassouta countered. “And I think she’s attracted to him, too.”

“Really? And you’ve been keeping these observations to yourself?” his oldest brother chided him.

“Damn it! He’s so … so … little!” Eishumaru exploded. “Kaa-chan should have a big mate to take care of her and protect her.”

Both of his brothers burst into laughter. “It’s not funny!”

“You’ve been head-and-shoulders above everyone else for too long, -- the air up there is beginning to affect your brain.” Daitano gave him a shove.

“What’s so funny?” Shippou asked them, as he walked their way carrying a large tray with coffee, tea, and several cups on it.

“Shu thinks there should be a height requirement for kaa-san’s heart,” Sassouta laughed.

“Are you all still determined to find her a mate? You know how adamant she is about not taking one,” the kitsune cautioned them.

“Hai, but I believe she has reached a point where she needs someone …”

Yusuke interrupted Daitano as he walked in carrying a platter loaded down with leftover gyoza and takoyaki. “So, you’re thinking about setting her up with either Jin or Touya?” he asked, his mouth already full of his late-night snack.

“Perhaps, but there are several other youkai we are also considering. And Touya did not seem very interested in considering a mate right now,” Daitano told him.

“I liked Jin. He was very charming, and he made kaa-chan blush like Kouga otou-san used to,” Eishumaru declared.

“Kagome needs more than just someone to flatter her, -- she can get that from any male,” Shippou said. “She needs someone who will love her and care about her. Hai, he should be willing and able to give her the compliments she deserves, too, but he has to be able to let her know how he feels, and be able to show it, without smothering her or demanding that she dance attendance on him all the time. And, of course, he has to be strong enough to protect her.”

“I couldn’t have said it better myself, Shippou,” Daitano nodded his agreement.

“You’re forgetting something, -- you know kaa-san will never take another mate if she doesn’t love him,” Sassouta reminded them.

“Well, you all might as well forget trying to fix her up with someone then. You can’t tell what’s going to make that switch turn on inside someone. Look at Kuwabara and Yukina -- who would have ever put those two together? And me and Keiko, -- hell, I knew her forever, and we were friends and all, but I never thought about her that way, until one day, it just kind of clicked, and suddenly I saw her in a whole different light. From what everyone has said about the Taiyoukai, they seemed to be very different from each other, so it’s not like you can point to a specific type of guy that your mother falls for,” Yusuke told them.

“No, but if we introduce her to enough males with all the other qualifications, she’s bound to fall for one of them, -- at least, we hope so.” Eishumaru sighed. “Are you sure you can’t just give her to one of them, Daitano? It would save us a lot of trouble,” he looked at his older brother hopefully.

“If I thought you really meant that, I’d knock your block off. I want her to take a mate, but it will be up to her this time.”

“This time?” Yusuke asked curiously.

Shippou turned to him and answered, with a small smile, “You don’t pay much attention to details, do you? I know you’ve heard us talk about how Sesshoumaru came and took her as his mate as soon as he heard about Inuyasha’s death. He didn’t give her a choice in the matter. The same with Kouga. He just swooped in while she was grieving, and took her to the Northern lands. Both times she was heavily pregnant and vulnerable, and they were able to convince her it was for the best, for her and her sons.”

“Yeah. Fortunately, it really was for the best, because she did fall in love with them, and they fell in love with her, too,” Sassouta grinned. “Of course, they already knew each other from the years of their quest, and my otou-san was already in love with her from then, but still, …”

“Well, who’s to say it couldn’t happen again? I think we should hurry and meet with the others from the list, and then Daitano could exercise his rights as head of the family and …”

“Shu,…” his brother warned, in a low voice.

“What?!!?” He narrowed his eyes at both of his brothers.

“You know you wouldn’t force her to accept someone, either, so quit trying to get a rise out of Daitano. You know the only things that rile him up are matters concerning our mother.”

“Hai, and I just love to watch the steam come out of his ears.”

Daitano rolled his eyes at him. “Gaki. You’re more childish than the kid.”

“Watch it,” Sassouta shoved him. “I was trying to keep him from bugging you, you know.”

“So, what’s the old man doing in there? Giving her a lesson?” Yusuke asked.

“I imagine Master Zhang is either talking to her or meditating with her, or both,” Shippou told him. “Her training has not been going well the last couple of days. He even asked me to spar with her tomorrow. He said he wants to observe her movements more closely, but, … I think he is afraid he will really injure her.”

“Shit. Why didn’t you tell us that sooner? She was doing so well earlier in the week. What happened?” Eishumaru asked.

Sassouta thought about how great she had been doing, -- until Hiei came back. (Could that be it? Perhaps her attraction to him has her unsettled, since she is sleeping with Kurama? She’s not the type to be unfaithful, even if the relationship is casual. And if she is this affected by Hiei, I think she must have feelings for him, which just proves that she shouldn’t be with the avatar. But she has been spending more and more time with him lately. Damn it. How does someone tell his mother to drop one lover and move on to another one? Shu could do it, but truthfully, I think he even prefers Kurama to Hiei. He has locked horns with the little hiyoukai a couple of times, and he doesn’t like it when he can’t intimidate someone when he puts on that attitude of his. And, Kurama is taller than the apparition.) He almost snickered at that, but managed to stifle it, and he kept his thoughts to himself. He would watch his mother with both youkai more closely.

Daitano sighed heavily. “She’s doing too much, -- pushing too hard. We really are going to have to tell her that she has to stay back in any battle we engage in, or not take part in it at all.”

“You’re going to tell Kagome to stay back?” Shippou stared at him in shock. Then he nodded in approval. “Good. But, how are you going to make her do that?”

Eishumaru and Sassouta looked to Daitano, who clenched his fists and turned away from them. “If she refuses, then I will have to have Yusuke and his friends escort her to the Reikai until it is over.”

The room was silent, except for the sharp intake of breath from one of his brothers. Having made his decision, he was not in the mood to face any of them right now, so he strode away determinedly, and left the house to take out his frustrations and guilt on the trees.

Sassouta grabbed his brother’s arm and looked at him with his eyes wide with disbelief. “He … he isn’t serious, is he?”

Grinding his teeth, Eishumaru spat out, “Oh, he’s serious, all right. Damn him. And you know that once his mind is made up, there’s no changing it.”

“Then we will just have to convince her.”

“No shit. Because there’s no way I’m letting them take her into the Reikai.” And the tall inu punched the wall, causing the plaster to crack, as he, too, stormed off.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Yusuke stared at Sassouta and Shippou. “I thought he wasn’t going to exercise his right to act as head of the family.”

“He won’t, when it comes to something like making her take a mate. But, when it comes to her fighting, well, I’m not all that surprised he has decided to step in. And I guess he’d rather risk her imprisonment in the Reikai than her life, … or her soul. Kagome’s heart and soul are pure, -- more pure than any you’ve ever seen. But the blood on her hands, -- the lives she’s been forced to take, -- weighs heavily on her. He will spare her that, if he possibly can,” Shippou explained quietly.

And the three of them sat and waited for Zhang to bring her out.
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Kagome halted her movements when she sensed her friend and mentor approaching. Wiping her brow with her arm, she gave him a shaky smile and a short bow. “What brings you here at this time of night, Sifu?”

“Daughter, what are you doing?” he asked her, his voice full of concern.

“I am trying to correct my form. You said I keep dropping my shoulder too much, which leaves too big a target for my opponent.”

“Come, sit with me.” And he walked to the center of the room and sat down, assuming the classic lotus position. When Kagome had put away her jian and sat down beside him in the same position, he asked again, “What are you doing, aiji?”

“I told you, I’m …”

“No,” he shushed her. “You know what I am asking.”

Kagome closed her eyes and let out a long, soft sigh. “I don’t know,” she whispered. After a moment, she began talking softly, “I thought I did, but everything has become so complicated. For 113 years, all of my thoughts, all of my attention, all of my time was devoted to my sons, -- to loving them, and keeping them safe. And to preparing them for the future. When we went into the cave, to wait for the time when they could finally seek to reclaim the lands of their fathers, I knew what we would do when we were re-awakened. But, from that moment on, nothing has gone as planned. I am … failing them again. All of them.”

“How are you failing them?”

“I have let my focus become divided, and I cannot … I cannot seem to do what I need to do.”

“And what is it that you need to do?” he asked her gently.

“I need to master the jian quickly so I can issue my challenges. I need to be strong enough to win back their lands. You know that,” she turned towards him.

“No. I know that you think that is what you should do. But you haven’t told your sons your plans, -- you have let them go on thinking they will be the ones making the challenges and winning their own lands. You know they wouldn’t agree to you being the one to do it.”

“But I am the one who lost them! I let them down. I let their fathers down. If I had been stronger, they would have lived the lives they should have. They would have had the education and training they needed to be good, strong rulers, like their fathers were. We wouldn’t have had to hide with the taijiya, or under a spell. They would have aged as all our friends and allies did, and they would probably be mated already. If I had been stronger, …” she broke off, and looked down into her lap.

Zhang reached over and lifted her chin up so she was looking at him. “And where would you be now?”

“I would be … in the Reikai.”

“Hai. You would have been taken there, and probably executed, soon after the realms were split. Feelings were still running high against you then, -- especially in the Makai, where your ningen allies had no voice. Do you really think your sons would have been able to hold their lands? -- Especially since they would have set themselves against the new authority the Reikai assumed? Let me assure you that King Enma would not have stood for any show of defiance back then, -- not when he was struggling to establish his reputation. They would have perished right beside you. So, your strength, or perceived weakness, is irrelevant, and the lands would have been lost, anyway, and maybe much more than that,” he told her gruffly.

“Do you think it makes it easier for me to know that?” she snapped uncharacteristically. “Damn it! It all comes back to me, and their fathers’ deaths. As if it wasn’t bad enough just to lose them, …” she broke off.

“So, you have taken it upon yourself to make everything right again.”

So low he could barely hear her, she said, “No. Nothing can ever be right again. All I can do is try to give them back something. Land is a poor substitute for their fathers and their childhood, but it’s all I can get for them.”

Zhang closed his eyes. “And will that bring you peace?”

It was quiet for a long time before he spoke again, “Your focus is divided for a reason. You will do what you think is right. But as your friend, who loves you, I feel I must tell you that you are causing more pain for the people you think you are protecting.”

She turned and stared at him. “What do you mean?”

“Look at your sons. Can you not see how anxious they are to prove themselves? To themselves, as well as everyone else. To their fathers, … and to you. You would take that opportunity away from them, if you won their lands for them. They will think you have no confidence in them, and how will they gain the confidence of the youkai in the Makai that way? You want to atone for their losses, but to do so would be selfish. It might make you feel a little better, but at their expense.” He paused and watched her as she began to blink rapidly. He didn’t want to be so harsh on her, but he didn’t know how else to make his point so she would truly listen.

“And they do not even know what you are planning to do, but you are worrying them greatly with your determination to fight with them in close combat. Do you not think that is interfering with their own training? They are standing outside the dojo right now, waiting to see why you are up so late. Because you are not resting, they are not resting. How can they be at peace when it is so obvious that you are not?”

Her bottom lip quivered, and he saw the tears begin to slip from the corners of her eyes before she covered her face with her hands. “I … I am only trying to … they shouldn’t have to … they’re my children!”

“Hai,” he reached over and put a hand on one of her shoulders, “and you see them, and their situation, with a mother’s heart. But they are grown youkai, and you should know as well as anyone that what youkai respect most are strength and power. You have to let your sons prove theirs.”

“So, what are you saying? That I should just pack them a lunch and make sure they all have on clean underwear before I send them off to battle?” she asked heatedly, while wiping angrily at her tears.

“Not at all,” the old priest chuckled a bit, causing her to scowl at him, before sobering again. “But you need to let them take the lead in this. You can advise them, but you need to let them make the decisions about how they want to handle their own fights. And, you can lend them your aid, but you should stay back, so there is no confusion about who is leading.”

“I don’t know if I can do that. If I can get the three youkai to agree to accept my personal challenges, wouldn’t that be better than forcing three major battles, where hundreds, or even thousands of lives may be lost?”

“Ah, a good question. It seems obvious, doesn’t it? But do you think your family and friends would look at it that way? And what about the one they call the ‘forbidden child?’ He does not strike me as the type to let the woman he has decided he wants put herself at risk.”

She gaped at him. “How … how do you know about Hiei?”

“You really didn’t think I was so foolish as to mistake which one you had taken for a lover, did you? I have known you far too long for that.” He chuckled again. “Not to mention the fact that you seem to have forgotten that I, too, like to stroll outside at night. It’s very peaceful. And the rose garden at the other house was the perfect spot for a bit of private … reflection.” He grinned as he saw the color fade from her face, to be quickly replaced with a vivid blush. “When I saw how he was with you, after you had fallen asleep, I knew that you had made the right choice after all. It was very clear that he was someone you could love, and that he could very well love you in return. It was only a matter of time.”

“It would have been better if he didn’t.”

“Better, or easier?”

She sighed. “Both. I never expected him to want anything more, -- certainly not a permanent bond. I won’t put him in that kind of danger.”

“So, he wants to take you as his mate? I thought as much. And you have broken off relations and are avoiding him. No wonder your focus is so divided.”

“Technically, he ended it, but hai, I have been avoiding him. It will do no good for us to try to continue as we had been, and this is the only way I can be sure he is safe. Besides, I have too many other situations that I need to take care of.“ She practically growled in frustration, “What is wrong with me? How can I let my personal feelings and desires interfere so much with what I need to do for my sons?”

Now Zhang sighed heavily. “You are so stubborn. I have been trying to tell you that you don’t need to do this for them. And who do you think you are that you aren’t entitled to have wants and desires of your own? You did not cease to be a woman when you became a mother. Your mates would have been the first ones to tell you that you need to let yourself love again, and that you need to let someone love you. Your sons would agree, you know. You are not taking anything away from them by finding happiness for yourself.”

She got to her feet. “Damn it! I can’t have that! And I wish you and everyone else would quit acting like I can. I had it all figured out. All I had to do was master the jian, issue my challenges, and win back the damn lands. After that, it wouldn’t matter what the Reikai does. Either way, my sons would be settled, and they would have their allies set to stand with them if trouble arises.”

The old priest slowly stood up and looked at her. “I never would have believed it. You have given up. You want them to execute you.”

“I want … I just want it to end. Don’t look at me like that, -- I don’t want to die. But there has to be a resolution. You just pointed out a few minutes ago that even if my sons get their lands back, as long as I am free and the question of what happened to their fathers lingers, they will be in danger of losing them again. I will continue to be a liability and a danger to everyone I care about. The Reikai will have to mete out justice for the deaths of three Taiyoukai. Only then will everyone be able to truly get past it.”

He put his hands on her shoulders and leaned down until his forehead was resting on hers. “But would that really be justice?” he asked softly.

“It would be … good enough.”

“Good enough. Good enough for your sons? Good enough for the youkai that you have turned inside out?” He lifted his head and stepped back. “What do you think they will do?”

“They will go on with their lives. As you said, my sons are grown youkai, -- they will have responsibilities to attend to. They will find mates and have families of their own,” she stared at him defiantly. “And once it is over, they will not jeopardize everything in a futile effort for vengeance.”

“And Hiei?”

“He will find someone else.”

Zhang laughed humorlessly. “You may still have a lot to discover about him, but I know you know this much -- he will not let anyone get that close to him again. I can’t believe you are being so selfish. You are choosing a path that is easier for you to live with, because you don’t intend to have to live with it.”

“What do you want me to do?!!?” she yelled. “Let battles rage when I could have prevented it? Let my sons have to fight all their lives against MY enemies and the Reikai, because they are protecting a suspected murderer? Take solace in Hiei’s companionship and love, knowing I am most likely condemning him to death by doing so? You want me to live like that? How can I?” She turned away from him. “How could I do that?” she whispered.

Stepping forward, he wrapped his arms around her. “Sometimes, it is harder to let others share our burdens. But you have been carrying this burden too long. Your sons already know that they may have to hold their lands in the face of the Reikai’s disapproval. But the outcry for the Taiyoukais’ murders has died down in the Makai. You were right to wait all these years. I think you will have more supporters than you know. As for your lover, he is already aware of the danger, isn’t he?”

“He doesn’t know all of it.”

“Then tell him. And let him decide. And, daughter? Do not give up hope. These Reikai Tantei just might discover something different. Think about what I’ve said. You owe your loved ones that much. You owe yourself that much.” And with those words, he quickly applied pressure to a specific point located at the base of her neck, and picked her up as she slumped forward into unconsciousness. “For now, … rest, aiji.”

When he reached the door, he tapped into her powers with his own ki, and released the barrier. Shippou and Sassouta jumped up when he walked out, but he merely shook his head at them and started for the stairs. They followed quietly, along with Yusuke, and simply nodded to him as they went into her room and shut the door.

(What a night.) He tapped on Hiei’s door. At least Kagome was safe, -- even if she didn’t know that her sons were going to lay down the law on her tomorrow. He wondered how she would take their ultimatum. (Having us take her into the Reikai could be a hell of a risk. Once she’s there, Enma could decide to just go ahead and lock her up until the investigation is finished.)

“I take it they convinced her to go back to bed,” Hiei commented, as he walked in and sat down.

“Actually, the old man carried her out of the dojo. I guess she must have fallen asleep while they were meditating.”

“Hn. It’s more likely that he put her to sleep.”

“Do you think so? Damn, what an odd bunch they are. You’ll never guess what Daitano decided.” When Hiei merely lifted a brow, he continued, “He’s going to tell her she has to stay out of the thick of it, if it comes to a battle, and if she doesn’t agree, he’s going to have us take her into the Reikai. What do you think about that?”

He could tell Hiei was surprised by the way he blinked. “Does he realize what could happen if she were to be there for any amount of time? They might not be able to get her out again.”

“Hai, he knows. And Eishumaru is pissed, but he won’t stop him. He was urging Daitano to act as head of the family and give her to someone of their choosing, for a mate, and he wouldn’t do that, but he said he will stop her from fighting as much as he can. Both of them stormed out of the house. Crap, we should probably go find them,” the toushin concluded, as he scratched his head.

“One of them is knocking down trees on the north side of the house, with his fists, and the other one went for a run along the beach. I have been monitoring them since I heard them leave.” Well, now he knew their current agitation wasn’t completely in response to his comments. He wasn’t sure how he felt about their decision, though, but he guessed it didn’t matter. If it came to it, he would just take her somewhere himself, rather than to the Reikai. He would make sure he had his own plans set when the time came, just in case.

“Well then, I guess that just leaves one more thing to deal with tonight, -- what the HELL is Kurama thinking?!!? And how the hell did Kagura get here? And, … what the hell is he thinking?!!?” Yusuke stood up and paced around the room.

“Do you really want me to tell you what his thoughts are this very minute?”

Yusuke stopped and stared at Hiei. It figures the little shit would find it amusing. “You’re not telling me you two communicate with each other when you’re …?”

“Not normally, detective, but you did ask.”

“You know, I never took you for a hentai, three-eyes. Or someone with a sense of humor.” He snickered when the only response he got was a steely-eyed glare. Then he looked around the room. “You know, no one could ever tell anything about you by looking at where you stay, other than the fact that you probably know how to handle a sword,” he nodded at the katana propped up against a wall. Then his eyes fell on the shogi board laid out on a small table. “Except, … you play shogi? Figures you and Kurama would be into a boring game like that. Damn. When is he going to be done so we can find something out from her?”

Hiei wasn’t about to tell him that he had never played shogi with the fox, so he merely said, “It may be a while. Don’t forget, Youko will want some time with her, too.”

“Ah, crap!” Yusuke smacked his own forehead. “That’s a creepy thought, -- any girl who wants to crawl into bed with Kurama could find herself waking up with Youko. Shit, they could be all night, if she has to satisfy both of them.” He shuddered. “That poor woman will be exhausted.”

In spite of himself, Hiei’s lips twitched. Normally, he wouldn’t have exerted himself to try to explain things to Yusuke. Hell, normally he would have thrown Yusuke out of his room. But tonight, he was in serious need of the distraction Yusuke was providing. Otherwise, he wasn’t sure he could stop himself from pacing back and forth in the hallway outside of Kagome’s door until the others left, so he could corner her and set things straight. Worse, he was seriously tempted to just march right into her room and throw the rest of them out. And he knew that alerting everyone to their relationship was probably not the best way to convince her to accept him. If there was one thing he knew about her, it was that she could be irritatingly obstinate. The current state of affairs in his pants was proof of that.

So, he told the detective, “In the first place, I doubt that Kurama lets Youko loose with the ningen females he consorts with. In the second place, the wind-witch is hardly a ‘poor woman,’ -- she is youkai. And she certainly knew about the two of them before she approached them, so, …”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right about that,” Yusuke grinned. “It’s funny, but for the longest time, I was sure Kurama just wasn’t into girls. Then after he graduated from high school, -- bang! He’s got a new one every other month. He finally started living up to the image I had of a guy with so many fanclubs.”

“You seem to have a difficult time understanding what Kurama’s situation was. At the time that you met him, it would have been very difficult, if not impossible for him to be sexually active and remain in control of his body. Youko would have emerged. At that age, and being inexperienced, the ningen part of him, Shuuichi, would have been extremely vulnerable. And while Youko has said that ever since Shuuichi’s mother proved her love for him by protecting him at her own cost, that he would not go through with his plans to completely dominate the shared body and leave for the Makai, Kurama is smart enough not to completely trust him. He couldn’t risk letting him take over until he could be sure he was strong enough to force him back in.

If you recall, he couldn’t summon him up when he wanted to, either, until long after the Dark Tournament, and at first it took the use of other artifacts. Now he can bring Youko forward or suppress him, as the situation warrants, for the most part. We all know that Youko is still the stronger, and if he truly wishes to, he can force his way out. Fortunately, he seems to have become mostly content with his condition, and I think he is actually amused by his life as part of Kurama.”

Yusuke let out a long, low whistle. “Damn! You’re telling me that Kurama doesn’t trust Youko? The whole avatar thing has always seemed complicated to me, but I didn’t realize there was anything like that going on.”

“Let’s just say it is easier for Kurama to trust him now that he is so much stronger in his own right,” Hiei told him.

Having explained the fox’ unusual situation, his thoughts returned to his own problems. It had been eight fucking days since he had stormed out on that onna! Strike that. It had been eight non-fucking days. Granted, there was a hell of a lot more at stake than just his physical satisfaction, but he couldn’t deny, to himself anyway, that apparently he was a pathetic, desperate, sex-obsessed weakling when it came to her. It was a lowering thought, but he knew better than to ignore the facts. He always acknowledged his own weaknesses, and took steps to eliminate them. In this case, that meant he was just going to have to make damn sure that his mate didn’t stray too far. Of course, that also meant that he had to overcome her objections to taking a mate in the first place, but he was sure that she could be made to see reason. Eventually. You can’t live your life in fear of what might happen.

And truthfully, the more he thought about it, the more it pricked at his pride a bit to realize that she thought he wasn’t strong enough to keep whoever-it-was from killing him. Then again, all three of her mates had been Taiyoukai, and they were all taken down. Well, he might not have the noble blood that would give him Taiyoukai status, but he knew he was as powerful as some of them. So were Youko and Kurama, and Yusuke certainly was, too, when he allowed his Mazoku blood to surge. It was almost funny, now that he thought about it, that none of the current Makai rulers were Taiyoukai. They were all self-appointed “lords,” having won their lands through battle and bloodshed. Most of the true, blood-born Taiyoukai tended to isolate themselves, and rarely took an interest in Makai affairs. There were only a handful of them, that he knew about.

But, that was neither here nor there. The point of the matter was, his onna was being stubborn, and he was going to put a stop to it. He would just have to convince her that he could protect himself, and that he, and his teammates, were going to get to the bottom of her previous mates’ murders and take care of it. And he was going to tell her so, just as soon as he could get to her.

He would never have believed she could avoid him so successfully, for so long. She knew he wanted to talk to her, and he knew that she had seen and accepted his regrets over his outburst. But the damn onna had decided that the best way to protect him was to accept the break he had stupidly made in their relationship. It was really quite annoying to have to take the blame for giving her the opportunity to make such a foolish decision, -- one that concerned him so profoundly, -- all by herself. And it was even more annoying to see that she knew he wasn’t going to accept the situation, and she was literally hiding from him, so she wouldn’t have to listen to him. Well, her time for running and hiding was just about over, because his patience had run out, and he was going to dog her steps until he caught her.

“Hiei? What are you growling at?” Yusuke quickly stood up and started looking around the room for some kind of threat. It had to be something dangerous to get the fire demon’s hackles up like that. He couldn’t remember hearing him growl so fiercely at something before.

“Hn.”

The toushin stared at him for a few minutes. “There’s nothing here, is there? What the hell are you thinking about to get you so riled up?”

After a brief silence, the apparition answered, “We are still not making enough progress on the murders. And the wind-witch was able to find us. The dead kuromiko cannot be far behind. It is … frustrating to have to wait.”

Yusuke looked at him strangely for a moment, wondering what in the world was going on with the hiyoukai, but then he nodded his head in understanding. “I know what you mean. I’m not much for this sitting around and waiting for things to happen, either. I’d much rather get out and make something happen. But, you have to admit, if we have to be doing this kind of stuff, this is a pretty nice place to be stuck doing it,” he grinned.

“All right, Hiei. She’s asleep.”

“So soon? That is rather unexpected.”

Kurama smiled wryly, “I knew you and Yusuke were waiting impatiently to see what we can find out from her, so I presented her with a rather special orchid as a … token of my appreciation. She can always be awakened again.”

“So hurry up and get your ass down here,” Youko grumbled.

“I thought you always enjoyed the various ‘stages’ of the game, Youko,” Kurama laughed.

“When I have reached that stage, I don’t appreciate being hurried.”

Not in the least interested in their banter, Hiei tuned them out. “She’s asleep.”

Yusuke’s eyes widened in surprise. “You’re kidding me.” But the apparition was already out the door, so, Yusuke quickly followed.

When they were in Kurama’s room, Hiei unbound the Jagan and approached the bed. He stopped, startled for a moment, at the sight of the female lying there. She was facing away from him, and had a sheet drawn up almost to her shoulders. With her long, black hair loose across the pillows and fanned out behind her, for just a second there, she reminded him of Kagome. Cursing profusely to himself, he let the Jagan have full reign, and he could feel the vicious glee pulse through him as it dived into the unconscious female’s mind. After about ten minutes, his curses became audible. Then he pulled the Jagan back and re-tied his bandanna.

“What is it?” Yusuke asked.

Turning to face his teammates, the hiyoukai gnashed his teeth in frustration. “Other than her most recent memories,” he glared at Kurama, “her mind is locked tight. There are obvious previous, gaping, weak points, but they have been reinforced, and if I’m not mistaken, our very own priestess was the one to do it. Over her shields, there is another, darker reinforcement.”

“The dead kuromiko,” Kurama stroked his chin thoughtfully. “How very interesting. At one point, Kagome helped her to strengthen her mind’s defenses, and then later, Kikyou did the same.

“Why would Kagome help her shield her mind?” the toushin asked. “That just doesn’t make any sense.”

“According to the story that has unfolded, Kagura was an unwilling accomplice of Naraku, and tried to help Kagome and the others in their fight against him. So, they weren’t always enemies. I would be interested to find out the circumstances behind her helping her this way, but at the moment, it is simply a hindrance to our own goals,” the avatar sighed.

“So, you couldn’t find out anything except what a sex god Kurama is?” Yusuke pointed a thumb in the fox’s direction.

Lifting a brow, Hiei just stared at him for a minute before saying, “I could not find out how she knew where we were, but she did know exactly where to summon a portal to here from the Reikai, which she did with the help of someone in Koenma’s office, in exchange for an obscene amount of gold. She plans to leave here first thing in the morning, and will be returning, with her son, in three days for the aura examination.” He looked Kurama straight in the eye and told him, “And she is extremely pleased with herself for stealing the priestess’ lover away.”

“Stealing …? Oh! She thinks Kurama and Kagome are together!” Grinning, Yusuke looked over at the bed. “Well, I guess you’ve given up on her, anyway, huh?”

Frowning, Kurama’s eyes flashed gold. “Not at all, Yusuke. As a matter of fact, I believe I am very close to attaining my goal.”

“I know you two have been spending a lot more time together lately, but I don’t think she’ll go for that with you sleeping with Kagura tonight and all.”

“What she doesn’t know, …”

“The wind-witch will throw it in her face the first chance she gets,” Hiei said bluntly.

“Kagura will not do anything I don’t wish her to,” Kurama replied. “And on that note, … if you will kindly excuse yourselves, …”

Out in the hallway, Yusuke flashed a smile at Hiei. “You’ve got to hand it to him, he sure made up for lost time once he felt strong enough to keep Youko under control. Damn! That Kagura sure is a looker, and he’s still planning to have Kagome, too.” He shook his head in amazement.

“He won’t succeed.”

“What? What makes you think that?”

“The priestess has better taste than that.” And as he started up the stairs, he said, “You need to contact Koenma and tell him the female ogre named Ibara, who has been doing some of his menial work, has no honor, and can be bought. He will remove her, or I will.”

Yusuke just watched him go, then sighed and headed up the stairs himself. This assignment must really be getting to the little fire demon. He had been surprised when Hiei had told him so much about Kurama. He didn’t usually share that kind of information. And he was still stunned that he had apparently done some heavy thinking about Yukina and Kuwabara, and had actually decided to be reasonable about them being together. From the moment Kuwabara had made the announcement that they were getting married, he had been expecting the apparition to go up in flames and rain down hell on Kuwabara’s head. But, while he had glared daggers and snapped at him every chance he got, he hadn’t made a move to interfere, thank goodness.

And even though he had been restless and irritable, in a strange way, he had also seemed more grounded than Yusuke could remember. Other than the four days he had disappeared, he hadn’t really seemed to want to get away from here. He had often wondered where Hiei went when he disappeared into the Makai. As far as he knew, Hiei didn’t really own any land there, so he guessed he just wandered about. For a long time, he had thought he was shacking up with Mukuro, but Kurama had nearly choked on his coffee when he mentioned it a couple of years ago. Well, how was he supposed to know that Hiei’s tastes ran toward 6-foot-tall Amazonian demonesses, when he bothered with women at all? Look at him! The climb must be part of the fun for him. He snickered to himself.

Of course, Kurama had gone on to point out that if Hiei was to ever get involved with a female, it certainly wouldn’t be one like Mukuro, and it had nothing to do with looks or height. Youkai prize strength and power, even in their females, and Mukuro was definitely powerful enough to get Hiei’s attention. He even said the Makai Lord had admired Hiei’s strength and had pursued him, but Hiei had never been interested in being “involved” with anyone. The fox said it was just as well, because they were both tainted with bitterness, and since neither of them knew how to give anything else, they couldn’t learn anything different from each other. A shared sense of survival wasn’t enough to base a relationship on.

And even if they had become lovers, Yusuke had heard enough from Koenma and Raizen to know that Hiei was pretty much considered off-limits as a prospective mate for a youkai female, due to the conflicting elements in his blood. And while Mukuro might follow her own path in a lot of things, and probably would have gotten a thrill in thumbing her nose at everyone by having the “Forbidden Child” in her bed, she was also very proud of her own strength, and wouldn’t have wanted to risk watering it down with his questionable blood. No, she never would have considered him for a mate.

It was really kind of sad, now that he thought about it. Hell, even an idiot like Kuwabara and a punk like him could find someone to love them, not that either of them deserved it. Of course, Hiei didn’t want anyone to love him, -- not even his sister, which was probably why he would never tell her who he was. And then there was Kurama, who had so many women willing to love him, that he didn’t see the value in it. They’d both probably rip his guts out and hang him with them if they knew he felt sorry for them. Damn, but he was glad he had grown up a ningen. Youkai might be powerful, and even superior in many ways, but really, other than Jin, most of them were just messed up. Shaking his head, he groaned when he saw what time it was. He really needed some sleep.
---------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------


Hadn’t they had a good enough laugh yet? Don’t they have anything better to do than continue to thwart him like this? Those damn kami. He had waited all night, hoping her sons and the kitsune would leave her room, so he could finally talk to her. But it had been obvious that as soon as she had woken up, the boys had decided to have their talk with her. And she wasn’t taking it well. Everyone knew the day’s routine was shot.

Shippou was standing outside her door, leaning up against the wall with a deep frown on his face. When he saw Hiei, he stood up and glared at him. “Sassouta tells me you’re the one who pointed out to Daitano how it would look for Kagome to be fighting with a jian.”

Hiei raised a brow and stared at him unblinkingly. “You disagree?”

“No,” Shippou narrowed his eyes at him. “I had planned to pull her back myself when the time came. But you have forced her sons to confront her.”

“They need to be aware of how things look in the Makai.”

“And I would have informed them when I thought the time was right. Your job is to protect them, not meddle into their family affairs. And you can tell your friend that this is our home, not a whorehouse. If he wants to fuck Kagura, he can take his ass to the Makai to do it.” At the ever-so-slight widening of Hiei’s eyes, Shippou smiled coldly. “Did you really think that just because she masked her scent and aura, no one would be able to tell she was here? There’s no masking the fresh smell of sex, and I’ve smelled it on Kagura enough times to recognize her from it. Do not underestimate me. And if the boys were a bit more experienced, and a bit less distracted last night, they would have noticed it, too. You can’t hide a scent like that from kitsunes, inus and ookami. You elementals tend to forget just how developed our sense of smell really is, but the kitsune in the avatar should have known better.” And with those words, he strode over to the stairs and left.

“Damn kitsunes,” Hiei muttered.

The door to Kagome’s room opened, and Daitano stormed over to the stairs, never even sparing a glance in the fire demon‘s direction. His growls echoed around the staircase. Less than a moment later, Eishumaru walked to the top of the stairs and yelled, “Run, you coward! If you can’t face her after giving her an ultimatum, then you have no business …”

“Eishu,” Kagome stood in the doorway, “don’t.”

Sassouta appeared behind her. “Kaa-san, …”

“I’ve heard what you all had to say. Now, if you don’t mind, I need some time to think,” she said quietly.

“It’s not that we …”

“I know.”

“Okay,” her youngest son started to hug her, but the hurt look on her face stopped him, and he shuffled around her instead, hanging his head. “We’ll, uh, see you at lunch, right?” he asked.

“Hai.”

As Sassouta took hold of his fuming brother’s arm and pulled him on down the stairs, he glanced back over his shoulder at his mother standing there dejectedly, and the Spirit Detective standing nearby, who hadn’t moved a muscle through the whole scene. He sure hoped the hiyoukai stepped up and approached her. She looked so small and alone just standing there in her doorway. He had never felt so guilty and miserable in his whole life.

It was true they had all agreed they didn’t want her in the thick of the fighting, -- hell, they’d keep her out of it completely if they could, -- but, she had reacted just like he knew she would, and had laughed their concerns off. And when Daitano had told her that they weren’t suggesting it, that they were, in fact, telling her to stay back, or he would have the Spirit Detectives take her into the Reikai to wait it all out, she hadn’t believed he was serious at first. Then, when Daitano had stood up and told her that she may be his mother, but that he would be the Lord of his own lands, she had flinched as if he had slapped her. And he had seen how Daitano’s eyes had widened briefly before he quickly turned away and left the room. He knew his oldest brother hadn’t meant to say it like that. He never was good at expressing himself when he let himself get worked up about something. He tried so hard to stay calm and in control that he often came off as arrogant and tactless. And he knew he wished he could have thrashed himself on the spot. But once it was out, it couldn’t be taken back, and he wouldn’t back down. So, he had gone off to lick his own self-inflicted wounds.

That had left him and Eishumaru to witness the devastation they all had wrought. No, he wouldn’t blame Daitano, -- it had to be done. Even Eishumaru knew that. He was just exorcising his own guilt by blaming Daitano’s blunt approach. Truth be told, Shu probably felt twice as guilty, because he knew he could have said it better, but had left it to their eldest brother. Well, none of them would soon forget the look on her face, and the way she had closed her eyes for a minute, before she had turned away, too. Shock, disappointment, betrayal, and defeat were all plainly visible in her features. The only other time he had ever seen her look like that was when they were forced to abandon the Western palace, and it hadn’t been directed at him then. He wasn’t sure it was directed at them now, either, and somehow that made it worse. Knowing that she was most likely taking the blame for their decision, -- that she believed they thought she was a liability, who would get in the way of their goals, -- well, it made his gut churn. But he couldn’t think of anything to say or any way to reassure her that wouldn’t just make it worse by simply acknowledging those feelings. Damn it all.

They didn’t want to make her feel like a burden, or like her help was unwanted. None of them would be anywhere near ready to make their challenges without her guidance. She had been the one to search for and approve all their senseis. She had guarded their fathers’ weapons for them and told them of their abilities. She trained with them, sparred with them, and encouraged them. And as much as they all hated it, she had been the one who had fought to protect them and to preserve their inheritances for them. They had watched her, in awe, and with fear, as she had led small groups of their allies into battle again and again. And they had all dreamed of the day they could tell her she would never have to do that again. Too bad none of them had dreamed of how to tell her. They had all known she would object, -- so why hadn’t they realized just what it would sound like to her? It wasn’t until those ill-phrased words had tumbled out of Daitano’s mouth that he had suddenly seen how it must look from her point of view. Damn. He felt lower than worm spit. And he wanted nothing more than to go back up there and sit down right in her lap and beg for her forgiveness. What a fine ruler he was going to make. He hoped Daitano had saved him some trees.



Kagome continued to stare at the stairway long after her sons were out of sight. She fidgeted somewhat forlornly with the hem of her tunic. She had absolutely no idea what to do. When had everything fallen apart? Was she really that wrong? About … everything? Was it really wrong to want to do what she could to make their lives easier? She had never meant to make her sons feel like she was trying to take control. She did believe in them and their abilities. They could win back their lands without her help, -- she knew that. But why should they have to go through all that? They weren’t the ones who had lost everything. Maybe she should have just turned herself in to someone after Kouga was killed. The problem was, at that time, there really wasn’t anyone overseeing such matters. And she couldn’t bear to leave her children. Maybe Master Zhang was right, -- maybe she was just being selfish, and she was making a mess of things for everyone she cared about by trying to be the one to protect them. They didn’t need her protection anymore. She was nothing more than a liability.

As Hiei watched her shoulders droop, he closed his eyes, and clenched his fists tightly. He was going to use the Jagan to hunt down every kami who had ever existed, and then he was going to summon the Dragon and send him straight up all their asses. They were testing him. There was no way he could just grab her and shake her until she agreed with him now. Yelling was out, too. He couldn’t even force her to just think about them and their future, when she was so obviously confused and hurting from what her sons had said. And damn if he didn’t have to take the blame for the timing of that, too. Oh, hai, they were testing him all right.

She looked over at him, and when she spoke, the slight tremor in her voice was nearly his undoing. “Hiei? I know you want to talk about … things, but right now, I just can’t …” she broke off and looked down at the floor.

In an instant, he was standing right in front of her, and he gathered her up against his chest. He had absolutely no clue as to how to go about comforting someone, but if his onna needed it, then he would try. He’d show those damn kami that he would be a good mate for her. So, he tried to follow his instincts as he rubbed her back with one hand and nuzzled lightly into her hair. When she wrapped her arms around him, and clutched him tightly, he almost breathed out a sigh of relief. He had known she loved him and wanted him, but it was good to know that she needed him, too, -- that he could actually give her something, even if it was only his presence and an awkward attempt at comfort.

For a long moment, Kagome just let herself soak up all that Hiei was offering. She knew he was angry that she had decided to stay away from him, and he was extremely irritated that she wasn’t giving him a chance to change her mind. And he probably even agreed with her sons. But in spite of all that, he was putting it aside for her sake. “Arigatou, Hiei,” she said quietly, as she continued to cling to him. Then she kissed his neck softly and whispered, “Ai shitemasu.”

She felt his muscles tense, and even though she was still feeling overwhelmed, she almost laughed when he mumbled, “I know, you damn stubborn onna,” into her hair, while hugging her tight enough to make her back pop. Instead, she just hugged him tighter, too. She had missed him, -- had missed this. Even with all of her fears, and everything that was happening, she felt better just being with him. She wanted this so badly, and it had been so hard to give it up …

It was strange, because she had decided to take a lover as a physical outlet for her pent-up yearnings and desires, to help her focus on what she had to do, but her time and relationship with Hiei had become something entirely different. It became her refuge, -- her peace, -- and it became something she did, and had, just for herself. With her sons and her dear friends at her side, she hadn’t realized she had been … lonely. And she had honestly thought she would never be able to love anyone else again, even if the danger weren’t a factor. But Hiei filled a void in her life, and her heart. She also hadn’t realized that she had guarded herself so much from everyone. She knew she made an effort to present a calm, composed front to strangers and enemies, but she hadn’t been aware that she had been keeping so much inside, even from her sons, -- so much so, that the only person she felt completely free with, was Hiei. When did that happen?

Thinking of keeping things from her sons made her flush guiltily. They would have been happy to know she had someone who really cared for her, unlike the relationship she knew they thought she was having with Kurama. And then there were the challenges. As much as they were apparently wanting her to stay back in their battles, they would probably just send her to the Reikai right now if they knew what her real intentions were. Why was everyone conspiring against her? She knew she had made the right decisions, -- the best decisions for everyone involved, so why were they all determined to make things difficult for her? She frowned and bit her bottom lip as she thought about that, and failed to notice that Hiei had pulled away just enough to look at her.

He had felt her relax against him, only to tense back up. Damn it, -- he knew he wasn’t any good at this. It was difficult to try to be supportive and compassionate when he had never put himself in those roles before, and it was doubly so when his body was reacting so strongly to being next to her after such a prolonged absence. Eight days! He wasn’t made of stone. Then again, maybe parts of him were. Really annoyingly insistent parts. And if she didn’t stop biting her lip, he was going to join her. That idea was sounding more appealing by the second, and perhaps distraction would work better, anyway.

With that thought in mind, he backed her up a few steps into her room and slammed the door shut. He crushed her to him again, and lost himself in the feel and taste of her lips. He felt like a starving man who had just sat down to a feast. Here, with her in his arms, he could indulge his long-denied senses. Did she have any idea what she did to him? What she meant to him? She would be his mate. “Kagome, …”

Her thoughts and worries had flown when he‘d kissed her, and she had melted into the heat he was producing. But his voice pulled her from the pleasant haze of sensation and brought her back to the problems she faced. “Hiei,” she rubbed her cheek against him, “we just can’t … You don’t know everything, -- and when you do, you may not want …”

The apparition cupped her chin in his hand and looked intently into her eyes. “What I want is not going to change.”

As she saw the fierce determination on his face, she couldn’t help the little leap her heart gave. Was it possible they could be together somehow? Would he still want to be with her? Hai, he just might. And maybe, just maybe, she wouldn’t have to surrender to the Reikai. She didn’t know how, but, Master Zhang had told her not to give up hope. They still couldn’t be mates, and he would have to accept that they couldn’t ever have children, which was just another reason why she would not let him bind himself to her, but, … maybe they could still have something, for a while at least. She nodded at him. “We need to talk, -- about a lot of things. And you have to really listen, and think about what I say.”

“Hn. You will listen to what I say.” He didn’t miss the way her lips twitched when he said that, but she nodded again. And he hadn’t missed that flash of hope in her eyes. From what she had said, she still thought there was some big obstacle that could prevent them from being together, but it was obvious that she wanted to find a way around it. It was going to be all right. They would talk it out, and then he could finally …

“Hiei, meet us in the library. Koenma just contacted Yusuke with some news.”

Damn it! He was going to kill the fox and the detective, and then use the demi-god’s corpse to mop up their blood. They were all working for the kami, and they were conspiring against him! He couldn’t stifle the irritated groan that escaped his lips, and he rested his forehead on hers. “I have to meet with the others right now.”

Running a finger along his collarbone, she said, “It’s okay. I need to think some more, anyway, -- to try to figure some things out,” she told him.

“Don’t think about it too much. You make things seem more complicated than they are. Just trust me. And trust your sons, too.”

She looked a little startled at that last part, but she smiled a bit sadly. “I do.”

“Hiei? This is important. Where are you?”

“I’ll be right there.” (And you’d better duck, you damn fox.)

Hearing him growl low in his throat, Kagome brushed her lips across his and stepped away from him. “Kurama’s calling you, isn’t he? You should go.”

“Tonight. Don’t even think about putting up a barrier to keep me out.”

Her eyes sparkled a bit and she flashed him a genuine smile. “I won’t.”

“Good.” Then he grabbed her upper arms and crushed her to him again, kissing her fiercely. “Kimi o ai shitemasu.”

And in the blink of an eye, he was gone, -- leaving her to inhale sharply and close her eyes, as she let his words wash over her like a caress, before she slowly breathed out, “Hiei.”
--------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------


 220;It’s about time you got here,” Yusuke fumed, as Hiei entered the library and walked over to look out one of the windows.

The apparition was having a difficult time reigning in his own temper, and if the detective didn’t shut up, it would be a toss-up as to which one of his teammates he skewered first. Kurama was still at the top of his list, especially after declaring he still intended to get his paws on Kagome, but the way he was feeling at the moment, he might just rip off Yusuke’s arms to beat the fox with.

Sensing Hiei’s foul mood, Kurama gave Yusuke a look to back off. “Kagura told Lord Koenma that she and her son would be ready for the aura examination in three days, just like you said she would, and he contacted Genkai. She will be here in an hour or so, along with the others. She wants to begin examining Kagome and Eishumaru first. She will have to spend time with them each separately, and then together to get a feeling of how and where Kagome’s aura intersects her son’s, so she can make some deductions about where his father’s aura intersects it. She will have to do the same with Kagura and Ginjiro, and then she will have to examine Eishumaru and Ginjiro together. The entire process may take a week.”

“Now tell him the problem,” Yusuke broke in. “Tell him all the shit that’s going on!”

Hiei turned to Kurama with a questioning look on his face, and Kurama sighed. “There have been five more females killed. Three more in the Northern lands and two in the East. One of them was Princess Ayame’s cousin, a rather powerful ookami female of some 600 years. Her mate, her father, and Lord Yemon have all petitioned the Reikai for an investigation and justice.”

“And that’s not all! We still can’t find Ayame, and now they are reporting her as missing!” Yusuke yelled. “All hell’s breaking loose!”

“We will have to go hunt down the dead kuromiko,” Hiei commented, with a frown.

“Hai. And Lord Koenma would like to be able to send us now, but with Genkai, Yukina, Keiko, and Shizuru coming here, not to mention Kagura and her son, he is afraid to leave them, and Kagome, unprotected. It is very likely Kikyou will be heading this way very soon. So, he has sent Jin and Touya to work with Chuu and Rinku for now, along with several groups of his special forces,” Kurama told him.

“There’s more!” Yusuke was pacing back and forth rapidly and waving his arms around wildly. “Now that the murders are gaining attention in the Makai, rumors are starting to surface about the miko or priestess who is doing the killing. Kagome’s name, and the story of what happened to her mates, has come up.”

“Fuck.” Now that was an unexpected development, and it might have serious consequences if more pressure is brought to bear on the Reikai. And it didn’t help her sons any, either.

“Exactly! What the hell are we going to do?!!?”

“First of all, you need to stop panicking,” the avatar said, shaking his head a little. “We’re going to have to be more vigilant around here. We should start patrolling the grounds regularly.”

“Fine! But none of the girls can leave the house once they get here, and that should go for Kagome, too,” the toushin declared.

The temperature in the room started to rise as Hiei’s frustration got the better of him. They could not allow the dead bitch to go on killing female youkai in the Makai. They had to go get her. But there was no way in hell he was going to leave Kagome here, where he couldn’t make sure she was safe. (Damn it! There has to be another way, but I can’t think of one!) “When the aura examination is over, we will take the priestess with us into the Makai to hunt for the dead one.”

“What?!!? We can’t do that! Some of the youkai there are starting to scream for her blood because they think she might be the one doing the killing. If they see that she really is alive, and back, they’ll really think it was her.”

Kurama studied at Hiei carefully. “Kikyou can find her because of the piece of her soul she has. You are suggesting we use her to draw the kuromiko out.”

“Oh, hell no! We can’t use her as bait!” Yusuke protested.

Hiei narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists at his sides. “We don’t have any choice.” (And I won’t let anything happen to her. After we kill the bitch, I’ll take Kagome away if I have to, until things settle back down.) Fixing his teammates with a glare, he asked, “Is there anything else?”

Yusuke just threw his hands in the air, while Kurama chuckled. “Actually, Touya had an interesting piece of news. Kagura visited the Northern palace before coming here, presumably to see Princess Ayame. But, since she wasn’t there, she spoke with Lord Yemon.”

“Who knows where we are by coming through the Reikai himself,” Yusuke added, unnecessarily.

“It’s not unreasonable to think he might share that kind of information with her, if he and Princess Ayame are working together against Kagome. He may even be the one who told her where we were before.”

“Then perhaps it wasn’t such a wise decision to just fuck her and let her go, so she could continue to be a danger to the ones we are supposed to be protecting,” Hiei shot at Kurama, causing both of his brows to raise in surprise. “We should let them know they are about to have company.” And he turned and left.

“I told you he needs a good fuck. Testy little bastard.” Youko tch-tched.
------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------


Kagome served tea to the ladies in the large sitting room on the 1st floor. She was feeling a bit distracted and her manner was subdued. Shippou had been the one to tell her about the plans for the aura examination, and that Genkai would be coming, along with the other women and Kuwabara, this afternoon. It had given her something else to do, since she had been unwilling to face Zhang or her sons yet. She wasn’t even sure Master Zhang would continue to teach her with the jian anymore.

Shippou had stayed with her to help her prepare the rooms for everyone. He told her Eishumaru had already asked Yusuke to change rooms, so Shizuru could stay in the one right around the corner from him. Keiko and Yukina would share the other room in the north wing, and Genkai would take the one next to Hiei in the south wing. When Kagura and Ginjiro arrived in three days, she planned to put them in the south wing on the 2nd floor.

As they made sure the bathrooms were supplied and the sheets were freshened, Shippou didn’t say anything about what her sons had said, nor did he ask her any questions. But she knew he knew what was going on. He always did. She smiled to herself at that thought. What would she ever do without him? He was the one constant in her life ever since the beginning of her time and adventures so long ago, in the Feudal Era. She knew he would always support her, no matter what.

“Shippou? Would you be willing to do some training with me? With the jian?”

He put a hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eye. “I know your sons have told you they don’t want you taking part in their battles with a jian.”

“Hai,” she admitted.

“And if you are asking me, then you must have doubts that Master Zhang will continue to train you,” he continued.

“Hai.” She stared into his bright green eyes for a moment. “And you know that I must do what I feel is right. I will not lie to you, -- they will not like it. But when it is over, they will be beginning a new stage in their lives, and so will I. There is always the chance that the Reikai will come for me,” she raised a hand to still his protest, “and even if they do not, I will probably have to keep a low profile somewhere in either the Ningenkai or the Reikai, if I am allowed to take up my duties there. This may be the last chance I have to do something for my children, and to redeem myself somewhat to my mates.”

The kitsune sighed and pulled her close, so he could rest his chin on top of her head. “You know what my thoughts about that are, so I won’t tell you again, -- I know they won’t change how you feel. But you need to know that I agree with the boys, and I don’t want you fighting any more than they do. This isn’t the life you should be leading, Kagome. But, I will also never turn my back on you. So, … hai, I will train with you, if that is what you truly wish. However, I want you think about it some more, first. And if you intend to take it into battle, I want you to stand beside me.”

Kagome hesitated, guilt-stricken that she was deceiving him about her intentions, but she knew she could not tell him she planned to issue challenges herself. He would do everything in his power to prevent that. “If it comes to a battle, I will stay back, beside you, to fight,” she told him, knowing she was hedging the truth with her choice of words.

“That’s my girl! That’s all I ask,” he beamed at her, then kissed her cheek lightly.

He was going to kill her when he found out her plans. She stifled a sigh as she tried to pay attention to the chatter going on around her and be a gracious hostess to her visitors. It really was nice to see the other ladies again. She had hesitated in front of her wardrobe before deciding to put on a soft gray iro tomesode with a light pink and white obi for the day, knowing she would not be doing any training. She had considered wearing modern clothing to make sure she put her guests at ease, but the plain truth was she needed the comfort of the familiar style of dress for her own peace of mind, while she was still feeling so ill -at-ease with her own family. Her choice, and the reason behind it, did not go unnoticed by her sons, or Hiei, when she had joined everyone for lunch. The meal had been strained and mostly silent, except for a few questions about when the others would arrive, and what the plans were for the aura examination. Kagome had excused herself afterwards and retired to her room until Shippou came to tell her the women were here.

While the ladies gathered in the sitting room for their tea, Kagome’s sons, Shippou, and Ginta went to the dojo to work out. The boys were definitely feeling chastened by their mother’s formal politeness to them. Hakkaku, Myouga, and Jaken were meeting in the library. The boys had told them to invite several of the other youkai on their list to meet with them as soon as possible, so they were making plans to go back to the Makai. Zhang, who had watched Kagome carefully throughout the meal, was meditating on the beach. And the Spirit Detectives were setting up their schedule for patrolling the grounds, and discussing their plans to hunt down Kikyou.




“This certainly is a lovely place, Kagome. It was so kind of you to put us all up for a while,” Keiko said.

“Not at all,” she smiled. “I’m delighted to have your company. I’m happy that you and Shizuru were able to take the time off from your jobs to accompany Genkai-sama and Yukina.”

“Hmph. I’ll be lucky to have a job to go back to, with all of the time I’ve taken off lately. Not that it would be any big loss,” Shizuru commented dryly.

At Kagome’s questioning look, Yukina explained, “Kazuma and Yusuke insisted that they stay at the temple with us, and not go to work, in case that undead kuromiko crosses over into the Ningenkai. Even though it is highly unlikely she would come across any of us, they are still afraid she may attack us for our souls.” She smiled at Shizuru. “It has been wonderful to have them stay with us, along with Kazuma, but I know it is difficult for Shizuru to feel so confined.”

Kagome smiled, too. “I know the feeling. But males can be very protective of those they love. I assure you, though, that Kikyou would never harm a human, -- Kurama should know that. And Kikyou maintains her existence with the souls of young females who have recently passed on.”

“I thought Kikyou attacked Kurama?” Keiko asked.

“No, she attacked Youko, and she would have killed him without remorse. She has no love for youkai. But when he transformed back into Kurama, she was very upset that she had injured him.”

Genkai’s eyes widened. She had found out a lot about Kagome and what had happened to her mates from Kuwabara while he had been staying at the temple.. “That’s why you are so positive that she isn’t the one who killed your first mate, -- because he was human the night he was killed.”

Kagome turned to her and nodded. “Kikyou had wanted him to become human for her. It would have been impossible for her to kill him in that state.”

“I’m glad. That means that Keiko, Shizuru, and Genkai-sama should not have to worry about her. Kazuma and Yusuke will be very relieved to hear that,” Yukina said.

Kagome reached out and patted her hand. “You shouldn’t worry, either. Even though you are youkai, I don’t think she would attack you unless she felt threatened by you.”

“I’m sure you are right. After all, I’m not powerful like the females in the Makai she has been killing to boost her power.”

All of the color drained from Kagome’s face. “Kikyou is killing female youkai for their souls?”

“H-hai, …” the koorime covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh! Gomen nasai! I didn’t realize they didn’t tell you that.”

“She has never done anything like that before, -- why would she do that?” Kagome turned anguished eyes towards Genkai.

Genkai sighed. Those idiots should have told her and her sons what was going on. “We think she is killing female youkai so she can harness their power, -- presumably to use against you. They should have let you know so you would be prepared. Her victims have been progressively stronger and older females. So far, she is still in the Makai.”

“How many?” she whispered.

“As of the last report, twenty-one.”

Kagome closed her eyes and swallowed thickly. (This is my fault, too. So much death, so much heartache. No more.)

“Don’t worry, Kagome. It will be all right. Yusuke and the others are going to track her down. They’ll take care of everything, -- they’re very strong,” Keiko tried to reassure her.

(No. This is my responsibility. No one else’s.) She opened her eyes. “Hai, I know they are. Arigatou.” And she deliberately schooled her expression so it did not betray her thoughts as she made plans of her own, while deftly turning the conversation to other matters. When Eishumaru came to escort Shizuru and the other ladies on a tour of the grounds, Kagome excused herself to check on the dinner arrangements.
--------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------



As everyone gathered that evening to go in to dinner, Daitano frowned and looked at the stairway. “I’m surprised okaa-san isn’t down already. It’s not like her to keep guests waiting.”

When he saw Hakkaku come slowly down the stairs, he marched over to foot of them and peered up the spiraling case. The ookami flinched away from him and looked guiltily at the floor. “What’s wrong, Hakkaku?”

He took a deep breath, and still refusing to meet Daitano’s eyes, said, “Please forgive me, but nee-san asked me not to come down until now. She’s gone.”

The others stared at him. “What do you mean she’s gone? Gone where?”

“Into the Makai after Kikyou.”

“WHAT?!!?” Yusuke yelled.

“Oh, no! It’s my fault,” Yukina cried.

“It’s not your fault. These idiots should have told her what was happening sooner,” Genkai patted her shoulder.

“Told her what? What the hell is going on?!!?” Daitano demanded.

Hiei grabbed Yusuke’s arm. “Call Botan. Now.” He had already unbound the Jagan. He had to locate her as soon as they entered the Makai.

“I told her about the undead kuromiko killing female youkai for their souls to boost her power,” Yukina said softly.

“Kikyou is doing what?” Sassouta asked, disbelief mingled with horror evident in his voice.

“She thinks she has found a way to defeat our mother,” Eishumaru said.

“Hai,” Kurama nodded, then turned to Hakkaku. “When did she leave, and do you know exactly where she went?”

“It’s been almost 2 hours. She had Ginta take her to the spot where Kikyou hit me with her arrow. Shippou went with her, too,” he added.

“Hi guys! What’s up?” Botan asked as she stepped into the room.

“You will take us into the Makai now,” Hiei growled.

“And then take the girls into the Reikai until we return,” Yusuke added.

“What? Why?” she asked, perplexed.

“Nevermind! Let’s go!” Hiei stalked over to her.

Daitano grabbed Hakkaku. “Tell her where we need to go,” he ordered.

Kurama looked at the boys. “You can’t come. It’s too dangerous for you to go into the Makai now. You are close, but you’re still not quite ready to issue your challenges, and if you are seen, …”

“Fuck that! We’re going!” Eishumaru told him, narrowing his eyes.

“Let them. She’s their mother. You would not leave Shiori’s safety to others,” Hiei pointed out, much to Kurama’s surprise. As they stepped through the portal into the Eastern lands of the Makai, he started scanning the area. “Shit. There are several powerful youkai nearby. She could be facing greater danger than the kuromiko. They would attack her simply for seemingly being ningen, -- and a priestess at that, -- but if they have heard the rumors and believe her to be the one responsible for the killings, things could go even worse.”

“There are rumors that she is the one who has been killing the female youkai?” Daitano asked.

“Hai. Her name and the old stories have come up. So far, they are being discounted as simply rumors, since no one has seen her for 400 years. But if she were seen now, it would lend credence to the theory,” Kurama told him.

“Well, which way do we go?” Sassouta asked, looking around. This was his first look at the realm he would call home. Even though his senses were alert and he was searching for signs of his mother, he couldn’t help but give a small sigh of approval. The red sky and dense foliage of the landscape where they stood felt comforting. Hai, this was truly a realm for youkai. Ginta and Hakkaku had often described the Northern lands to him, and he was looking forward to seeing the mountains, and some of the stark, barren lands where he could run free. The very air here felt wild, -- savage, even, -- and it called to the youki in his blood, making it sing in his veins.

“You feel it, too, don’t you?” Daitano said.

“Hai. We belong here.”

Eishumaru nodded in agreement.

Kurama watched them closely. “They feel at home here. Many youkai long for the Ningenkai, but they will thrive in this realm.”

“I believe you are correct. Something about the atmosphere here appeals more to those of us with more advanced senses. It is free of the pollution and artifice of the Ningenkai, -- not to mention the ningen population. The land itself feels more primitive and alive here,” Youko observed.

“That way,” Hiei pointed further East.

“Of course,” Eishumaru said, getting his bearings. “The Goshinboku would have been in that direction. Is there a representation of it in this realm?”

“Hai,” Hakkaku answered, “though it is gnarled and twisted.”

Hiei and Eishumaru sped off, with Sassouta close on their heels, -- the dust at his feet beginning to swirl around him.

Hakkaku gaped for a moment before taking off with the others. “I’ve never seen Sassouta draw upon his speed like that before. He reminds me of Kouga. When he had the shards of the Shikon no Tama in his legs, his speed manifested itself by completely encasing him in a tornado of winds and dust as he ran. And even without them, he was easily the fastest of all ookami I’ve ever met. He used to run me and Ginta into the ground.”

Kurama looked over at him thoughtfully, as he let Youko take over so he could travel faster. Was it possible the boys would be even more powerful here, -- perhaps they could draw on their instincts more?

“It’s possible the youki in their blood surges more in response to the youki all around us,” Youko addressed his unspoken thoughts.

“Damn it, you old hag! Why didn’t you just go with the girls?” Yusuke complained as he ran along with Genkai on his back.

“I want to see this kuromiko for myself. Now quit your whining and run faster, dimwit,” the old lady barked at him.

In the distance, they saw flashes of light, and they could feel the unpleasant sensation of vast amounts of holy powers being released. Apparently, Kagome and Kikyou had already found each other.
---------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------


As Kagome stood in front of the Makai’s version of the Goshinboku, she closed her eyes. It was only fitting that she put Kikyou to rest here. Once again, her weakness was coming back to haunt her, and once again, the blood of innocents had been spilled because of it. She sighed as she thought, not for the first time, what a strange destiny had been laid before her. So many events began and ended with her, and she was never quite sure what her role was, -- was she the cause of these happenings, or did she simply witness their birth to insure she would see them through to the end?

Kikyou, … her predecessor in life, in duty, and in love. She had been in awe of her, frightened by her, envied her, and pitied her. The two of them should never have met. She should have been able to draw upon her strength and power as she fought against the first miko’s enemy. Instead, she had endured over a hundred years with an incomplete soul. And what of Kikyou? What had she endured as she wandered the earth, losing more and more of her humanity as time wore on? There was never any hope for anything resembling life for her in that form. She needed to rest, and Kagome knew she should have seen to it long ago. She should have done it right after Naraku was defeated, but she had still feared that her “death” would hurt Inuyasha. And after he was gone, her own life had been in such turmoil that she hadn’t given the other woman much thought. When she faced her again years later, she had her children to take care of, and too much death already on her hands to think about seeking more. But she had done Kikyou a disservice by allowing her to continue on, and she would have to live with that knowledge. It was time …

“Kagome!”

She dodged the faint, whistling noise just as Shippou yelled her name, and turned to face her nemesis. “In the back, Kikyou? You were never afraid to face me before.” And she immediately threw up a barrier that pushed Shippou and Ginta away, and enclosed her and Kikyou in the open field.

“You have trapped yourself with me, and left your friends on the outside. Always trying to save everyone else. But once I am in possession of my full soul, I will send them to keep you company in hell. Filthy youkai,” she spat.

“I cannot allow you to harm anyone else, and I am sorry for what you have become. It’s time you were at peace. Let me help you, Kikyou,” Kagome said calmly.

“Help me? Help me?” the kuromiko laughed bitterly. “Why should I let you help me? You’ve already helped yourself to everything that was mine. Now I’m taking it all back.” And with a wave of her hand, she sent five shikigami in the form of serpents slithering through the grass towards Kagome, before firing three arrows in rapid succession.

Summoning her powers into her hands, Kagome swept one arm at the approaching shikigami, causing them to disintegrate as a shimmering pink wave hit them, allowing her to concentrate on deftly evading the arrows. Not bothering with a traditional bow, she sent a hama no ya fashioned from her own ki speeding towards the other woman. Her expression was fierce with her resolve. There would be no holding back this time.



As they approached the scene of the fight, Hiei’s thoughts were full of what he was going to do to Kagome after he had Koenma bring her back, -- because there was no doubt about it, this time, he really was going to kill that onna! She had left him, without a word, to go after a fucking dead onna, who had already been killing other females in order to gain enough power to kill her! What the hell was the matter with her?!!? It didn’t make a bit of difference to him that he knew what she was doing and why, or that he would have done the same thing himself, if he’d been in her place. And he could not care less that she was extremely powerful, and had probably faced this much danger many times in her life, and that if she were any other female, he’d probably tell the others to let her fight her own battles since she was capable of it. And he didn’t give a fuck if that made him a hypocrite or not. As far as he was concerned, none of that meant a damn thing. The only thing that mattered was that everything he had, -- everything he wanted, -- was in danger of being taken away from him, and he couldn’t even try to hold on to her or protect her, because she had gone off to face her enemy on her own. (Damn stubborn onna!)

When he came to a stop, he was mildly surprised to note that the second son was just a few steps behind him, and the youngest wasn’t far behind. But he barely spared them a thought, as his attention was focused on the two females standing about 40 feet apart in an open field. They were out of his reach, on the other side of a bright pink barrier, which prevented anyone else from interfering in the events taking place. Shippou and Ginta had been trapped outside of it, too. He would kill them later. Right now he was busy assessing the condition of the two combatants.

The air inside the barrier was thick and crackling with power. A few smoldering arrows scorched and split the earth and surrounding trees where they’d struck, devastating the area due to the youki present in all forms of life in the Makai. The onnas were facing each other with grim determination, but he was glad to see that Kagome didn’t appear to be hurt. She was wearing another tai chi-style uniform, but this one was different than the ones she normally wore. The pants and tunic were black, with white cuffs at the ankles and wrists, a white collar, and white frog enclosures all down the front. They were closer-fitting than the others, and the tunic was shorter. He approved of the fit, seeing that it would allow less for an opponent to catch hold of in close combat. She had her hair in its normal long braid, down the center of her back and out of her way. There was no doubt she had come prepared to fight. And as he assessed her stance and the brilliance of the pink glow surrounding her hands, he could not suppress his appreciation for the strength and power she radiated. She was … stunning. But even from this distance he could feel her sorrow and her regret, and that made him anxious. Kurama had told Koenma early on that she was probably one of the most dangerous females he had ever seen, -- her main limitation being her sentiment, which made her hesitate to kill. He only hoped that he was wrong about it eventually being her downfall.

Huge serpentine shikigami streaked across the ground toward Kagome by the dozens, only to be destroyed or deflected back towards Kikyou by a wave of the priestess’ hand. But it seemed the kuromiko used them as a diversion as much as for a direct attack, and she kept trying to calculate the best instant to fire an arrow while Kagome was otherwise occupied. When yet another one of her hama no ya hit a tree in the distance behind Kagome, Kuwabara, having just arrived, shuddered when the tree exploded.

“She was nowhere near that strong before,” he gasped. He was very worried for his friend, who seemed to be mostly on the defensive.

“No, she wasn’t,” Youko agreed. “The ookami would never have survived a hit like that.” He wasn’t entirely sure how he would fare. One arrow still wouldn’t be enough to kill him, but it would do some serious, perhaps even irreparable, damage, depending on where he was hit. The thought made him narrow his eyes in anger. He still owed that bitch one, and if the widow didn’t finish her off, he would take great pleasure in delivering it to her. Slowly.

“She may have gained some strength and power, which make her hama no ya extremely dangerous, but she won’t hit kaa-san,” Sassouta said confidently.

“Unless she is distracted by those snakes she keeps throwing at her. What the hell are those things and what will they do if they get her?” Yusuke wanted to know.

“They are shikigami. I am surprised we can see them, but I suppose it’s due to the large amount of Kagome’s power that has been unleashed in that enclosed area. And I’m not sure what their effect would be if they were to strike her. They might simply injure her as a form of Kikyou’s power, or they could bestow some form of curse on her,” Youko answered.

“Correct. Kagome has faced a kuromiko before, who sent one to bite her and retrieve her blood so she could curse her by tainting the jewel shards she carried. If these are like Tsubaki’s, they could even paralyze or kill her. But I think Kikyou would prefer to kill her with an arrow, the way Inuyasha was killed,” Shippou informed them.

Hiei turned his attention to the dead onna. In stark contrast to Kagome’s solid stance, she seemed to be struggling to remain standing. One of the sleeves of the cream-colored kimono of her chihaya had been ripped away, presumably by a hama no ya, and there was a long, thin burn along her right arm. She had taken a hit in her left shoulder, which left a black hole, but there was no blood visible. As he watched, Kagome sent another hama no ya at her which knocked her backwards when it hit. She sank to one knee, and he watched as she poured her own ki into the arrow to disperse it, before covering the wound in her side with her hand. He frowned slightly. There was something wrong with this scene. If she had taken two direct hits, why weren’t any of the souls escaping her injured body? Focusing the Jagan, he saw it, -- the thin, black barrier encasing her body, just as before. But the last time, when Kagome had hit her with her hama no ya, the barrier had shattered. And she had hit her from a considerably farther distance, with a weaker hama no ya. Even though her arrows were piercing it, and actually damaging her body, they were not breaking down the barrier. The kuromiko had boosted her powers, damn it. And what the hell was his onna doing?!!?

“Kikyou,” she started towards her downed opponent, “you know you don’t belong here, -- not in this time, not in that false body, and not with so much darkness inside of you. You were a strong, proud protector. I know you never wanted to be cast in that role, but you accepted it, and you helped so many people. You helped Inuyasha. You gave him hope, -- hope for happiness, and for love. I’m so sorry you were cheated out of your own hopes and dreams for those things, for a normal, ordinary life. It’s not fair, but you can’t change it. And I know you don’t want to continue on this way. This kuromiko you have become, killing innocent youkai for your own purposes, -- this isn’t you. And I know I am to blame, too. By allowing you to continue to exist like this, I allowed your hatred to fester and grow. Let me help you to purge it and find peace. You have wandered the earth as one apart from everyone else for far too long. You need to rest.” She stopped just a few steps away and held out a hand imploringly.

“I can’t believe she’s doing this,” Yusuke whispered. “That woman tried to kill her, and she’s offering to save her?”

Her sons just stood there silently, while Ginta and Hakkaku nodded. Shippou answered him quietly, “That’s who Kagome is.”

Kikyou closed her eyes and lowered her head. “I am … tired.” And she let her bow drop to the ground beside her.

Kagome closed the distance between them, and bent down to embrace her.

“No!” Daitano yelled. But the warning came too late, as the flash of sunlight gleaming off of the metal of Kikyou’s dagger was extinguished as the dagger was plunged into his mother’s abdomen.

Kagome’s eyes widened in shock, and she slid to her knees in front of Kikyou, her arms still around the other woman’s shoulders. Kikyou slowly stood up and smiled. “You’re pathetic. Still so foolish and so trusting. Always wanting to see the ‘good’ in everyone. Always wanting to ‘save’ everyone. How many times did Inuyasha have to save you because of that? It took me a long time to figure it out, but that damn weakness of yours has always been your greatest strength, hasn’t it? It’s the reason why everyone always helped you, -- shielded you. Inuyasha got to play the big, strong protector for you, didn’t he? That’s why he loved you. It made him feel special. Well, look where it got him. He would have been better off with me.

I never needed anyone to help me. I was killing youkai and protecting the village when I was 13. When you dropped into our era, 50 years after my death, you couldn’t even shoot a bow. Even with my soul, and my powers, you were worthless. I never wanted to be resurrected, but when you broke my hold on Inuyasha so I couldn’t take him to hell with me, I was stuck here. And when I saw what a mockery you were making of my life, I knew I had to get my soul back. I never expected you to survive your encounters with Naraku. And I never expected Inuyasha to choose to be with you. The wish on the Shikon no Tama should have been to restore me.” She pointed to Daitano, who was trying madly to break through his mother’s barrier, along with the others. “That should be my son!” she screamed.

As her words echoed around the field, the air around Daitano began to lift and swirl. As his eyes flashed red, he snarled at Kikyou, revealing his fangs. “I may be inu, but that doesn’t mean my otou-san would have taken a cold bitch like you for a mate. The part of him that was youkai could never have accepted you, any more than you accepted him. You wanted him to marry you, as a human, because you were afraid of what he really was. And if he had become human for you, he would have resented you for it, -- for making him become only half of what he should have been. What makes you think that half a man could father any children?” And she stared at him in horror as his features began to change and elongate. He hunched over, and then leaned down. Strong, furry, white paws shook the ground when they hit it, as long sharp claws sprouted from them. As the transformation overtook him, he changed and grew, until a huge, white dog almost 50 feet tall, with a red flaming arrow emblazoned across its forehead and a jagged purple stripe slashing across both sides of his face, stood in his place. “Let down the barrier, okaa-san,” he ordered.

Kikyou shivered. “He’s a monster! Inuyasha could not transform like that!”

Kagome closed her eyes as she grasped the handle of the dagger and pulled it from her stomach, then stuck it into the ground beside her. “No, you’re the monster. But you are right about a couple of things.” She pressed her hand to the wound to staunch the flow of blood, and inhaled sharply with the pain. “And you are wrong about a couple of things.”

“Okaa-san! Drop the barrier!” Daitano roared, as he raked his claws along it, causing pink sparks to shoot off in all directions.

“I think it did make Inuyasha feel good to know that he was needed and valued. It gave him confidence and pride in himself. But he needed me, too. And if you think you never needed anyone, you’re lying to yourself. You needed Inuyasha to be able to justify turning your back on your responsibilities. Helping a hanyou become human was a good enough reason, wasn’t it? Even if that’s not what he would have wanted, if you’d given him another choice. You couldn’t even go to hell without him.

And do you honestly believe that your soul, and your powers, originated with you? That you were the first miko ever to be born with a special ability and aptitude to heal and protect? Those powers were granted centuries before you were born, to someone who earned them through devoted service and a sincere desire to help others. They grew as they were passed down through the ages with the soul that came to be yours, -- each person building upon them, adding to them with the karma accumulated during their lifetime. You studied with learned priests to learn how to use those powers. And all of the good you did added to them, too, and to the purity of your soul. The piece of the soul that reanimated your body and brought back your consciousness as you isn’t yours, though. It’s mine.

When my soul ascended at my death, the kami told me that after you died, that soul was reincarnated three times into three powerful mikos before it came to me. That’s why it is so much larger now, and so pure. Their deeds, their purity, and their karma enlarged it. Then it lay dormant for over two hundred years because the splitting of the realms had cut down on the need for mikos and priestesses. But those powers, and the purity that soul had attained were needed, plus a little more, … me. I was needed to set things right in the past. Kikyou, I was never meant to be your rival. I was supposed to be your avenger, along with Inuyasha. My soul isn’t yours. My life isn’t yours. I am not an altered version of you. And my qualities, -- my powers and purity, -- even facets of my personality, have been added to this soul. Can’t you feel the difference? Why do you think you are able to express your feelings as you were never able to do in life? By holding a piece of my soul, you gained part of me.”

She slowly rose to her feet, and as the movement increased the flow of blood, Daitano howled and leapt at the barrier. His brothers, also sporting the jagged stripes on their cheeks and the symbol of their lineage on their foreheads, rushed up beside him, drawing their weapons to try to break through and help their mother. Hiei was struggling to restrain his own transformation as he used the Jagan to search for weaknesses in the barrier. But her next words gave them all pause.

“Daitano, … all of you, … stay back. I will not die here, -- not today, and not by her hand. As a healer, Kikyou, you should know that this isn’t a fatal wound, -- even if I were still completely ningen. And I assure I am not.”

Kikyou sneered at her. “Perhaps that wound isn’t fatal, but the blood loss is weakening you. You are far stronger and more skilled than I had imagined, -- you have learned great control through the years, but I am not the same as I used to be, either. As you can see, you have hit me and this body is damaged, but my barrier is strong enough to hold the souls within me. You cannot ‘kill’ me, if you cannot release them. And I doubt you can continue to dodge my attacks for long, now that you are injured. I have learned how to increase my powers, and I could extinguish your life in an instant, but I have waited for this moment for so long that I want to savor it. I want to see it in your eyes. You used to know your place, before Inuyasha betrayed me and made you think you were someone you are not. Despite your belief that my soul grew and became stronger before you took it, the truth is, you are still just a watered-down version of me. You never could bring yourself to do what it takes to achieve your goals, no matter the cost. You are weak. And the only reason Inuyasha turned to you, was because you are alive and I am not. Now I am going to fix that.” And her hands began to glow with a black light.

Kagome knew she was right about the blood loss weakening her. She had to end it quickly. “You always were too arrogant for your own good,” she said, assuming an offensive stance and summoning her own powers into her hands, as she prepared to attack. “And you always had an over-inflated opinion of your own power, -- you thought you were the only one who could defeat Naraku, and you thought you could do it on your own. But you couldn’t. Do you honestly think that the power you stole by killing youkai for their souls can stand against the power earned by priestesses and mikos, like you used to be? I have been weak before, and it has cost me dearly, but I was never just a ‘watered-down version’ of you. If you believe that I will not do what I have to, then you have no idea who I am, -- you never did. You are right about one last thing, -- I am still foolish, and I do still want to save everyone I can. It hurts me more than you will ever know to have to do this, but your time is up.”

And ignoring the pain in her midsection, she launched herself at her. She knew she couldn’t afford the time it might take to use her snake style kung fu, and with her injury, she wasn’t going to be able to do any kicking, but she had to take the fight in close to maximize her advantage. So, she employed the eight fists of Tibetan Hop Gar in a series of blows to weaken the shield Kikyou had encased herself in to hold onto the souls inside of her. Visibly shaken and hurting, the kuromiko threw her arms forward to attack her directly with her powers, and concentrating on her middle, managed to throw her back.

“Kaa-san!”

“Shit! With that injury, she wasn’t able to dodge that,” Yusuke swore.

All three of her sons, who had calmed somewhat at their mother’s earlier reassurance began to renew their frantic efforts to reach her. Daitano was still in his inu form, and his rumbling growls filled the air. With their attention captured by what was going on in front of them, most of them were oblivious to the green tint quickly taking over Hiei’s skin, except for Genkai. The old woman unobtrusively came up beside him and very quietly murmured, “Get ahold of yourself. She has more in her than that.”

Youko, who had been watching Kagome intently as she pressed her hand firmly against her stomach again and groaned, stepped up to Eishumaru and laid a hand on his shoulder. “She figured out a way to stop the bleeding, -- temporarily, anyway. As long as she can withstand the pain, she will be able to continue, though she will tire fast. It will do no good for you to expend yourself on this barrier. We will not be able to help her until this is over.”

Shippou turned to him, “How can she stop the bleeding?”

“She took a tip from Kikyou. Look closely, -- she has encased herself in a tight barrier to prevent further blood loss.”

Sure enough. There was now a bright pink light covering her from head to toe. Catching her breath, she shook her head slightly, before moving back in towards Kikyou. The dead woman was having to pour her power into maintaining her barrier. There were cracks all over her clay body from the blows her reincarnation had dealt her. Seeing her come at her again, she sent out one more shikigami serpent, and then threw out a huge wave of her dark spiritual energy.

Kagome’s footwork wasn’t very nimble, but she managed to sidestep the shikigami, and wave it away into nothingness almost as an afterthought. Her focus was on her prey. Holding her arms out in front of her, a blast of her own spiritual energy collided with Kikyou’s, and the explosion shook the ground, causing her to stumble, but she continued forward. Kikyou had been knocked to the ground by the shockwaves, and she grabbed her bow as she tried to get back on her feet. But Kagome reached her before she was fully standing. The pink light surrounding her had become almost blindingly bright as she called upon all of her reserves of power. Another flurry of blows pounded the kuromiko’s body, and she cried out as the first of the souls began to escape when her barrier finally gave way under the barrage. Crumpling to the ground, she lay on her back and looked up at Kagome as a string of lights poured out of her and made their way heavenwards. “This … isn’t over,” she croaked.

Lowering herself to her knees and straddling Kikyou’s prone figure, Kagome looked her in the eyes. “Hai, it is. My Sifu would be very disappointed to learn that I ignored the precepts of the style he taught me: Sim - Evade, Jeet - Intercept, Chun - Penetrate, and Chon - Destroy. No negotiation. Forgive me.” There were tears running down her face, and one of them fell onto the other woman’s cheek. Pulling back her right elbow, she struck her solidly in the chest, right over where her heart would have been, with the flat of her palm. For a minute, the powers of both women flashed so brightly that everyone had to shield their eyes or look away. Then the pink light seemed to obliterate the black, and as it died down, it revealed Kagome kneeling there by herself, with a small black sphere hovering in front of her. She seemed to be holding it off with one hand, while she gathered together a bunch of bones with the other. No one said a word as she poured her powers into the bones, causing them, too, to finally disintegrate, before blowing away.

When she let down her other hand, the black sphere that was the piece of her soul that Kikyou had held all these years hit her squarely in the chest. As she slumped to the ground, the barrier holding the others back fell, and they rushed over to her. Although Hiei had been standing farther back than the others had, trying desperately to control the instincts that threatened to overpower him, he reached her at almost the same instant her sons did. Eishumaru and Sassouta both dropped to their knees and reached out to pick her up.

“Don’t touch her, you fools!” Genkai yelled. “Didn’t the kami see fit to grant at least one of you a brain? Can’t you feel the power surging in her?”

Ignoring the old woman’s warning, Sassouta touched her cheek, only to jerk his hand away as it immediately started burning. “What … ?!!?”

As they all gathered around her now, Genkai shook her head at him. “There’s always someone who has to find out for himself the hard way, instead of listening to the wisdom of others. Move aside so I can examine her. Youko,” she motioned the kitsune closer.

“What the hell is happening to her?” Eishumaru demanded.

“She has to purify that piece of her soul to remove the taint. Didn’t you see how corrupted it was?” Genkai told him.

“It looks like you don’t need to worry about her wound, though,” Youko told them, studying her with intense interest as Genkai moved her tunic out of the way so he could see the injury. “Even though the barrier she placed around herself is gone, the wound is already sealing itself. Amazing.”

“How long will she be like this?” Sassouta asked.

“I have no idea. It could be hours or even days. I would assume she has to do this slowly and carefully so it is just cleansed and not totally eradicated, and then it will have to bond and merge with the rest of her soul. Honestly, I’ve never heard of such a thing happening before, but then again, I had never heard of someone having a large enough soul that they could continue to function without part of it. I’m sure Zhang knows more about this than I do,” Genkai confessed.

“We need to get her home, but how?” Eishumaru asked.

Genkai turned to Kuwabara. “You’ll have to carry her, dimwit, -- you’re the only one here besides me who can touch her right now.”

“Okay.” He walked over closer to her, and bent down to pick her up. But as he reached out to scoop her up in his arms, he stopped and frowned. He looked closely at the woman lying there, and then seemed to look around on the ground near her, as if he were following something, until he raised his eyes and met a pair of glaring crimson ones staring back at him. He blinked and then shook his head. All of those flashes of pink light must have his eyes playing tricks on him. For a second there, he could have sworn he saw …

“What’s the matter with you? Her powers won’t hurt you, you idiot,” Yusuke said exasperatedly. He wanted to get them out of here before they ran into trouble. As it was, Koenma was going to bitch at him until his ears fell off over her getting into the Makai in the first place.

“I know that. I just thought I saw something on the ground.” He cradled her gently against his chest as he stood up.

“I don’t want her here in that condition any longer than she has to be. Climb on my back,” Daitano told him.

“Are you serious?” Kuwabara looked at the towering, vicious-looking dog a bit nervously.

“Hurry up!” he growled, as he bowed down so he could get on.

Shippou jumped on his back and helped Kuwabara up. “Let’s go.” And in the blink of an eye, they were gone, along with Eishumaru, Sassouta, and the two ookami.

The remaining three Spirit Detectives and Genkai watched them disappear. Hiei had a pretty good idea what Kuwabara might have seen. He had forgotten the idiot’s nonsense with that “red string of destiny” crap that he had claimed he could see linking himself with Yukina, proving that they belonged together. Well, if anyone should be linked, it was him and Kagome, but he sure didn’t need that fool finding out before he had convinced her. And he knew that Youko had taken note of how he had rushed over to her as soon as the barrier had dropped. Damn it! He just couldn’t stop himself! And she had been spirited away out of his reach again. It was a good thing he was in the Makai, because he was about to go on a rampage.

“Well, at least we don’t have to worry about the dead woman anymore,” Yusuke commented. “But damn! How does Kagome keep managing to get herself into such dangerous situations? And with that barrier she put up, we couldn’t do a fucking thing to help her! I like her and all, but I’ll be glad not to be responsible for her anymore when this is all over. That woman attracts trouble like nobody I’ve ever seen.”

“You realize she just killed one of our other suspects, so we can’t find out anything about the murders from her,” Youko said.

Yusuke’s face fell. “Shit.”

“You idiots should also realize that youkai for miles around are going to see that boy in his inu form. I’ve only ever heard of two other inuyoukai who could assume such a massive presence -- the Great Dog General and the taiyoukai Sesshoumaru. There will be no mistaking his lineage. I take it you didn’t know he could do that,” Genkai chided them.

“Hn. All of the intelligent, more powerful youkai in this area made themselves scarce when they felt the holy powers surging here. I will take care of the low-level rabble,” Hiei told her, grateful for an excuse to vent some of his pent-up rage, and to escape the too-sharp eyes of the kitsune and the old onna.

“If the bloodshed isn’t enough for you, I highly recommend you look up a lovely vixen who works in these parts, -- just ask old Hisoka for Etsuyo. She’ll see to what ails you.” And ignoring the deadly glare sent his way, Youko smirked wickedly as he watched Hiei disappear. “As for your conclusion,” he turned to Genkai, “you’re quite correct. We had no idea his pure inu form was so impressive, or even that he knew how to focus his youki enough to reveal it, and I’m not even sure that he knew it. No one had mentioned such an ability to us. I suspect all three of them will be able to access even more of their powers here in this realm. You saw the kaikyuushou stripes?” Youko asked her.

“Hai. This whole little side trip has been extremely entertaining. I have to say, you boys do come across the most interesting people,” the old lady cackled. “The sons of legendary taiyoukai from the Feudal Era, a priestess of enormous power, with both a heroic and shady past, a dead kuromiko, -- are there any other intriguing characters involved in this ‘case’ of yours?”

“You mean other than the sexy wind-user who paid Kurama a visit last night? You’ll be meeting her soon, -- she’s the one who says her son is Sesshoumaru’s, too,” Yusuke grinned.

Genkai raised a brow at Youko. Well, this just kept getting better and better. First, there was the secret love affair going on between their main suspect and Hiei, -- right under everyone’s noses. She was going to laugh when that came out. She could understand him putting it over on the two dimwits, but Kurama? Youko’s ego must be blinding him to the facts, or else they’ve all just been selling the little demon short in this area, no pun intended. She snickered to herself anyway. She supposed it took a woman to recognize and appreciate just how appealing a specimen he really was. He would have turned her head, back a few decades ago. Then again, she always did prefer a solid build to a pretty face -- look at Toguro.

But besides Hiei’s secret, there was Kurama chasing after the girl in a very bold manner. It was amusing to see him frustrated at his lack of success. He might not show it much, but she knew it had to be gnawing at his gut. She doubted he had been rebuffed before, -- his experiences only dating back a few years, and his choices being mostly young human women, who couldn’t withstand his kitsune charm. He was actually too successful, and she had noticed his growing disdain for the women who fell at his feet. That didn’t mean he appreciated being turned away, though. She suppressed a chuckle at the thought. It might just do him some good.

And now the wind-sorceress had been tossed into the mix. She seemed to be a rival of the priestess, and also one of the suspects. The woman might find Kurama attractive, but she was sure she had other motivations for seeking him out. What was he thinking to let her into his bed? Or was he so out-of-sorts with Kagome’s rejections that he was thinking with the wrong head? She hadn’t known him to let himself be led by his cock before, but she supposed if the woman had come knocking at his door, he couldn’t be blamed for inviting her in. And it was more likely that he was also using her for some other purpose, -- to find out more information, perhaps? Oh, but what a tangled web they were all weaving here. The question was, who would turn out to be the spider, and who the flies?

“Well, what are you waiting for, dimwit? Let’s get back to the house.”
--------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------


When Kurama asked his teammates to meet him in his room after dinner the next day, his expression was grim. He knew that at least one of them was not going to like what he had discovered. It was time to stop pussyfooting around the matter, though, and start getting serious about it.

He didn’t waste any time once they were all there. “I opened the chest.”

Kuwabara gave him a puzzled look. “What chest?”

“He’s talking about that old box that Myouga and Jaken brought back,” Yusuke said. “Right? Is that what you’ve been doing all day, -- trying to get into it?”

“You mean you were breaking into her stuff while you were supposed to be keeping an eye on her, while the rest of us were training?” Kuwabara asked indignantly.

Hiei studied Kurama’s expression and posture closely. It was obvious the fox had found something, and whatever it was, it wasn’t good for Kagome. Great. That was all he needed. His patience had been severely tested when he had returned from the Makai to discover that the old priest thought it would be days before Kagome regained consciousness. He needed to be able to touch her -- to prove to himself that she was all right, -- and he couldn’t get near her, even if he used the dragon to get rid of everyone standing in his way. Though that was still a rather satisfying thought. In addition to that, when the other kitsune had suggested that the boys go about their regular routine, since they couldn’t do anything for her, Kurama had immediately volunteered to stay with her during the day while everyone else was out. He had neatly sidestepped Hiei’s comment that Yukina and the other females could watch after her, by proclaiming his fascination with the whole soul-cleansing/re-bonding process. Damn sneaky kitsunes. At least he knew he couldn’t touch her right now, either.

Kurama ignored Kuwabara’s accusation and revealed the small cloth-wrapped bundle he had taken. He carefully unwrapped it to show them.

“It’s a dagger,” Yusuke said.

“It’s a kaiken. If I’m not mistaken, this is probably the kaiken Lord Sesshoumaru gave her.”

It took a minute for that to sink in for a couple of them. “Wait. You mean, that’s the one used to kill him?”

With a nod, he continued, “I will take it into the Reikai to have it tested.”

“For what?” Yusuke wanted to know.

“For anything we can find out. It may even still have microscopic traces of his blood on it. We may be able to determine what kind of poison was used on him. And that brings me to what else was in the box.” He turned to look Kuwabara directly in the eyes. “It’s full of small jars and vials, and every one of them holds a different type of poison.”

“Ho-ly shit,” Yusuke breathed.

Kuwabara blinked. “That … that doesn’t prove anything,” he stuttered, then he straightened his shoulders and narrowed his eyes, his voice gaining strength as his conviction grew, “You know she knows about poisons, -- you all mentioned that a long time ago. It was necessary for her to learn about stuff like that to fight against youkai and to help treat people all those years ago.”

“The idiot has a point.”

Three heads swiveled in Hiei’s direction in startled surprise. “Someone throw me a blanket, -- I think hell just froze over. Did you actually just agree with Kuwabara?” Yusuke asked in amazement.

The hiyoukai glared at them. “I agreed that we already knew the priestess knows about poisons, and that she has a reason for that knowledge that is not necessarily sinister or suspicious.”

Kurama looked at him a bit curiously. He hadn’t expected Hiei to speak up in her defense. Perhaps he was putting too fine a point upon the kaiken being hidden away with the poisons. He frowned. Perhaps not. “I will grant you that. However, does it not strike you as a strange coincidence that she would hide the dagger together with so many varieties of poison? There were two dozen containers in the box. What possible reason could she have for even keeping so many in her possession?”

“Good question. Why would she have all of those, -- whether she used any of them on Sesshoumaru or not?” Yusuke asked him. “You obviously have thought of a reason.”

“I believe she was testing them to see what would work on him. Jaken said he had an immunity to many kinds of poisons,” he reminded them.

“Aw, shit. I’m tired of this. Why don’t you just ask her why she has them? Oh, wait, -- you’d have to confess to breaking into her stuff to do that, wouldn’t you? Then we’d all get thrown out on our asses,” Kuwabara got up and headed to the door.

“Kuwabara, you’re forgetting that if we decide we need to, we can tear this house apart. And there’s not a damn thing they can do about it. Lord Koenma could have had her imprisoned in the Reikai the minute she appeared in her own form in that cave. This isn’t a game, and we’re not her guests. She is suspected of murdering three taiyoukai, and there are outstanding petitions for her arrest and execution. She is fortunate that Lord Koenma decided to send us to determine her probable guilt or innocence, -- he didn’t have to do that. The Reikai doesn’t work like the ningen criminal justice system,” Kurama pointed out.

Without turning around, the tall Spirit Detective replied quietly, “No, it doesn’t. And I guess because you’re youkai, and supposed to be so smart and all, your determination that she’s guilty outweighs mine that she’s innocent. I’m wasting my time here.” And he continued on out the door.

After he left, an uncomfortable silence fell over the room. Kurama frowned, causing deep wrinkles to furrow across his brow. It was true that Kuwabara wasn’t the brightest individual, but he could read people fairly accurately when he tried. He might think that they didn’t pay any attention to his opinions, but Kurama did. He was so adamant that she was innocent, in spite of everything they’d discovered, and the extreme unlikelihood that there was anyone else with the same means, motive, and opportunity. “After I take this into the Reikai, I will talk to Jin and Touya. They need to track down the elusive Byakuya. I will see if Chuu and Rinku are available to seek out Moryomaru. Most of the youkai on the second list Shippou provided us with have already been eliminated as possibilities, but there are still a handful of those we need to look into, too.”

Yusuke nodded his head. “That’s a good idea.” He stood up to leave. Hiei had gone with nothing more than a brief nod of acknowledgement for the fox’ plans. The toushin chuckled for a second. “The big lug got to you, didn’t he? His steadfast belief in her is rather convincing, ne?”

The corners of Kurama’s mouth twitched in wry amusement. “Hai. In his own bumbling way, he is rather … eloquent.”

“Well, that certainly was an unexpected outcome to our announcement,” Youko drawled.

“Indeed. I had thought the kaiken and the poisons were a good indicator of her probable guilt, and while I expected Kuwabara to protest, I was sure it would prove persuasive enough to give him doubt. Instead, his firm belief has given me pause in my own convictions concerning her. Even Hiei is giving her the benefit of the doubt.”

“Hmmm. I think he’d like to give her the benefit of something else,” the silver kitsune waggled his brows suggestively, with a chuckle. “He didn’t take our advice and seek out the lovely Etsuyo, and I think he’s horny as hell. His own hard-on may be softening his attitude towards females, in general.”

“I don’t think Hiei would let something like that affect his judgment regarding the case. You know how objective he is when it comes to matters like these.”

“Hai. He just doesn’t give a damn one way or another.”

Kurama couldn’t contain a smile at that. “In many instances, you don’t either, Youko.”

“I know. It makes life so much easier,” he grinned.
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It was two nights later before Hiei was able to slip into her room. He quietly closed and locked the door behind him, and immediately shed his clothes. Shippou had brought them all the news that she had finally woken late that afternoon. The purification and unification process was complete, but she was exhausted. So, after her sons had gone in to sit with her awhile, the old priest had told everyone it would be best to let her sleep. Hiei had been chomping at the bit to go in and see her for himself, but he had contented himself with the thought that nothing and no one would keep him away from her tonight. He was going to hold her, and breathe in her scent, and just look at her all night long.

The day after Kurama’s discovery of the kaiken and poisons, Kuwabara had insisted that he be the one to stay with her, instead of the fox. So, he and Yukina had spent the day in her room. Shizuru had spent quite a bit of time there, too, apparently trying to avoid Eishumaru, but he just joined her there. The tall inu might be too youthful-looking for her ningen sensibilities, but she seemed to be weakening towards him. Today, Genkai had said she wanted to witness what was happening, so she and Zhang had been there most of the day, with Yusuke and Keiko sitting with them part of the time. He had heard the old onna discussing a “change” in Kagome’s appearance with the priest, and she had even had the nerve to grin widely and wink at him when she saw he was listening. They had concluded that because she had not been in possession of her full soul when it ascended and the kami blessed her, the full effects of their celestial blessing hadn’t manifested themselves. He was anxious to see for himself just how pronounced the difference was now.

He didn’t have to go more than two steps into the room to see what they were talking about, and he approached the bed in a state of awe, disbelief, and irritation. His damn onna was glowing. He cursed to himself as he could not restrain the impulse to touch her. She was surrounded by a soft, but very visible light, which completely captured and enthralled him. Her skin had always had a faint pearlescent glow to it, but now it shimmered and sparkled. She looked … ethereal. And her skin seemed to beckon to him to caress it. He had relished how soft and smooth her body was before, -- how was it possible that it felt even better to his fingers now? Her beautiful, silky, ebony hair was shining, and he grabbed a handful of it and brought it up to his face. He groaned aloud at the feel of it against his cheek. There was no doubt about it, with her complete soul in her possession, she manifested the attributes of the legendary celestial maidens in a much more powerful and blatant manner. Her sensual appeal was almost hypnotic. He was going to be beating other males away from his mate for the rest of his life. He was just thankful the damn onna didn’t actually have a hagoromo that he would have to guard, or he’d never have any peace.

Pulling back the sheet that covered her, he frowned at the long, gray gown she was wearing. That was unacceptable. Extending one claw, he quickly cut through the straps on her shoulders, before slitting it all the way down the front. And if he wasn’t so desperate to hold her, he would have just stood there and drank in the vision lying before him. But he needed to have her next to him, so he climbed into the bed and gathered her up against him.

He rubbed his cheek against hers, and closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, fully enjoying her exotic scent. As he listened to her gentle breathing and the steady beat of her heart, he swallowed thickly and tightened his grip on her. Damn onna. No one was going to take her away from him, -- not even her. She needed to accept that. And he sure as hell wasn’t fool enough to let someone kill him and take him away from her. She would have to get past her fears and have faith in him. And if that wasn’t enough, he had two idiots and a kitsune to watch his back, if need be.

His mild irritation and anxiety over getting her to accept him were forgotten as the feel of her body flooded his mind with other thoughts. While one arm held her snugly against him, his other hand roamed, savoring the silkiness of her skin and the contours of her figure. He was so engrossed in re-discovering her, that it took him a moment to realize that her arms had found their way around him and that she was clutching him as tightly as he was her. His awareness was punctuated by the throbbing ache of his cock, which was trapped between them, and rapidly becoming aroused almost to the point of release by the way she was pressing her hips against him and rotating them in a manner to stimulate herself.

His mind went blank until he heard her softly say his name, as she trailed warm, open-mouthed kisses across his shoulder and up his neck. Nothing further needed to be said, except, “If you don’t want the others hearing you screaming my name, I suggest you put a barrier around the room.” And he rolled her onto her back and covered her, while capturing her lips fiercely. As he plundered the depths of her mouth, she reached blindly above her until her hand made contact with the wall. The entire room glowed pink for just a split-second, before the light was gone as though it had never been there at all.

They were both hungry for each other, and neither of them was willing to wait. Parting her legs and using a hand to lift her hips, Hiei growled when he felt a hand close around him. His eyes flashed dangerously when she rubbed the head against her rapidly-moistening folds, before bucking her hips to take him inside. If his female wanted him so badly, she was going to get him, -- but he would set the pace. Sitting up on his knees, he grasped her hips and thrust roughly into her as far as he could go. Which wasn’t very far. Damnit. She was just so damned small! His fangs and claws elongated with his frustration, and he couldn’t hold himself back. With two more hard, sharp thrusts, -- which had indeed made her call out his name, -- he was fully buried inside her. The pleasure was so intense, it was almost painful, and he gave an inhuman cry of his own before lunging forward to fully cover her body with his again as he began to move inside her.

All he could manage at this point, was to push in and jerk back roughly, which resulted in a barely-perceptible amount of actual movement. It didn’t matter, though, because the way she was gripping him was more than enough to take him over the top. When his hips stopped jerking, he realized he had closed his eyes, and he opened them to look at his lover. He knew he had been anything but gentle or loving so far, and the last thing he wanted to do was hurt her, but even having just come, he knew he wasn’t going to be able to slow down or take it easy. It had been too long and he needed her too much. She had evaded him for a while, and worried him, and now that he had her, he couldn’t control the need to have her. It was more than the physical desire, -- maybe it was part of the intrinsic wildness of his youkai nature, maybe it was his life as a thief, or maybe it was even because he had never really had anything of true value before, -- whatever it was, it was driving him to take her and keep her. And if he had to keep her in her bed to keep her, well, he could do that.

Still, he forced himself to pause for just a moment to make sure she was all right. Her eyes were closed, and his heart sank when he saw the slightly pained look on her face. But when he remained still, he saw her brow furrow as she opened her eyes and looked at him in confusion. Then he felt her hips lift insistently. “Hiei?”

Reaching up to touch his face, she realized he was afraid of hurting her. There had definitely been some momentary discomfort, but she had expected that, -- she had known from the way he kissed her that his passions were running high, -- but so were hers. The truth was, she wanted him, -- no, needed him too much right now to care. She felt more alive, and complete, than she could ever remember feeling. Everything seemed more vibrant to her senses: colors were brighter; sounds were clearer; scents were more fragrant; her sons had brought her a glass of water earlier, and she could have sworn nothing had ever tasted so good, -- until she had kissed Hiei. Every touch of his skin against hers made her nerves tingle. And she wanted to feel more. She raised up to brush her lips over his, and bucked her hips again. “What are you waiting for?”

“You,” he answered, pressing her back down into the mattress. “I’ve been waiting for you.” (I just didn’t know it. And I’ll keep waiting, as long as it takes, -- just not patiently.) But he wasn’t going to wait for this. He had been immobilized by the sight of those mesmerizing eyes of hers. He had known immediately that she was all right, -- her irises were completely black, signifying her very thoroughly aroused state. And even as he settled himself, she was drawing her knees up along his sides and planting her feet for purchase. He grinned smugly when she ground her hips up into his and rubbed herself along his body. She really did want him as much as he wanted her. This would be a wild ride.

And it was. A loud groan escaped him at the greater range of motion he had now, and he worked diligently to increase it with each solid thrust. He reveled in the unbelievable sensations that shot through his body as her inner flesh clung to him, making every in-and-out movement both ecstasy and agony. To make it even better, his onna was moving as vigorously as he was, as if she was trying to merge into him. She actually almost lifted him up once, before he let his weight down on her with a low growl rumbling in his throat. Instead of being chastened, she seemed to push up harder against him, bringing his instincts to the forefront. It was almost as if she was challenging him, and he was more than ready to prove to her that she belonged to him.

Pressing her firmly into the mattress, he grasped one of her legs behind the knee and pushed it upwards, preventing her from using it as leverage. With most of his weight resting on her, she was at his mercy now, and he emphasized the fact by pulling out of her very slowly and rubbing just the tip of his cock against her slick folds. “Hiei!” The frustration in her voice had him staring into her eyes, -- hai, they had turned a deep, dark violet. As he leaned down to kiss her lazily, he chuckled when she bit his lip lightly, but he continued to tease her until she began to kiss him with a frantic urgency. As long as they both knew who was in control, he had no objections to resuming their earlier pace, but he held her participation to a minimum, so all she could do was hold on and encourage him. He would show her that he would take care of her and see to her needs in all ways.

With that thought in mind, he switched to a series of short, sharp thrusts, which allowed him to maintain full body contact. Kagome had long ago given in to his pointed demand to let him do the driving, and now she had both of her knees pulled up and locked against his sides, with her feet resting on the backs of his hips. The sounds of her moans and murmurings of “More!” and “Hai!” drove him further, and his world narrowed to the sight of her face and the sound of his own blood rushing through his veins and thrumming in his ears. Her hands slid along his back, her nails leaving stinging tracks in the sweat that had gathered there, but the prickling sensation only seemed to enhance the intense pleasure radiating throughout his body to the throbbing pulse of his cock.

When he saw her open her mouth and throw her head back, as his name spilled from her lips in a desperate cry, he let the pull of her body take him with her. He had been looking forward to seeing the fireworks go off in her eyes, but now all he could focus on was that expanse of skin bared to him. He couldn’t control the need that seized him to claim her, and he let his mouth search the skin she had exposed to him for the spot that would proclaim once and for all that she was his. Drawing upon the skin roughly, he sank his fangs into her flesh.

Suddenly comprehending his intent, Kagome was shaken from the blissful high she had been riding. “Hiei, no! Stop!” She grabbed his shoulders and frantically tried to push him away. Her voice brought him to himself, and he released his hold on her. Lifting his head and staring at the two puncture wounds, he clenched his fists. Wrapping her arms securely around him to make sure he didn’t leave, she tried to talk to him, “Hiei,” she said softly, “I’m … sorry. But we still can’t …”

He cut off her words by taking possession of her lips. Tasting a hint of the coppery flavor of her blood in his mouth, she knew that the small wounds would heal and fade away to nothing since he had stopped before injecting her with his youki to seal the bond and the mark. And even though she knew it was for the best, she couldn’t help the sense of loss she felt. She would welcome the burning ache that would flow through her veins as his youki spread to mingle with her blood and her own ki, if only …

(Damn it! That wasn’t the plan!) Hiei was furious with himself for losing control. And if he admitted it, he was furious with her, too, for bringing him to his senses and stopping him. He knew they needed to talk everything out, but, … she had to know that it was inevitable. She was his, and he would accept nothing less than complete and total acknowledgement and commitment. He needed that. Lifting his head and looking into her eyes, which were a swirling sea of blues, he took a deep breath and told her, “We will. Maybe not now, but we will.”

And before she could protest, he licked away the small amount of blood that was trickling down her neck. Then he slid down her body, pausing only briefly to suckle forcefully on one dark, tightly-budded nipple that was jutting enticingly in his view, before moving on to his destination. Here, at the apex of her thighs, his scent mingled with hers strongly. Throwing one of her legs over his shoulder, and spreading the other one wide, he tilted her bottom just slightly with one hand and began to bathe her sex thoroughly with his tongue. As he licked and sucked on the delicate feminine flesh, and tasted the saltiness of his own essence in with her honey-sweetness, he felt a fiery heat overtake him. There was no stopping his transformation this time, as it came over him almost instantly as soon as the thought hit him that here, again, was proof that this female was made for him. His own taste proved that she accepted him, and the fact that he was tasting her at all proved that he accepted and wanted her. No other female had ever appealed to him this way. She was the only one. He plunged his tongue inside her as far as he could to seek out more of her rich, sweet juices. When her hips began to jerk, he moved just slightly and covered that small, swollen nub of flesh, that he knew could make her lose control, with his mouth, and suckled on it like he had her nipple only moments ago. Her scent, and taste, combined with the loud cry she gave that sounded suspiciously like his name, made his yellow eyes glow, and without warning, he sank his fangs into her left thigh.

This time, she felt a slight burn, and she struggled to sit up, only to be greeted by the sight of her lover in his Majin form, glaring at her. Without a word, he held her eyes with his own as if daring her to move or speak, and turned her just enough so he could sink his fangs into her right hip. All Kagome could do was stare at him in shock, until she realized that the burning feeling didn’t go any further than the actual spots where he had bitten her. She looked down at her thigh to see the skin already scarring from his youki, in the shape of a black dragon, about two inches long.

“You may not want me to mark you as my mate yet, because of your fears, but you are the onna I will have as my mate. No other. And there will be no other for you. These marks are my claim, and my warning to any who see them,” he said fiercely.

Kagome nodded and reached out to caress his cheek. “Hai. There will be no other for me,” she agreed.

After a moment, the eyes covering his body began to close, and the green of his skin began to fade. He had planned to have her again, -- several times, in fact, -- but he found that placing his mark, even if it wasn’t the one he wanted to, had soothed him enough that he wanted to take some time to just hold her and touch her. So he stretched out beside her, and turning her on her side, pulled her back against his chest so he could drape his arm over her and gently stroke her silky-smooth skin. He traced her collarbone lightly with his fingertips, and let them trail across her breasts, before tucking his hand in at her waist. “Get some sleep. We’ll talk when you wake up,” he whispered.

Looking over her shoulder at him, she reached back and touched his face. “I missed you,” she told him softly. Then she lay her head down and closed her eyes. Clutching her to him a little tighter, he did the same.



Hiei jerked awake out of a sound sleep when he felt the Jagan come to attention and begin to probe about the room. He quickly sat up and looked around. Not detecting any movement or sound, he concentrated on the area the Jagan was focusing on. Kagome. (What the hell?) It acted like it wanted to examine and explore her, but the one time he had tried to do that, -- the first night after she and her sons had returned from their self-imposed stasis, -- the Jagan had violently objected. So, what was going on? Was it because she had her full soul now? Cautiously, he allowed it to use its powers to approach her mind, but he was stunned when he realized that wasn’t its destination. Instead, it was focused further down her body.

It took him a minute to comprehend what the Jagan was showing him. Barely more than a speck, it was picking up a separate aura that seemed to change from red to blue, then to pure white. Doing a quick calculation in his head, he wanted to smack himself. This was just great. It was a disaster. It was … A slow, smug, purely-male smile spread across his face. It was … absolutely amazing. Propping himself up on one elbow, he looked down at his sleeping mate, and placed a hand across her abdomen, spreading his fingers wide. He had her now.
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When Master Zhang entered Kagome’s room to check on her, he came to a complete stop at the sight of a fierce glare from an irate hiyoukai. Chuckling, he commented, “Well, it’s about time you caught up with her.” Lifting a brow at him, Hiei reached down to cover her up with the sheet. “I thought I would see how she was doing, but I can see she is fine. I’ll tell the others I asked you to stay in and keep watch over her today.” As he turned to go, he paused and looked Hiei in the eyes. “That’s an interesting solution you have come up with. I didn’t expect that. Of course, you’ve created more difficulties for yourself in getting her to be your mate, but at least you’ve kept her from issuing her own personal challenges for her sons’ lands.”

“What?!!?” Hiei lowered his voice when he felt Kagome stir next to him. “What are you talking about?” he hissed.

Zhang raised both his eyebrows in surprise. “You haven’t talked yet?” It was more a statement than a question.

When the fire demon merely narrowed his eyes at him, he sighed. “That’s the purpose of the jian. She was planning to issue her own challenges ahead of her sons to stave off any major battles. She believed, and she may have been right, that the youkai would accept her challenges because she is a female and they would probably believe they could defeat her, especially since she would be prohibited from purifying them, by the rules of personal challenge combat. And her sons would have their allies in place to help them hold their lands afterwards.”

Hiei turned his glare on the onna lying beside him. Oh, he was going to … to … to do something to her. He looked around the room.

“What are you looking for?” the priest asked curiously.

“Some rope. Or at least that damn red string of destiny.”

Zhang burst out laughing, causing Kagome to mumble, “Hiei?” He shot the old man a nasty look.

“Well, I will leave you two to your talk. Congratulations, by the way. I’m not sure how much you could discern with the Jagan at this point, when there is barely a spark of life to mark your successful joining, but it will be twins. A boy and a girl. Her sons will be delighted when you tell them.” And with those words, he left.

With her eyes still closed, Kagome turned to face Hiei and snuggled into his warmth. She sleepily reached out a hand to caress him. “Did you say something?”

Still glaring down at her, he thought his head would explode. (What the hell was she thinking?!!? I can’t believe she was planning to do that, and was keeping it from everyone, -- from me!) “It’s time to talk,” he said sternly.

The tone of his voice caught her attention, and she opened her eyes to look at him. He looked … angry. No, -- furious. She sat up. “What is it?”

Turning, so they were facing each other as they sat on the bed, he grabbed her by the upper arms and gave her a little shake. “What the hell were you thinking?!!? Why would you put yourself in danger like that?!!? It‘s completely unnecessary!”

Placing her hands against his chest, she answered him calmly, “It was my responsibility. And I knew I could defeat Kikyou, no matter how many powerful youkai souls she had harvested.”

(Well, shit!) He had almost forgotten about that, with the brand-new development and the old man’s revelation. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. There just had to be a way to lock her up somewhere. He could swear he could actually hear the kami laughing. (All right. I need to focus on the current situation. She already ran off and fought the dead onna, -- there’s nothing I can do about that now. But this stupid idea of hers about issuing challenges herself, …) He grabbed her hands. “Kagome, you are not going to try to get your sons’ lands back by yourself. It’s foolishness. They have their plans set, and you have other things to concern yourself with.”

“How …? How did you know? And nothing is more important than making sure their futures are secure,” she said, with a stubborn tilt to her chin.

“The old priest told me. And hai, there is something more important than that, -- something only you can take care of.” He took her hands and placed them over her abdomen, covering them with his own. “You’re pregnant.”

She stared at him in shock. Then she looked down at their hands. “That’s not possible,” she shook her head in denial. “I won’t be fertile for two more days.”

He reached up with one hand and stroked her cheek. “You were unconscious for three days. Remember?”

Her eyes widened as she realized what he was saying. She was at the peak of her fertility. She looked down again and concentrated inwardly on searching out the most minute signs that might mean … “I’m pregnant?” Her eyes lit up with wonder and joy, and the brilliant sapphire shade dazzled Hiei. Then, “Oh, no!” Suddenly they turned gray and stormy-looking. “No! Hiei!” she clutched his forearms frantically. “You … you have to leave! Now!”

The pungent scent of her fear jarred him, and he wrapped his arms around her. “Kagome. It will be all right,” he assured her.

“No! You don’t understand! This is … there’s no way to keep you safe now. You have to go away,” she was practically sobbing into his chest.

Hiei frowned at the desperation in her voice. She was absolutely convinced he would be killed if he stayed here, now that she was pregnant. Because people would know that she must have taken a mate? Or did it have something to do with the pregnancy itself? And she might be telling him to go, but she was holding onto him as if he was her lifeline. Not that it mattered. He wasn’t going anywhere. “If you think I’m leaving you, and our children, you’re crazy, onna. Listen to me,” he demanded. “I am stronger than you think. There is more to me than the fire and ice elements that course through my blood, more than my swordsmanship and fighting skills, -- more than the Jagan, even. Kagome, I have powers that I can access and control from the underworld in the form of the Dragon of Darkness Flame. I have faced countless foes of tremendous power. You must believe me when I say that I can defend myself.”

She raised her tear-stained face to look at him, and took a shaky breath. “I know you are strong, and under most circumstances, I’m sure you are unbeatable. But, …” her hands began to glow with a bright pink light, “can you defend yourself … from me?” And he went sailing across the room, where he hit the wall, and slid down to a heap on the floor.
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So, … what d’ya think? *grins widely/ducks quickly* The next chapter is the one Angelwings21 asked for about 6 chapters back -- it’s “Her Story.” Finally. ^_^

gaki - brat
Sifu - kung fu master; teacher/father
aiji - beloved child (Master Zhang calls Kagome this, and “Daughter”)
Ai shitemasu and Kimi o ai shitemasu - I’m sure most of you guessed these are other forms of “I love you.” There are so many ways to say that in Japan, but each way conveys a slightly different meaning or degree of true affection-- some are meant for friends, some are actually more like just saying “I like you,” -- there’s even one specifically for a couple who are not lovers yet. I’ve always gone with aishiteru. From what I was told during my recent foray into researching the ins and outs of when to say it which way, it has a ‘familiar’ connotation to it, -- like it is the way you would tell someone you love them all the time. That’s why I’ve reverted to ai shitemasu for Kagome and Hiei. Their verbal expression of their feelings is still in the “new” stage, and this form is a little more formal. And I absolutely had to have Hiei say the whole “Kimi o ai shitemasu” to her. As a lovely, older gentlemen explained it to me, it is like making a declaration to say it this way. He said you are emphasizing “I love you,” and it is like you are saying “You, and only you, hold my heart.” What a lovely way to say it.
chihaya - the traditional clothing for mikos
kaiken - a dagger traditionally carried by a bride
hagoromo - Hiei was glad Kagome didn’t have one of these he would have to guard. It is the robe of a celestial maiden, generally thought to be made of feathers. If a man steals it, he can force the celestial maiden to marry him.

I’ve got so much stuff to share with you! Great day in the morning, -- you have GOT to see the drawings the fabulous Sardave did of Daitano, Eishumaru, and Sassouta! I could praise them until I collapse from lack of breath, or I could go look at them again and have to breath into a paper bag until I stop hyperventilating. ^_^ Check out my profile page or Sardave’s gallery at DA. And the results of the contest I ran are in, so if you want to see even MORE super-fantastic, stupendously-wonderful pictures, check out my page on DeviantArt. Ryukotsusei took top honors with a steamy Hiei/Kag picture that had me fogging up my monitor because I was breathing too hard too close to it. 2nd place went to sugerT, and 3rd to nyctoshing. Best Black & White was also Ryukotsusei, Best Color Scheme went to Fuyuu-no-Gekkou, Best Technical Aspects to Mellas Fennixes, and Most Creative to DiKeih1. They’re all posted in my journal on DA, and I highly recommend browsing all of their galleries!

For you music lovers, I’m going to share what I was listening to as I was writing again, -- turn up some serious mood music for this one. Zhang’s talk with Kagome, along with Sassouta’s thoughts about their talk went with “My Immortal” by Evanescence. I had Amy Lee segue right into “Broken,” with Seether, while Hiei attempted to comfort her. Kikyou’s theme song is “The Unforgiven” by Metallica. Somehow, I think she would really identify with that. (And the opening sounds just remind me of a Wild West duel, which I thought was very appropriate for Kagome and Kikyou’s face-off. Heh heh!) And I followed up with “The Unforgiven II.” The lemon, which didn’t turn out the way I planned, -- because the lemons never do, -- was rocking back and forth between “Down With the Sickness” by Disturbed, (not so much for the lyrics as for that hard-rocking beat! ^_~), and “Nothing Else Matters” by Metallica.

Angelwings21 - Kagome would never cheat on her man! (Not if I’m writing the story. Heh heh!) You’re going to get some answers in the next chapter, -- at least, Kag’s side of things, just like you asked for so long ago.
Seiai - Fortunately for Kurama, Hiei hasn’t had to really kill him yet. LOL! I’m so glad you sympathized with Hiei when Kagome told him they couldn’t be mates that first time and he felt so rejected. He’s not taking her repeated “we can’t do that” so hard, -- mainly because he’s just plain not accepting it. Heh heh!
MichiruAOZ - I hope I had a twist in this one for you! I appreciate you sharing your thoughts, and all of your kind words. And I hope you keep on enjoying the story!
Darkjewel - Eeek! You slew me with the line that “Hiei needs to give that fox a firm scruffing.” I love it! I’m glad you think my portrayal of Kurama as a cold, logical thief is okay. I didn’t really have that fiery spark in Kag in this one, (emo, like I said, LOL!), but I wanted to play up her stubborn side and her determination to do what she thought was right. Hmmm. I don’t know if the other shoe quite dropped, or if I just untied it. ^_^
Sardave - Thanks again for all of the wonderful, wonderful artwork! I’m glad you saw little glimpses of her previous loves in Hiei, -- since he’s the one she’ll be with forever, I think he should have it all, right? LOL!
Jimmy24 - Thanks so much for the kind words! Uh-oh. If the cliffhanger was a bit much last time, I imagine it’s completely over-the-top this time, isn’t it? But, I agree with you, -- Kagome wouldn’t turn to Kurama so easily, -- even with his sneaky, little, kitsune tricks. ^_^
Silvermisttaleweaver - I haven’t forgotten about the youki in the bracelet Kurama gave her, and that will come up again. I’m so glad you thought about the fact that Kag should have sensed it. ^_^ And I agree, -- even if Kurama is being borderline villainous, we can NOT scalp him. I’m in love with that red hair, too. Hiei will have to get him some other way. Heh heh! But first, he has to deal with Kagome. Cue the evil laughter.
Inu-fan001 - I hope this chapter didn’t disappoint!
Raeko - See? You were right, -- Kag and Kur just can’t, -- this IS a Hiei/Kag story, after all. Heh heh! The youki in the bracelet will be mentioned again, never fear!

Please, put me on the list for that “Handbook of Miko Abilities and Other Anime-Related Phenomena.” It would make things SO much easier. LOL!! I’m still frantically searching for a copy of “Fight Scenes and Lemons For Dummies,” subtitled: “Where Does the Other Foot Go?” LOL! I think the companion book is called “Things to Yell While Taunting Your Foe or In the Throes of Passion.” (You just have to be sure not to mix those up, because it makes for some VERY strange fight scenes. LO!)

I’m glad you enjoy Hiei’s internal monologues, -- I really have a lot of fun with them. Somehow, that stuff flows easier than anything else. Maybe I’m channeling him via the Jagan. So, the last cliffhanger DID turn out to be not so evil, didn’t it? THIS one, however, …
Shadeless Night - I’m glad you enjoyed the last monster. I hope THIS one was as entertaining! Thanks for all the encouraging words!
BrokenSouledPoetess - HA! You gave birth faster than I wrote that lemon. LOL!! And you thought I was evil LAST time. Heh heh! The ki in the bracelet and Kag’s notice or not of it will be explained, fear not. Hiei hasn’t been around her when she’s been wearing it. What a fun chapter THIS was! Kagome got to kill Kikyou, and Hiei got to youknow, and get Kagome pregnant. Pass out the cigars! Well, if she doesn’t KILL him, -- literally. Heh heh!
PureMiko_Kagome69ner - Two down!! Woo hoo! How was Kikyou’s death?
DYquem - I have to say, you are right! The whole tie-her-to-a-tree incident was definitely supposed to end with one kitsune avatar (or is that TWO of them? LOL!) getting lucky. At least, that was his plan. LOL! And he may think he’s getting close to his goal, but I believe Hiei has put the kibosh on THAT. If he survives this encounter with his sweetie. LOL!! Thanks for the kind words about my soapbox moments concerning Kagome’s position in the Inu-group, and Kikyou’s lack of love for him. Sometimes, I just have to let it out. LOL!
*I’m so glad you asked the “ice cream” question! As far as I know, it’s a fandom thing. And I don’t usually like to play into those, but it did give me a way for Kagome to do something special for him, -- just a small thing, but for it to show she cared. I WAS going to choose another food item, but when I was researching the Kusatsu resort, I came across that great little shop with the quirky ice cream available. So, I couldn’t resist using it. I asked Ryukotsusei if she knew where the actual “sweet snow” phenom came from, and she said she thinks it was a yaoi invention. We were talking, and the only food/drink item either of us could remember Hiei having is coffee. Go figure.

Yeah, actually, I’ve been getting a little perverse pleasure out of having Kagome be so knowledgeable and skillful when it comes to their sexual escapades, because she’s usually the recipient of those skills from her man. I figure Sesshoumaru could have written the “Kama Sutra.” LOL!!

Ah! I love the way you worded this: “Kurama wants her, but he really isn’t into her.” Exactly!!

You’re about to find out (well, soon, anyway,) more about Kag’s involvement in the deaths. So is Hiei. Heh heh! I loved your sympathy for him over his feelings of rejection. As you can see, he has gotten past them, and has entered “determined to get what I want/need” mode. Obviously, his onna just isn’t thinking clearly. Or is she? He might wish they had had that talk first. LOL!

Can I say “verbose?” I think my picture is in the Webster’s New World Dictionary next to that word. (At least, I HOPE that’s the word it’s next to, and not “ventral.” I’d hate to be held up as an example of “of, near, or on the belly,” -- that sounds a bit parasitic. LOL!!)
Kaira2828 - Well, it turns out, she DOES have a good reason not to accept Hiei. LOL!! He should have listened to her. LOL!!
Yue no Rei - I finally got this chapter out. And you might not really be biting your nails over it, but I am. LOL!! Hope it was worth the wait!
Beckyducky - Thanks so much the kind words! I’m glad you’re still enjoying the story, -- even if Kurama isn’t being nearly as charming and loveable as he is in “Not the Only One.” (I’m rooting for him in that one! LOL!)
Selenity potter - Weeeeellllll … Baby?!!? Name? Length? Weight? Congratulations!! You probably won’t have time to even read this one, but I hope you are enjoying some good rocking and snuggling time.
SKnFS - Hmmm. Did I manage to throw some surprises your way? I hope so!
AnonymousO - Kuwabara believes in the person he see Kagome to be, while Kurama is trying to stick to the facts, as they know them, and make logical deductions. That’s where they’re clashing, because the facts seem to point to Kagome. And, maybe there’s a reason for that … Heh heh!
HeartStar - So, how’s the theory working out? Fortunately for Kurama, his visitor was only Kagura. Big stuff happening for Hiei and Kag!
Sango Tajiya - There, there. See now? The big bad kitsune avatar didn’t mess everything up for our hero and heroine. You shocked me by guessing it was Kikyou! That would have been good, but she shot Youko with a hama no ya, so I don’t think he’d welcome her in. Unless he had some nasty torture in store for her. LOL! Kagome will be telling her story next time. Sound like a good plan? ^_^
Ebi-chan - I’m so glad you accept the corny lines I shell out. *hug* I don’t think I dragged anyone’s emotions ALL over the place this time. They stuck in emo mode most of the way, except for a brief moment of “Pregnant? Yay!” immediately followed by, “Oh, NOT GOOD!” Heh heh! Sorry, I’ve got a case of the giggles over you saying that Hiei “got his panties in a big ‘ole knot.” Crap. I can’t get the mental image out of my mind. Hee hee hee! Ahem. Well, now you know what’s in the box. (No, not a bunch of Hiei’s panties! Pink ones and yellow ones and blue ones and … darn it. Now HOW am I supposed to write any more love scenes with him and Kagome? Huh? Tell me that. He’ll rip his pants off and … I’ll start giggling, -- that’s what.)
Kiba_Girl 1400 - Aren’t you glad Kag didn’t go to Kurama’s room? It would have been crowded in his bed. Heh heh! At least Hiei didn’t have to burn down the house, -- even if he was starting to feel that way. He’s going to have to learn to have more patience -- he’s going to be a papa. Woo hoo!
Halfblackwolfdemon - I’m glad Hiei’s realization in the last chapter cooled off your ire at Kag, -- that was exactly what I hoped for. ^_^ Of course, NOW, …Heh heh! Glad you’re feeling the Kazuma love. And yeah, Eishumaru does get some good lines. I’m thinking Sess is rolling over in his grave. Hee hee! You should smack Kurama with a newspaper again, just for the principle of the thing. (And because it makes me laugh.)
Sammy36 - Not to worry! I couldn’t have Kag do something that would ruin everything between her and Hiei. Well, aside from attacking him. LOL!!
Drachegirl14 - Did it work out better with Kagura as Kurama’s visitor instead of Kagome? Of course it did! ^_^
Youkai Goddess - You were right, -- I couldn’t do that to Hiei. I don’t think Yemon would be too happy if he found out the truth, but he HAS to suspect it after all these years. I should have given him an Egyptian name, because he’s living in ‘de Nile. LOL! Vanity, thy name is wolf. We’ll be finding out more about Kagome’s thoughts/fears/reasons in the next chapter. ^_^ I’m so glad you checked out the pictures -- no, none of them were drawn by me, -- I can’t draw a straight line without a ruler and an assistant. LOL! All the pictures I display and recommend are by people who can DO that kind of amazing stuff. I think the one you mentioned is one of my all-time favorites by Sardave, called “My Miko.” I think it’s just dreamy.
Purplebabe - I hope this chapter lived up to your expectations! The mood was pretty even throughout a lot of it, I think.
TAJE - Well, this may be another round-the-clocker. I appreciate you taking the time to sneak a moment here and there throughout the day to read these monsters. You were so right about Hiei and Kag just missing the mark in the last chapter. They both thought they were on the same page, but no one bothered to SAY it, and boom! They were connecting and communicating about a lot of things, but all it takes is one little, basic fact left unsaid or misunderstood to bring down the whole house of cards. Fortunately, Hiei is determined enough, and confident enough, to get back in there and figure out a way for things to work. If he can only get past this new obstacle …
Anonymous2468 - Good timing for the review! Here’s the update, -- hope you like it!