Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Guardian ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

‘The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you've got it made.’ – Groucho Marx

~*~

Youko Kurama, Spirit Kitsune and youkai thief extraordinaire (if he did say so himself), was more than a little bemused about the strange couple that had visited his shrine the day before. Not often was a powerful taiyoukai seen traveling with a powerful miko; even less often were such a pair seen making a deal. In fact, in the 500 years he had graced the Earth with his presence, he’d never even heard of such a thing. If he didn’t see it with his own eyes, and didn’t hear their conversation with his own ears, he wouldn’t have believed it possible.

He sat up against the fruit tree he had planted, many, many years ago and sighed. It was because of his curiosity that he allowed their presence in his sacred grove to begin with, even though there was no malice in either of their hearts. Normally, he didn’t tolerate even peaceful visitors to this particular place – it was at the base of this tree that he had buried his partner and best friend Kuronue, after all – but he absolutely had to let that pair pass.

‘And it was a good thing I did,’ Youko thought to himself. For the information that he had learned was almost as priceless as the contents of his treasure vault.

They were going to split the realms, for good.

Now Youko had knowledge of the other three planes of existence. He was well acquainted with the Reikai – he was a spirit fox, after all, and it was in the Reikai that he came to be.  And he was not unfamiliar with the netherworld. Youko shuddered to himself at the memory. He never did obtain the sword of hell -- a sword he believed may have even belonged to the family of the taiyoukai that visited his grove the other day -- but he would never forget his quickly aborted effort to find it.  Yes, he was familiar with both the Reikai and the Netherworld. But of the Makai, the realm that would be home to those of youkai blood for now and forever after, Youko knew very little.

He did know that some youkai made the Makai their final resting place. The thought both intrigued and disturbed him. While it is well known that many powerful youkai and taiyoukai take their most priceless treasures with them to the grave, the thought of residing in a place filled with mostly old bones was not entirely pleasant. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more the idea had disturbed him, until he spent most of his last day gathering different seeds and young plants, rather than spending the time treasure hunting among the ningens.

Oh, he thought that the ‘split’ was a good idea, to be sure, and most likely a necessary one if both humans and demons were to survive and prosper.  It’s just that Youko Kurama wasn’t all too happy about how it would affect him personally. He couldn’t care less about the rest of the demon population, but he himself wanted some assurances that he would be able to once again visit his sacred grove -- if only to sit in the branches of his fruit tree and gaze at the stars of the night sky. 

So, aside from gathering plants, he found time to swipe one thing – and only one thing – from one ningen in particular. He snickered at the memory. The poor girl had been quite distracted, and in a rather embarrassing predicament when he made his little theft. He highly doubted she even knew it was gone. Youko dangled the spherical pink jewel from its chain in front of his face, and admired its beauty. He smirked to himself when he considered how easy it had been to actually swipe it right out from under her nose, and he amused himself even more when he thought of her reaction upon finding it missing.

While he had no desire to use the jewel for himself, it would be his bargaining chip with the miko. She would have to come back to his grove, where she could not lie and could not attack him, and he would make her guarantee that he would not be denied passage between the realms.  The little miko would have to make the concessions he asked for. That is, if she desired the return of her troublesome little bauble.

He smiled mischievously. For now, all he had to do was wait.

~*~

The walk back to the village seemed to be taking forever. Her feet hurt, she was thirsty and hot, and she just wanted it all to be over already, now that she had made her decision. To make matters worse, Sesshoumaru would not leave her side for more than a moment at any given time. Kagome couldn’t understand it -- she had given him her word, and she had no intentions of going back on her word. After all that they had been through, how could he think so little of her that he felt the need to watch her every move?

She glanced over her shoulder, and noticed that Inuyasha was looking her way somewhat wistfully. She felt her cheeks start to flush, and she quickly turned back; hoping he did not see her.

‘You know he’s only looking your way because he wants the jewel, Kagome. Don’t kid yourself,’ she told herself firmly, as she pulled her bottom lip into her mouth and worried it with her teeth.

Perhaps that’s why Sesshoumaru would not leave her alone. Not necessarily because he didn’t trust her, but because he doesn’t trust Inuyasha. Whatever the reason, it was all because of the jewel. Everything was because of the jewel. And like it or not, until the wish was made she had her own personal taiyoukai bodyguard because of said stupid jewel. 

Why oh why did she make a deal with the devil anyway?

Just ahead of her, Sango and Miroku were walking together. Miroku was smiling and holding Sango’s hand in his own, now free of the glove and beads that used to bind the Kazaana. Kagome smiled softly to herself, knowing full well that any agreement she made with Sesshoumaru was well worth it if only for their sake. There were no ghosts of past lovers in between them, and she was glad to see them together. They had faced so much for each other, even death. Of all of them, those two most deserve their happiness, and a chance to build a life together. She only wished she could be around to see it. Her smile turned somewhat wistful as she imagined the many children the two would probably have.

After a while, her attention floated to the couple walking behind the houshi and the taijiya. Rin was happy and cheerful, and slowly coaxing Kohaku into conversation. The young girl stopped momentarily to pick a half dead daisy before falling back into step with her more subdued companion. She wondered for a moment if the girl even knew what fate had in store for her. While she knew that Sesshoumaru had spoken with both Sango and Miroku regarding Rin’s fate, she had not seen him address the girl herself. Would the carefree young girl be embittered when she finds herself in their care rather than that of the stoic taiyoukai? Kagome could not say, but at least the girl seemed to be getting along with them well enough. Especially Kohaku – even Kagome could see the light blush on his cheeks each time the young Rin smiled at him. Perhaps the two of them would be able to help each other heal.

Once again, she silently hoped that she’d be given the opportunity to remain.  She had so many questions regarding the fate of her friends; questions she feared would never be answered. Because soon after they reach the village, she planned on quietly stealing away to someplace private to make the wish.

No one, except Shippo, knew what they had planned. And Shippo only knew because she felt it necessary to inform him exactly who would be his new guardian when she went back to her own time. He immediately had asked her a few pointed questions about why such an arrangement was necessary. Kagome couldn’t lie to him – she practically raised him, after all -- so she told him the truth, and then swore him to secrecy.

The small kitsune was both apprehensive and excited at the prospect, and she could more than understand why. While Inuyasha always kept him safe, he never taught him any skills. The only skills he had were the few he was taught by his parents before they were killed by the Thunder brothers. Not that Inuyasha could teach him much anyway. He was only a half demon, after all, and had little to no training with his sword, no matter how lucky he was with it.

Sesshoumaru on the other hand -- Kagome knew well that her little kit both feared and admired the taiyoukai. Sesshoumaru could wield a sword like none other. He was a sight to behold in battle, and awe inspiring – as long as you were not on the other side of his blade. Then he was merely terrifying. As far as skill was concerned, she knew of none other who was superior. Yes, he was definitely the best possible sensei the young kitsune could ever even hope for.

Kagome looked over at Shippo, and what she saw reassured her. Her little kitsune was walking tall and proudly next to the dog demon. She smiled at him, and he blushed. She could read the expression on his little face easily. ‘Don’t embarrass me, momma!’ he seemed to be saying with his very stance. No, there would be no problems there.

She thought of Kilala, Sango’s loyal friend and youkai companion. The neko-youkai was currently in kitten form, walking next to her mistress, and Kagome frowned. She’d probably be alright, but there would no doubt be some distress on both sides. She hated to cause them the pain of separation, but it couldn’t be helped.

That only left Inuyasha. The hanyou was in the dark about the wish, and likely would be until after it was over. If he knew what they had planned, there was no doubt in her mind that he’d go to any extreme to try to stop them. In fact, she was pretty convinced that he expected her to hand the jewel over to him, and it was only his pride (and his brother’s presence) that kept him from asking her for it outright. He wanted – more than anything else – to use the jewel to become a full demon. A part of her felt sad at this – for hadn’t he proven time and time again his strength as a hanyou? Inuyasha had brought even his proud brother to his knees a few times. Why after all this time he still desired to become a full demon, she did not know and did not understand. As far as she was concerned, he had everything he ever wanted already. Respect, friends, love… 

Her heart tightened painfully.

Inuyasha was a fool.

He had love… but she didn’t think he wanted it. Or at least he didn’t want it from her. Or so she thought. It was all so confusing, as far as he was concerned. Did he want her or Kikyo? Or – she shuddered – both of them? She didn’t know, and likely would never find out for sure. It hurt, and it hurt badly. But it was her own fault, she supposed. After all, she well knew that her former incarnation had always held his heart, and yet she allowed herself to fall in love with him anyway. She loved him utterly, unabashedly, and unrequitedly.

Or did she?

She looked over her shoulder, and met his eyes briefly. She turned away quickly when he smiled at her. He had given her a small, loving smile that had nothing to do with the jewel, and everything to do with her.

Perhaps she was the fool.

But even if she knew his heart for sure, would she have made the same decision?

She turned to look at the last member of their party – and met knowing eyes all too much like her own.

Yes. Yes, she would have. Because she had to prove to herself once and for all that she was better than her former incarnation. That she alone had the strength and fortitude to finish the job started by Midoriko so very long ago.

Kagome sighed, as her hand absent mindedly rose to finger the chain around her neck on which the Shikon Jewel hung. When her hand met nothing but skin, she gasped, loudly, and froze. Panicked, she patted herself down, but the jewel was not to be found in the folds of her clothes either.

‘Kuso.. kuso, kuso, kuso, kuso!’ She swore internally. The jewel was definitely gone. She had been so preoccupied with her own thoughts and the aftermath of the battle, that someone somehow had taken it from her. Kagome swallowed as she mentally retraced her steps. It was not possible – not at all. If it had been removed from her neck, she didn’t even feel it. For the life of her, she couldn’t figure out where or when it had happened. She had only left the company of the group for one single moment after all – and that was only to answer a pretty persistent call of nature. Even then, she practically had to shout at Sesshoumaru to turn his back for a moment so that she could preserve her dignity.

Come to think of it, she did remember a slight breeze that seemingly came from nowhere, as she oh so gracefully squatted underneath the canopy of the trees.

‘Oh god!! Oh god oh god oh god oh –‘

“Is there something amiss, Miko?” Sesshoumaru asked flatly, as he turned to her.

Her little not so discreet meltdown had managed to attract the attention of Sesshoumaru, and pretty much everyone else. Even Sango was looking at her questioningly.

Kagome felt like she wanted to go and crawl under the nearest rock. She opened her mouth to answer, but try as she might, no sound would come forth.

Inuyasha was looking at her peculiarly.

“You okay, Kagome? You look like you’re about to retch,” he said, his brow furrowed in concern.

Kagome frowned. She didn’t know what to do. Oh gods. What if she had dropped it by mistake? Oh gods.

Miroku was approaching her.

“My dear Kagome-sama. Perhaps the heat of the day is causing you undue distress. I suggest that you remove some of your more unnecessary articles of clothing so that your body may begin to cool itself,” he said in his most pious voice.

This of course immediately earned a whack from Sango, and a laugh from the rest of the group, but their laughs quickly died out when they noticed that Kagome wasn’t joining in with the mirth.

“Dajaibou, Kagome?” Shippo asked, his big green eyes wide with concern.

“Aie,” she whispered. “It’s… it’s gone.”

All eyes were on her now, and she wished more than anything that the ground would open up and swallow her whole.

“WHAT?!? WHADDYA MEAN IT’S GONE?”

The hanyou’s loud and piercing voice filled the air, and Kagome winced, before breaking down into tears.

“I don’t know Inuyasha… it’s just… gone. I swear, I don’t know how it happened. Oh gods…”

“Well, search for it, wench,” he growled out annoyed, and Kagome shot him a dark look. She really thought they were beyond the whole name calling thing, but apparently not.

She turned to look at Sesshoumaru, who was also watching her with narrowed eyes.

She sighed, and tried desperately to close out her surroundings so that she could focus on the call of the jewel. Slowly, ever so slowly she felt the pulse.

The jewel was nearby. Very nearby. And stationary.

She frowned.

“I… I can sense the jewel. It’s close by. I think I may have just dropped it.”

“Fine, then. Get on my back, wench. I’ll take ya to it.”

”I think not, brother dear. I will accompany the miko into the forest. You are still healing. Should the jewel be in the possession of a youkai, you would easily be cut down.”

Inuyasha growled, not liking Sesshoumaru’s comment, however true it may be. In his wounded pride, he seemed to forget about the jewel entirely, and Kagome’s eyes widened as the hanyou’s hand hovered over the hilt of the Tetsusaiga.

“Yeah?  Ya think so, ya bastard?  Feh.  Come over here, and say that.”

Oh gods, of all things, why, why did he have to start this crap right now? Kagome sighed, and walked over to the Taiyoukai. Inuyasha shot her a look of betrayal before his eyes hardened, and he started to pull Tetsusaiga from its sheath.

'Inuyasha no baka,' she thought with a frown, as the hanyou growled and prepared to attack his brother.

Had she known then that her next words would be the last she’d say to the hanyou for several hundred years, she might have chosen them differently. But she did not, and as she allowed Sesshoumaru to slip his one arm around her waist before taking to the air, she gave the charging hanyou a dark look.

“Inuyasha! OSUWARI!”

~*~

It wasn’t long before she realized that they were headed to the very same clearing that they had visited just the other day. Sesshoumaru realized it as well; she knew so because his eyes narrowed and his lips were pursed in a tight line, as they gracefully made their descent down to the forest floor.

She stepped off of the cloud of youki and hesitated.

“It’s definitely in there,” she said, redundantly, and Sesshoumaru shot her a long suffering look.

“Hai. I have already come to that conclusion, miko,” he snapped, as he felt around for the barrier. He soon found it, and to his dismay and Kagome’s shock, he was instantly and forcefully thrown several feet back. 

The stoic and graceful Lord of the West swore under his breath before his golden eyes found Kagome’s once more.

“It appears that this time you will be going in alone,” he said flatly.

“Alone? But why?”

She stood stock still as he regarded her for a moment more. After she’d all but given up hope on his answering her question, he spoke so softly that if she had not been intensely listening, she would have missed it.

“Because, the spirit fox inside knows that this Sesshoumaru now desires his death for his audacity. Go forth miko. And as soon as you have the jewel safely back in your hands, do not hesitate to make the wish.”

~*~

Youko was grinning in anticipation when he felt the magic of the barrier give way to allow the pure-hearted miko entrance to his grove. His smile only grew when he realized that her bodyguard would be forced to remain outside. Ah, what fun he would have with her, before he made his demands!

She was standing underneath his fruit tree now, looking around a bit confused, and for the first time, Youko really took a good look at the strange young girl.

She was pretty, but not beautiful he decided. Her hair was long and slightly unkempt, and her figure was lithe and athletic. Her attire was strange and highly indecent, especially for a priestess, but he found that he rather liked the short green and white kimono. As for her face, it was pleasant, but marred slightly but the appearance of a long cut; one that had not been there a day ago. His smile turned into a slight frown when he realized that her cut would probably scar.

Her eyes turned his way, and though she did not see him yet, he quickly reassessed his opinion of her appearance. For he now got a good look at her eyes, and his breath caught in his throat. The little miko had the most brilliant blue eyes he had ever seen; full of love, mischief and purity. How had he ever thought her ordinary?

He was a bit surprised that she was looking in his direction – after all, he had cloaked his appearance, and masked his youki. But she seemed to know exactly where he was. It took him a moment to realize that it wasn’t him she was sensing, but the jewel. That realization made him release a breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding – at least he hadn’t lost his touch.

He cleared his throat and jumped down from the tree. Not surprisingly, her brilliant blue eyes followed him the entire time. Youko watched as her cheeks flushed with color upon seeing him, and he allowed himself a small grin. Apparently, she wasn’t completely unaffected by his appearance either.

She would have to make the first move, he decided as he leisurely leaned up against the tree. He pulled out the Shikon, and twirled it carelessly on its chain, and was pleased to see her eyes following its every move. 

Finally, the little miko before him cleared her throat.

“Excuse me, kitsune-sama, but that jewel you are holding happens to belong to me.”

Ah, this was definitely going to be fun.

“Pardon? I don’t see your name on it. What is your name, by the way? You know, it’s considered rude to address someone without introducing yourself,” he teased, his eyes filled with mirth as the miko so delightfully curled her hands up into little fists.

“Listen, youkai. You have no idea what we went through for that jewel, so I’m begging you; hand it over.”

“Not unless you tell me your name, little miko,” he added, as he flashed his brightest and most disarming smile.

To his delight, the miko just rolled her eyes in response.

“Whatever. Fine. My name is Kagome Higarashi. There. Now I’ve played your little game, so give me my jewel!”

“Uh-uh, Kagome-chan. I think not. For I swiped it from you, fair and square, and now, I think, it belongs to me.”

“Yeah, about that,” she said, with a small and completely fake smile. He watched her with narrowed eyes as she slowly approached him until they were nose to nose. What was she up to? 

*SLAP!*

“YOU HENTAI! Kami, how could you steal it from me… *then* of all times,” she said, her face flushed with anger.

He raised a hand to his cheek where she had slapped him, and his smile grew all the more. The little miko had spirit.

His little game was starting to be quite fun.

She was growing increasingly infuriated as she stood there, tapping her foot in front of her.

“Well? Don’t you have anything to say for yourself?”

“I, Youko Kurama, spirit fox and thief extraordinaire make no apologies for my actions. If you valued this little trinket as much as you claim to, you would have never put yourself in such… vulnerable circumstances.”

“Well, excuse me for having a bladder!”

Really, the little miko was absolutely delightful. He was almost tempted to keep both the jewel and the girl… he was sure she’d provide years of amusement. He grinned at her once again, as he swung the jewel like a pendulum in front of her face. Her bright blue eyes flickered and turned with each movement of the jewel, and Youko decided to take some pity on the girl.

“What. Do. You. Want?” she asked, pointedly and through gritted teeth.

His brows furrowed as he pinched his chin with his free hand, pretending to actually consider her question.

“Well… let’s see… why don’t we start with a kiss?”

She looked at him in complete and utter shock before she blushed, and turned away.

He felt like skipping. He couldn’t help it. This was just too much fun.

“Hentai,” she muttered under her breath.

He put his face next to hers, and spoke so close against her ear that his hot breath tickled the side of her neck.

“Perhaps... but it is not too much to ask, is it? A simple kiss?” 

“Is that all you want, kitsune?”

“Not exactly… I also want assurance from you that I will not be forever banned from this realm. I cannot help it; it is too green, and it calls to me,” he said, his voice suddenly serious, and she looked at him in shock.

“You… you were here the other day. You… heard us, heard our conversation.”

”Hai, little miko. I did… so what do you say? It is not much to ask… do you agree?”

She seemed to consider for a moment before she blushed and nodded.

“I… I’ll see what I can do. That’s all I can promise,” Kagome answered.

“Well, then that’s all I ask!” Youko answered with a big grin. He took the miko’s small hands into his and closed her hands around the spherical jewel.

She looked at him in shock.

“You mean… that’s it? That’s all you wanted?”

He winked at her.

“Not exactly. There was that other little thing you agreed to, ne?”

“I wha –mmph!” She started to protest, but he cut her off as he pressed his lips to hers. Her lips were warm but tightly pressed together, so he tickled her, causing her to gasp. After that, he slipped his tongue into the warm cavity of her mouth, delighting in her surprise and her taste.

It was a good minute or so before she pushed him off of her, full of confused shock.

He simply winked at her, and once again disappeared into the limbs of his fruit tree.  When she looked all around herself for him, he grinned, knowing full well now that he hadn’t lost his touch and it was definitely the jewel and not him that she sensed in the first place.  

‘Goodbye, little miko. Maybe we shall meet again,’ he thought to himself as he watched her finally come to her senses and blush. The miko stood underneath his fruit tree, and closed her hands tightly around the little pink jewel she held. Her eyes were closed, and she whispered something – something too soft for even his ears to pick up.

He felt momentarily dizzy and closed his eyes for a moment, as the very sky seemed to whirl around him. When he next opened his eyes, the miko was gone and the sky was pink.

But his fruit tree and his sacred grove remained.

~*~

A/N: I’m so floored by your reviews to this story. I think we’re going to go Hiei/Kagome for a romantic relationship (eventually), but I will ease into that by making her a good buddy of Kurama. So hopefully that will satisfy everyone.

On another small note, I saw ‘Sex, Lies, and Videotape’ for like the fifth time over the weekend. Only because I was completely snowed in and the kids were taking a nap and it just happened to be on Showtime. But during my slothful episode of self indulgence in front of the TV, I made a revelation. Take a young James Spader (from said movie), elongate his hair but keep the retro-feathery thing going, and give him bright green eyes, and doesn’t he look like a ‘human’ Kurama?

I really have to move out of the snow belt -- for the sake of my sanity, if nothing else. ;)

Japanese words:

youko - spirit fox
reikai - spirit realm
meikai - demon realm
youki - demonic energy
shikon no tama - jewel of four souls
Hentai – pervert
Kuso - shit
baka - idiot, fool, etc. 'Inuyasha no baka' basically means, 'Inuyasha you idiot'.
Daijabou – are you okay?
osuwari - sit (or 'sit boy!')
taiyoukai - great demon
kitsune - fox
youkai - demon
hanyou - half demon
onegai - please
miko - shrine maiden; priestess
hai - yes
aie – no