Bloodborne Duties

Bloodborne Duties

An ancient curse was placed upon the Inuyoukai family: if the youngest born heir does not produce an heir-apparent before his 205th birthday, the Dogs will surrender to the Panthers. Inuyasha is the youngest heir and it is his duty to avoid the curse.

---

"You know we aren't mating until you're five hundred and twenty nine percent better." Inuyasha told his fiancée strictly as he worked his way around her, applying the ointment that Daiki had brought back. Kagome was topless and only in her brassier, any thought of embarrassment for being half nude in front of Inuyasha fleeing her mind.

"I didn't ask when we're mating," Kagome muttered. "You're the one that hasn't been able to stop talking about it since we got into this room."

Inuyasha snorted. "Keh," he gently put some rub on a healing wound on her back. Kagome hissed in pain but the half demon continued his work. "I'm just letting you know; the ketsueki no yūgō no gishiki fucks with your energy you."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "I know, you told me that before, too. Can you relax?"

"I am relaxed!"

"You are not." Kagome stated firmly.

"Am too."

"Are not."

"I am too relaxed!"

"You are not relaxed."

Inuyasha dropped the empty bowl of ointment and glowered fiercely at Kagome. "I am relaxed! You're the one that's not!"

"I'm not losing my doggy tail over the blood fusion ceremony."

Inuyasha twitched. "Wench, I don't have a tail."

Kagome snorted and lay down on the futon. "It's a manner of expression. Now go find your brother like a good little boy and let Kagome sleep. I'm tired."

Inuyasha stood up, shoving his arms up his sleeve. "Keh," he scoffed again. "All the wench ever does is eat and sleep. Eat and sleep. Eat and sle—"

"And destroy Naraku," Kagome interrupted him, not moving from her position. "Let's not forget that one."

"Shut up and sleep!" he commanded as he left his mate to rest. Sure they fought… a lot; it's what kept the fire alive in his life. Every day was a new adventure with Kagome and he would be damned if he let her leave him at this stage in their lives. She already agreed to bear my children without me even asking. A smirk slowly spread across his face, Take that, Miroku!

"Inuyasha!" Rin squealed as she grabbed him by his hakama. Inuyasha looked down at the girl and smiled fondly.

"Where'd you come from, runt?"

Rin crossed her arms and bore a scowl that mimicked the Dog Brothers considerably. Good job, Sesshomaru. Inuyasha inwardly commended his brother for teaching the human girl such a hard facial technique. "I am not a runt," she whined.

"Fine… wenchlette," Inuyasha randomly blurted out before raising an eyebrow at himself. "Hey… I kinda like that one. Wenchlette," he ruffled Rin's hair and continued to walk away. Sighing, Rin turned around and cupped her hands to her mouth, in an attempt to project her voice like a megaphone.

"JAKEN! I'M BORED!"

.xx.

Inuyasha sniffed out his brother and found the taiyoukai standing on a random balcony. Inuyasha took a spot beside Sesshomaru and they both stared out over the horizon, looking at the lands that their father had left for them both. Sesshomaru glanced over at his brother idly before looking back onto what was theirs.

"Kagome said yes, I presume?"

Slowly, Inuyasha nodded. "Yeah, she did." He stopped speaking after that, not knowing what else to say. Sesshomaru uncrossed his arms and turned to his younger brother.

"And now you need help with the ketsueki no yūgō no gishiki?"

Inuyasha snorted. "No," he spat, "I need help with figuring out how to make pups." Sarcasm. Inuyasha silently pat himself on the back for that one. "Of course I need help with the ketsueki no yūgō no gishiki!" Inuyasha crossed his arms in a huff and watched as his elder half-brother raise an eyebrow. "Don't fucking get sarcastic with me, Sesshomaru!" Inuyasha roared. "It takes a lot of balls to approach your ass for help. When Kagome gets better, I wanna get on with this stupid ceremony so we can get her pregnant and save our stupid race from extinction."

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow at his younger brother and Inuyasha rolled his eyes at this point. "Leaving all the fucking dirty work to me— nice brother you turned out to be. Try to kill me when we were younger, especially when you needed me to help you; and I get no appreciation for destroying Naraku with my future mate who'll help me stop your race from utter doom."

"Stop your sarcasm, little brother," Sesshomaru muttered dryly. "Follow me."

Inuyasha furrowed his eyebrows. "WHERE?"

"The scroll room, idiot." Sesshomaru called over his shoulder as he had begun to walk away. "You wanted to know how to do the ketsueki no yūgō no gishiki, right?"

Inuyasha paused. Oh yeah…

.xx.

Inuyasha looked around in awe as he entered his older brother's scroll room. It highly resembled those library things Kagome went to so often to study when she went back to her time. With his hands shoved into his haori sleeves, he followed closely in stride with Sesshomaru, Jaken just a few paces behind them. The grand taiyoukai glanced slightly over his shoulder before looking straight ahead again.

"Father would be proud," Sesshomaru said suddenly. Inuyasha's ears tweaked viciously and his eyes widened.

"Come again?"

Sesshomaru cleared his throat. "I said," he repeated, "father would be proud."

Well look at that, Inuyasha thought, the bastard does have a nice bone in his body. Trying to keep his tough demeanor, Inuyasha shrugged nonchalantly. "Why wouldn't he be?"

Sesshomaru rolled his eyes, even though his younger brother couldn't see.

"You can't even let me compliment you without being an idiot about it, can you?"

Inuyasha smirked. "Not at all, asshole."

Sesshomaru looked over his shoulder once more, but this time Inuyasha caught his brother shoot him an almost non-existent smirk. "You're just like father."

Before shooting off his mouth, the younger Dog General thought about his situation. Although Sesshomaru was kind of obligated to help him out, he didn't really have to. The idiot could've just gone and found a mate prior to Inuyasha's birth. But even still, Sesshomaru provided a roof and a bed for both him and his injured mate; Inuyasha had to swallow his pride and be somewhat thankful.

"Thanks."

Sesshomaru nodded before taking a left, facing a wall full of rolled up scrolls. Scanning his eyes over them, he settled for one near the top of the wall. With a swift jump, Sesshomaru launched in the air and retrieved the scroll. Landing gracefully, he straightened up and handed Inuyasha the scroll.

"This," he said firmly, "outlines what you need to do to perform the blood fusion. Afterwards," Sesshomaru looked uncomfortable, "you have to uh... mate with her."

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. "Mate? What's that... how do you do it?"

Sesshomaru looked like he was slapped in the face by a naked he-she-demon. "Are you asking me what's mating?"

SUCKER! Inuyasha thought, although keeping a composed face. "Yeah… that, what is it?"

"What do you mean what is it?" Sesshomaru's head was filling with disguised panic. "It's instinctual. You should know what it is."

"I don't…" Inuyasha said slowly, "I just know demons mate. Come on, Sesshomaru," Inuyasha grinned, "I never had a father to explain these things to me."

Sesshomaru clued in within twenty seconds and smacked his brother upside the head. "You're a dick."

"YOU CAN CURSE?" Inuyasha hollered as his brother walked off. "YOU'VE NEVER SAID ANYTHING IMPROPER IN YOUR LIFE!"

"I never met somebody as idiotic as you in my life." Sesshomaru's voice carried through the corridor. Jaken glowered impatiently at Inuyasha before walking away, muttering incoherent things under his breath, even to the trained ears of the half-demon. Inuyasha merely glared at the toad before turning his undivided attention to the scroll in his hands.

This thing will teach me what to do. He looked up. Not until Kagome's better.

.xx.

Kagome slowly woke, a dim candle keeping her room alight. Slowly getting over the twilight stage between sleep and awake, she noted that Inuyasha was leaning up against the wall with the Tetsusaiga lying neatly beside him. His ears were faintly twitching and Kagome knew that he was asleep. If her knee didn't hurt so badly, she would've gone and rubbed them for him.

"Awake, wench?"

Kagome jumped. "I thought you were sleeping!"

He cracked an eye open. "I was, but then I heard you wake up before you even know you were up." He pushed up off the wall and walked over to Kagome. Helping her sit up, he sat down beside her and she leaned her back against his shoulder. His one hand was around her waist and the other one behind his head as he leaned his head against the wall.

"What did you do all day?" Kagome inquired softly.

Inuyasha shrugged, and she felt his shoulder move. "Made fun of Sesshomaru, mostly."

Kagome snorted. "He didn't beat your head in?"

"I beat his in."

Kagome giggled. "Seriously!"

"Seriously, I did."

"I don't believe you."

"I know." Inuyasha grinned. "I'm unbelievably amazing."

Kagome laughed. "Fine, I'll let you have that one."

Inuyasha didn't say anything, remaining silent for a moment or two. He listened to his fiancée's heartbeat, feeling its rhythm against his very own. Was it normal to still feel that he was dreaming? To feel that he was going to wake up alone, sitting on his tree with no Kagome because she never existed?

His eyes were closed. Naraku was dead; he was less than a week away from having his own mate for the rest of eternity and a year away from having his own pup.

My own pup…

His heart began racing. Inuyasha was going to be a dad. A father and a husband…

Inuyasha began to smile. He was kind of glad Kagome couldn't see him; he had a goofy feeling running up the pit of his stomach straight to his heart and even though it made him feel weaker than he liked, and he loved the feeling. I guess this is what my own family feels like…

"I got the scroll from Sesshomaru today," Inuyasha spoke. "On how to perform the ketsueki no yūgō no gishiki."

Kagome's eyes widened as she tried to turn around and look at Inuyasha. He moved his hand from her waist so that she was able to do what she wanted. Inuyasha cracked an eye open and looked at his eager soon-to-be mate. "What?" He wanted to laugh, she looked so excited.

"Did you read it?"

The half-demon snorted. "Are you dumb, woman?" Kagome frowned. "Of course I didn't."

Kagome gave a sigh of relief. "Oh thank God, I wanted to read it with you."

"I know." Inuyasha sighed as he put his free hand behind his head and laced his fingers together. "How'd you sleep?"

Kagome shrugged. "It was good… I had a nice dream."

"Yeah? What was it about?"

Kagome blushed. "…Stuff…"

Inuyasha snickered. "Now this I have to know. When your ass doesn't elaborate on shit, I know it's good."

"Shut up!"

"Tell me."

"I don't wanna anymore." Kagome pouted.

"Come on wench," Inuyasha insisted. "Tell me."

"Nope."

Inuyasha moved his face closer to Kagome and he could hear her heartbeat quicken and could smell her arousal getting stronger. "Please?"

"Nuh-uh…"

Inuyasha nipped her lip. "Please…"

Kagome breathing was shallow and her eyes were half-lidded. "…No…"

Leaning over to her neck, Inuyasha sunk his fangs over the faint dual pinpricks that were her demon's soon-to-be-mate mark. Kagome bit her lower lip and Inuyasha drew back. "How about now?"

Kagome rolled her eyes, getting over herself. "Fine, you douchebag."

The half demon suppressed his laughter as Kagome got comfortable. Inuyasha closed his eyes again and listened to the voice of Kagome as she began to elaborate on the details of her dream.

"Well there was you and me and a nice lofty house…" Kagome's eyes became far away and she relived the dream that she was living in just a moment ago. "The house was kind of hidden in a forest, surrounded by trees. I suppose it was your way of keeping us protected?"

By now Inuyasha opened his eyes and watched Kagome. She seemed so enthralled by her dream—she was practically in that world. Must've been one hell of a dream…

"I was in the house alone, making food I suppose." She snapped back into reality and grinned at Inuyasha. "I was the size of Ryuukotsusei though."

Inuyasha twitched. "You became fat? Wench, I won't let you get lazy!"

"No, moron," Kagome giggled, "I was pregnant."

Inuyasha paused. "Oh… well then, continue." He ushered and Kagome rolled her eyes.

"I was making food and you were out with our first born pup, teaching him out to scout game." Kagome's heart jumped when she saw the smile that unintentionally graced Inuyasha's lips. "I was going to taste some of the food when I heard you yelling GET BACK HERE, RUNT!" Kagome mocked her best Inuyasha impression and that caused him to release a deep chuckle.

"I do not sound like that."

"You so do," Kagome countered. "But anyway! You were chasing a little boy... he had black hair like me but grey doggy ears like yours. He was wearing the haori hakama set like you but it was black." Kagome giggled at the cuteness of a mini-Inuyasha running around in black garb. "Apparently when you managed to scout out a bunny, he played a prank; he pretended to get hurt so when you dropped the bunny to go see if he was okay, he grabbed it and began running home to show me the amazing hunter that he is and that he caught a bunny all by himself."

Inuyasha threw his head back and exerted genuine laughter. Kagome giggled as well.

"That is something my pups would do, without a doubt." Inuyasha shook his head. "Brat," he added affectionately.

Kagome nodded. "I can imagine that too—heck, I dreamt it. But it ends there; I guess you were letting him outrun you since he looked not over six in human years."

Inuyasha wrapped his arm around Kagome's shoulder. "Maybe it'll come true, wench."

"I know it will."

They both enjoyed the comfortable silence that was between them. It was amazing how things blossomed between them. Inuyasha still and probably always will find it crazy how somebody as pure and angelic as Kagome found the heart to be with him forever. Hell, if she never ended up loving him as much as he loved her, he wouldn't care. Why? Because she picked him over every other male in the world. She picked him over Kouga and Hojo.

Keh, those two have nothing on me…

"Inuyasha," Kagome said softly.

"Hmm?"

"Can we read the scroll?"

Inuyasha sighed. "Fine, wench." Getting up carefully, he walked over to a little storage box in the corner of the room and pulled out the scroll. "But we aren't mating until—"

Kagome cut him off. "Until I'm all better. I know, you said it a billion times."

Inuyasha glared at her playfully. "Are you done mocking me? You haven't seem to have stopped since the fucking moment you woke up."

"You should know that once I'm pregnant, you're gonna have to wash out that potty mouth of yours."

Inuyasha choked in laughter. "Did you just say potty mouth?"

Kagome blushed. "Yeah! So what of it?"

"Who the hell says potty mouth?"

"A lot of people in my era!"

"Nobody in this era says potty mouth." Inuyasha couldn't hold it in, he doubled over in laughter. "What the hell is that even? A fucking toilet in your mouth?"

"Shut up, Inuyasha!"

He didn't. Inuyasha continued laughing over the linguistic dexterity of placing potty and mouth together.

"I'm warning you…" Kagome said darkly.

"Or what?" Inuyasha wiped a tear from his eye. "You'll put a toilet in my mouth?"

"Osuwari, you goddamned potty mouth!"

Inuyasha's fall wasn't as bad as he was already on the ground due to his laughter. The subjugation didn't even bug him, the thought of the word still causing him to laugh uncontrollably. Kagome growled in anger.

"Stop laughing!"

"Fine, fine..." Inuyasha breathed heavily, trying to get over his moment. He shook his head and decided to comment on what Kagome said prior to his hysterical outbreak. "And obviously I'm going to control my," he snickered, "potty mouth when you're pregnant with the pup."

Kagome's eye twitched. "Thank you," she strained out. "Now can we look at the scroll before something else makes you laugh like a hyena demon?"

"Ew…" Inuyasha screwed up his eyes. "I've never actually met one."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Alright, seriously? Can we look at it before you start contemplating on whether a hyena demon exists or not."

Not wanting to argue with her, Inuyasha sat down beside her and slowly began opening the scroll. Kagome leaned over, wanting to see what was written in it but frowned sadly when she saw it was written in ancient Japanese—something she wasn't too great at reading. "I can't read that," she mumbled sadly.

"Luckily," Inuyasha nudged her, "I can."

Kagome's eyes widened. "You can read ancient Japanese?"

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. "What era are you in, idiot?"

"Uh… I always kinda thought… you didn't know how to um," Kagome gulped nervously, "read?"

Inuyasha felt his vein pop. "My mother was a princess and my father was a demon lord. How the hell can you think I'm uneducated?"

"Because you act like a barbarian?"

"I'M STILL A PRINCE OF THE WEST! Hence our fucking dilemma," Inuyasha muttered the latter part as an afterthought.

"That is true," Kagome mumbled, embarrassedly. "Alright! Read!"

Inuyasha quickly scanned over the steps, ignoring Kagome's earlier statement. He raised an eyebrow at some spots and frowned at others. "This is strange."

"What? What does it say?" Kagome urged.

Inuyasha rolled up the scroll and set it aside. He turned and looked at Kagome, drinking in her beauty. Exerting a sigh, he closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "You can still turn around and not do this you know."

Without a second thought, Kagome's palm connected with Inuyasha's cheek. His eyes snapped open and his hand slowly went up to his cheek, his gaze focused on a seething Kagome.

"I swear if you say that one more time I'll knock you out. I told you I want to mate with you, I want to spend the rest of eternity with you and I wanna have your babies." Kagome leaned forward, her eyes aflame. "Now if my little puppy says one more time that I can turn around, I'll turn him inside out, understand?"

Inuyasha breathed and said the first thing that came to his head. "You're kinda sexy when you get mad at me like that."

"OSUWARI!"

CRASH

"Ow..."

Kagome stood up with difficulty and glared at her fiancé whom she had embedded into the floor. "You're such an idiot. I'm gonna go get food." Turning around, she left Inuyasha to peel himself off the ground.

"Damn you, wench!" He yelled out in ancient Japanese, just to piss Kagome off further.

Unfortunately she had heard him.

"OSUWARI, AGAIN!"

CRASH

"Ow… again…"

.xx.

Beta-edited: Sakura-chan master of the Clow