Her Destiny

Chapter 13

Jakyoku was walking through a dark forest. While he was walking he was looking up through the break in the forest canopy to see what was left of the full moon. Though the moon looked to be whole, you could see that parts of it were already covered as the full moon started its retreat back into the heavens.

He was looking for someone as he approached the base of an old dead tree. Yesterday he had received word that Sado was dead along with the rest of his clan, but they had managed to poison the Western Lord. He was overjoyed at hearing this little bit of news. He was already making plans for the assault on the Western Lands.

But this morning he received word that the ningen onna had managed to create an antidote for Inutaisho. Jakyoku had no doubts that the Western lord would survive the attack.

To say that he was pissed was an understatement. This onna was proving to be a thorn in his side. He wanted her yes, but if he could not dominate this onna then he would have to kill her. He could not let her live and become a threat to all that he has planned.

He decided that he needed see someone that could bring the miko to her knees. So he had set out to find Akurei, a kuro miko with great dark powers. He was told that her powers were equal to that of Midoriko when she was alive. He was approaching the place, where he was told she has called home, loudly he called out, “Akurei! Show yourself to your lord!” as Jakyoku waited patiently for her to appear.

Akurei had been watching the youkai from the dark forest. She noticed everyone that dared to enter her domain. She didn’t like this particular fool who came here demanding her presence in her own realm. No one controls her, she does as she pleases and serves who she wants. She has not lived all this time by obeying fools that demanded she yield to them.

She got an evil idea in her mind as she thought, ‘Well if he demands my presence then who am I to disappoint him.’

The tree that Jakyoku was standing in front of started to glow with a black aura. Smoke started to come out from the center of the tree and engulfed the area. Lightning started to spark over the area as a solid form started to take shape in front of the tree.

Slowly the form of a woman started to appear in front of Jakyoku. She was of small stature. She had hair as black as the night itself. It was long and reached to the back of her knees. She wore a black kimono with a black juban underneath. Her lips were as red as blood. Her eyes were black; you could not see the white portions of her eyes anymore. Such was the dark power that engulfed her.

Her skin was the palest he had ever seen on an onna, almost looking sickly. She had wrinkles on her face looking like she was half way done with her life span. He wondered how she had survived all these years if she was a rival to Midoriko, who had died over a century ago. She stood straight and tall as she said, “Who is it that demands my presence in this realm?”

Jakyoku smirked as he said, “It is your Lord, Jakyoku.”

A delicate black eyebrow rose just slightly as she said, “I have no lord. I serve no one unless I desire. Now go away and leave me be.” She was about to turn and leave when Jakyoku attacked.

Jakyoku had gotten irritated at the kuro miko as he lashed out with his poison whip. It never made it to the miko as a barrier prevented him from doing any damage to her. If anything, it made her angry at having been attacked. He saw her aura explode around the area as she pushed against his youki.

“You dare attack me! This is my forest and I am the ruler of this land, which you step on! You arrogant beast! I will send you to the depths of hell for trying to attack me.” Akurei threatened, as she was about to attack the arrogant Inu Youkai before her. No one attacked her and lived to tell the tale.

Jakyoku stepped forward as he said, “Good, I have your attention now. I have a job for you.”

Akurei huffed as she spoke coldly, “I told you I work for no one nor do I want to help you, now leave before I change my mind and kill you.”

Jakyoku chuckled as he said, “Well this is a surprise. I never thought I see the day that the great Akurei would be afraid of a simple miko.”

Akurei glared daggers at the Inu Youkai as she said, “I fear no one fool!”

Jakyoku growled his displeasure as he said, “Watch your tongue wench! I have need of your services that’s why you are still live. I am in need of a spell or potion that can subdue a powerful miko. She is the strongest miko known to be in existence. She is currently residing with the Western Lord and I want to capture her. She is so far proving difficult to obtain and her knowledge is vast for she prepared an antidote for one of my poisons that didn’t have a cure.”

Now Akurei was interested in what this fool was saying. There has not been a powerful miko in this area since Midoriko. She was the only one that could rival Akurei’s powers. It had been a sad day when Midoriko met her demise. She had told that fool youkai what he needed to do in order to kill the miko. But she had proved resourceful and had created the Shikon No Tama and sealed her soul and the youkai’s soul into the jewel.

Akurei had gone looking for the jewel, because its power would have been useful to her but that damn Western Lord had gotten to it before she could find it and had taken it away to a safe place. She has been looking for it ever since.

“How very interesting. There has been no powerful miko’s on this land since Midoriko. What do I get for helping you?” Akurei asked as she stared at the youkai standing in front of her.

“Name your price! Anything that you ask for will be granted for your assistance in this matter.” Jakyoku kept his eyes on the miko still in front of him. He did not trust this miko, but he would say anything in order to get what he wanted.

Akurei thought for a few minutes as she pondered what to do. Then she got an idea as she said, “All right I will help you get this miko of yours but my price is that I want her blood.”

Jakyoku was surprised by her request as he replied, “You want her blood? Why?”

Akurei didn’t answer his question as she said, “That is of no concern to you why I want her blood, just know that this is my price for helping you.”

Jakyoku didn’t have a choice; he had to agree with her demands if he wanted the girl. “Very well you shall have her blood. Now do you have something that will help me get the girl?”

Akurei smiled as she pulled out, what looked like a long piece of hollow wood with holes, it was attached to a long piece of string. She held it in her hand and cast her spell. Once she was done, she gave it to the Inu Youkai and said, “This here is a whistle that only she will be able to hear. Hold the string and swing the wood piece around in a circle. The air going through the holes will cause the sound to vibrate through the air and make her come to you. Once she arrives she will faint and you will have your miko.”

Jakyoku smiled a wicked smile as he took hold of the whistle. He looked at it for a few minutes and noticed that it had several holes all along the sides. He swung the whistle by the string as he heard a soft whistling sound coming out of it. It was pleasing to the ears as he stopped and held it in his hand.

He looked at the old witch as he said, “Very well, once I have obtained the girl you will have your blood. Then I will take the girl as my mate. Once she is mine she will not be able to leave my side ever again.”

Jakyoku said his farewell to the kuro miko as he walked back to his domain. He was ready to go and get his mate to be. This time she will not get away from him.

Akurei watched as the youkai left. She got an evil smile on her face as she said in a low voice, “Have fun Jakyoku. She will come when you summon her but she will fight you. But before you even form a plan to go and get her, she will be already dead. I cannot let a powerful miko like her live. She is the only one who could destroy me and I have plans of ruling these lands myself.”

Now that she knew where the miko was located it was only a matter of time before she killed her. She will die just like Midoriko did all those years ago.

Akurei stopped as a thought came to her mind, “Hmm Midoriko has been in that Shikon No Tama for over a century. My how time flies when you’re having fun.” She laughed once more as she disappeared in a puff of smoke.

---oOo---

Kagome was slowly waking up. She moaned as she stretched her tired arms over her head and her legs out. She didn’t want to get up. She felt so warm that she snuggled even deeper under the fur blankets that had been placed on top of her. After a while she slowly opened her eyes to see where she was.

To her disappointment she was not in a cave with Sesshoumaru. The previous morning she had woken up being held in a tight embrace as she looked upon the sleeping Inu Youkai. He looked just like an angel when he was sleeping. The mask that he kept on his face was gone and his features were soft.

Kagome only wished she had satisfied her curiosity of touching his stripes; the stripes on his face fascinated her, when she saw the two stripes marking each side of his cheeks, up close. He also had a red stripe on top of his eyelids and the blue crescent moon that looked to be velvety.

When her eyes finally came into focus, she noticed that she was in her room. She groaned as she sat up in bed and started to remember everything that had happened in the last couple of days. She didn’t remember falling asleep last night and wondered who had brought her to bed.

She slid her covers off and felt a slight chill in the air. It was starting to get cooler in the mornings now and soon it will be colder. Fall was in full swing and she always loved this time of year.

She noticed that she was still dressed in the same clothes she had on for the past two days. She also noticed a very pleasing scent coming from her clothes. She raised her arm up as she sniffed the sleeves of her nemaki. Then it hit her, this smell, this scent was Sesshoumaru’s. He smelled like the forest right after the rain with a hint of pine. This smell was very pleasing to her. Her body fully relaxed when she smelled his scent and she started to wonder why her body would react like this to his scent.

She got out of bed and strolled over to the balcony, opening the doors. She stepped outside and closed her eyes as she took a deep breath. The air here smelled truly pure, fresh and crisp, as pollution did not exist in this era. The air was so pure that it made her wonder if she could live long enough to teach all here to take care of the lands. She didn’t want them to get in the same condition they were in back home.

She sighed, as her heart ached, she will never see her real mother again, that hurt her more than anything. But the fates must have had a purpose for bringing her here, right? She didn’t understand why she had to be here but there had to be a reason. She knew she had to protect the lands for as long as she lived, this much she understood.

She looked out over the lands as a small smile crept onto her lips. The trees were all different colors and the winds were blowing lightly. The sky was still dark but dawn was approaching. She could see the white clouds in the sky and it promised to be a cloudy day. She shivered just a little as she turned and went back inside.

She wanted to do some training this morning so she went to take a bath to get Sesshoumaru’s scent off her. His claim of her person yesterday really pissed her off. He had never asked her if she wanted to be his mate. He just assumed that she would accept. Well she would show him, she would get his scent off her body.

Kagome scrubbed her skin until it was almost raw. But she could still smell him on her skin; she concentrated on her powers and allowed it flow over her body. When she managed to purge his scent from her skin she smiled happily. She finished getting cleaned up as she put on a new fighting kimono. This one was a dark green in color just like her youbo had worn the first day she had taken her down to the dojo.

Kagome frowned, that was the first time she had meet Sesshoumaru. He had been arrogant then and he was still arrogant. But he had apologized to her though, for saying all of those nasty things to her the other day and he did say that he had missed her.

Kagome couldn’t imagine Sesshoumaru missing anyone, as she resolved to herself that she was not going to submit to any male, and that included Sesshoumaru. She needed to leave this place before the real fighting started and the only way to do that was to prove that she was stronger than any male in the land. But that fight was in a few weeks and she needed to start training for it. She knew she had to be at her best to defeat whatever male won that competition. That would be the male that she would have to defeat, then the rest would leave her alone.

With that last thought in mind she turned to leave her room. When she got to the door she went to open it and found that there was a barrier there that wouldn’t let her out. She furrowed her eyebrows together deep in thought, she didn’t know what she did wrong to warrant being sealed in her room.

She tried again but the barrier held fast. Kagome started to get angry as her aura flared around her body, she was determined to leave this room and go about her normal business. She just hoped that Sango was not on the other side of the door, or she will find herself thrown against the wall.

Kagome concentrated on the barrier as she brought her powers to forward. She surrounded her body with her pink light as she stepped forward and grabbed the handle of the door. The barrier increased in power as Kagome increased hers as well. This was a powerful barrier but she was determined to break it.

Kagome kept concentrating her powers into the barrier as she started to see the barrier give under her attack. Then the door blew outward as it turned to dust in her hands, she brushed the dust off her clothes and stepped out of her room, only to find the arrogant son of the youkai lord looking down at her with anger in his eyes.

---oOo---

Sesshoumaru was slowly opening his eyes. He had sensed that Kagome was up and soon she would try to leave her room. He was confident that his barrier would hold to keep her in her in her room.

Sesshoumaru took his time while he bathed and dressed. Once he was done, he stepped out of his room and made his way to Kagome’s room. He knew he would have to tell Kagome why she was sealed in her room but he wanted to have a little fun with her first.

As he got closer to Kagome’s room he spotted the Taijiya outside the room. She was pacing up and down the hallway as he approached the onna.

---oOo---

Sango had gotten up early this morning. She wanted to see if Kagome was up yet. She had seen Kagome and Sesshoumaru come back yesterday, as Kagome got busy trying to get the antidote ready for the lord of the castle.

Sango had helped Kori set up everything that Kagome would need in order to make the antidote. She had remembered everything that Oyuki had said when Kagome had asked her many questions. So when Kagome returned from getting the black moonflower, she got started on the antidote immediately.

Sango had left and went to her room. She didn’t need to be there because she would just be in the way. So this morning she wanted to see if her friend wanted to spar with her. She needed a good workout because she has not practiced in a while. She knew that Kagome needed to keep in shape if she was going to fight off the dominant male that won the right to mate with her.

Kagome has already made it perfectly clear to her that she didn’t want to mate if she didn’t love the male, even if it meant her death.

When she got to Kagome’s room she found a barrier on the outside of the door. She noticed right away that it was not Kagome’s barrier, ‘Why would they seal Kagome in her room last night? Did something happen that I should be aware of?’

Sango turned as she saw Sesshoumaru coming down the hallway. If anyone knew why Kagome was sealed in her room it would be him. When he stopped in front of her, she bowed deeply to him and asked politely, “Good morning Sesshoumaru-sama, do you know why Kagome was sealed in her room since last night?”

Sesshoumaru heard the greeting that the Taijiya had given him. She showed respect for his station and that’s what matter to him. He turned and looked at Kagome’s door as he said, “Kagome was being controlled last night. She had left my parents room and went outside to the gardens and when I went after her, she was gone. I was able to track her through the forest and I found her almost near the barrier.

Her eyes had a glazed look in them like she was in a trance. When I shook her, she woke up from the dream like sleep she was in and she didn’t know where she was. I took her back to father and he was the one that requested that I place a barrier around her room. He wanted to prevent her from leaving the castle grounds without someone being with her.

Taijiya make sure you watch her closely from now on. Someone is trying to control her and if they get their hands on her we will never see her again.”

Sango was shocked to hear this as she said, “Do not worry Sesshoumaru-sama I will stay by her side. The only time I will leave her side is when someone from your family is with her.”

Satisfied with the Taijiya’s answer to his request, Sesshoumaru went to open the door to let Kagome out. He felt it before it happened as he quickly moved out of the way taking Sango with him as the door exploded outward. He placed Sango back on her feet and noticed that his barrier was completely destroyed. He was shocked that Kagome had actually destroyed his barrier, something he thought she could never do. ‘Hmm, she has gotten stronger and now I will have a real fight on my hands when I get to dominate her.’

His eyes focused on the one that he wanted as a mate. Then he turned his attention to what she has done to the door. He growled his displeasure; she had destroyed one of the most beautiful doors in the castle. Now they would have to replace it. He stared into her dark stormy grey eyes as he heard her ask, “Sesshoumaru, why was I locked in my room?”

He growled as he caught her scent, his scent was gone from her person, this would not do. He had marked her with his scent to make sure other males in the castle knew that she was his but now his scent was gone.

He took notice that he was still growling as he replied to her question, “Father will explain to you why you were sealed in your room. We must go down to the dining hall. He is waiting there for us.”

Kagome stormed right past Sesshoumaru as he and Sango followed the upset miko.

Kagome didn’t like to be sealed in her room. It took away what little freedom she had and that was something that she was not willing to give up. When she entered the dining room she saw her Otou-san sitting at the head of the table. He looked as good as new as he gave her a warm smile.

The anger that Kagome was feeling at the moment left her when she saw that warm smile. It filled her heart with joy knowing that he was alive. She had thought that she had lost another father but he was still with her.

They all sat down for their morning meal and once they were done, it was time for questions and answers.

Inutaisho eyed his little one from the corner of his eye. It was time that they knew where she came from and see if they could talk to the alpha of her pack to arrange for the mating she was having in about three weeks time. He looked at Kagome as he said, “Kagome, I believe its time that you tell us where you come from.”

Kagome paled at his request. She knew that she would have to tell them all where she came from but she didn’t want to do it in the dinning hall. “Yes I agree with you but not here, I prefer to go somewhere else, where not so many ears will be listening to what I have to say.”

Inutaisho agreed to her request as they all stood and went to his study. They told Inuyasha to go play with his friends. They didn’t think that he needed to hear what was about to be discussed.

Sango was about to leave, when she heard Kagome say, “Sango, I want you to hear this as well.” Sango was happy that she would get to hear where her friend comes from as she followed behind everyone else, with Kirara resting comfortably on her shoulder.

Once they arrived at the study, everyone took a seat. Kagome stood off to the side, as the room became quiet, waiting for her to start. She took a deep breath as she started to tell the truth behind her origins.

“Well, all of you want to know where I come from. That is a hard question. It’s not about where I come from, but when. As near as I can calculate, I come from roughly 1000 years, or summers, as you like to refer to it, from the future. Yamato will come to be known as Japan about 600 years from now.”

This statement took everyone by surprise. Sesshoumaru was just sitting there trying to comprehend what Kagome had just said when he heard his father say, “Kagome, how can you come from the future? How is this possible?”

Kagome lifted her eyes just a little as she looked at everyone. Her eyes were hidden behind her bangs as she said, “I don’t know how, but it happened. Do you remember the village where we first met?”

Inutaisho recollected for a few minutes to the first time they met, when he remembered, he said, “Yes I do, that was the village where you were fighting six very large Oni’s.”

“Yes, it was. That village will come to be known as Edo. Later, its name will be changed and it will become the seat for all of Japan. The village will be known as the city of Tokyo.

There is a well near that village in which you sealed a youkai called mistress centipede. The seal you put on that well broke in my era. All my life I have lived in a shrine that protects a lot of the old village that used to stand there. A building was built around that well to protect it.

I had just returned home when I saw a light coming from the well house. I had gone there to investigate where the light was coming from. When I went inside to see what was going on, I found that the light was coming from an old well with a cover on it. I approached the well and noticed that a seal had been placed on it. There was an inscription on the lid that said you were the one to seal the youkai inside. When I made to leave, the seal broke, and the youkai that was sealed within grabbed me and pulled me into the well.

I managed to purify the youkai and when I landed at the bottom of the well, I looked up at the entrance and noticed that the hokora was gone from around the well. When I climbed out I instantly knew that I was not in my era anymore. There is a forest here and where I come from there are very few trees left in the area.

I sat there for a while and tried to figure out where I was. After a while I came to the conclusion that it was the well that brought me here to this era. I tried to go back the same way I got here but when I jumped back into the well, it would not take me back. I was stuck here and that’s when I met you.” Kagome stopped talking to let everything that she had said, sink in.

She saw the confusion and doubts on everyone’s face and knew that she would have to prove that she was from the future. She reached into her kimono and pulled out a small silver box. She had her MP3 player with her when she came here and the batteries were still good. Once they died she didn’t know what she was going to do. She will never hear the music of her era ever again.

She put the earphones in and then turned it on. She raised the volume so that the music would come out of the earpiece and everyone froze when they heard the music playing. It was one of Kagome’s favorite songs, but this particular version was a special one, it was an orchestral rendition of Change the World. She thought it would be better to play this here instead of its original version.

Sesshoumaru immediately started to growl at the offensive object, and was about to pounce on it. Kagome, however gave him a glare that warranted death as she said, “In the future everything is advanced. This is what we call an MP3 player. It plays music from my era.”

Everyone listened to the music as Inutaisho sat forward on his pillow and listened intently to the music being played. It was very soothing to his ears as he listened, but sad in some way. It was weird to hear such things coming from such a small object.

Kagome then turned off her MP3 player and put it back in her kimono. She didn’t want the batteries to die out just yet. She looked at everyone and noticed that they now believed her when she said that she came from the future.

Inutaisho was the first to break the silence as he asked, “This is very interesting Kagome. So you know what the future holds for these lands.”

Kagome took a deep breath and sighed, “Yes I know what is to come.”

“Will you be willing to tell us?” Inutaisho asked as his curiosity was peeked.

Kagome pondered his question for a few minutes and said, “I…I can’t. Please don’t ask me to. If I tell you what is to come then I may alter the future. But I may have altered it already by just being here.”

Inutaisho was not following Kagome’s line of thought as he asked, “Why would you being here alter the future?”

Kagome was losing the battle with her tears, she was trying to keep her composure but it was just too much for her to deal with. She fell to her knees as she started to sob.

Ayashiko was the first to reach her as she brought her into an embrace. She held Kagome close to her chest as she purred to calm her Musume. Once she was calm she asked, “Musume, tell us why you think you have altered the future by being here?”

Kagome gathered herself as she said, “Because, when I first got here I had a dream with Midoriko. She told me that the fates have corrected their mistakes when they brought me back here. That the future has already been altered, I don’t know if she meant that I can help change what is to come or if I lost my mother for good.”

Ayashiko understood what was wrong now as she comforted her pup. She knew it was going to be hard for her but she had to tell them what they needed to know. “Kagome, tell me about when you were a child.”

Kagome wished that she didn’t have to answer any more questions, but knew that they had a right to know everything about her. “First of all it will make things a little easier on me if I referred to years instead of summers.” She saw the confusion on everyone’s face as she quickly said, “A year is all the seasons together. A year for me starts with a winter, spring, summer, and fall. A summer for you starts with summer, fall, winter, and then spring. I will try to keep the terms as basic as possible but if I speak out of term please forgive me.

When I was four years old I was given a test by the healers to see if I had progressed as normal children do. I happened to finish the test faster than any other child had previously done. What surprised them was that I had all the answers correct on the paper. They called in another healer and he decided to give me another test to see how I would do.

Well whatever they thought was going to happen, didn’t. I got all those answers correct and surprised all of them. More tests were given and I was then proclaimed a child prodigy, which is a young child that can master a art that only adults can do, in other words its fancy way of saying that I learn fast or have special gifts.”

Kagome continued to tell them everything that she had done while she was growing up. She had told them about her mother, her Jii-chan, and her little brother, Souta. She told them about the schooling she had received and the way it was provided free of charge because of her gifts.

She continued on how she found out that she was a miko and their decisions to keep it a secret from everyone that knew her. The training she received from the only living miko in Japan. How she had the urge to train using her miko abilities with what she was learning and incorporating them together.

Inutaisho and the others took everything in. He was surprised to find out that his pup was from the future. Now this was a problem. ‘I can’t let her mate outside my clan. If I do then this could really alter the future.’

Inutaisho looked at his son and noticed that he was deep in thought. He was wondering if his son knew the value of the information that this girl holds in her mind. He turned his attention back to Kagome as he said, “Kagome, we will keep your secret. No one outside of this room will ever know about where you come from. When asked during your presentation I will tell them that your clan was destroyed and I found you. No one will question where you come from. But it does not mean that we will not find you a mate. You must be mated by your next heat or we risk losing you and that is not an option at this time.”

Kagome looked up from the ground as she said, “I can’t allow myself to be mated to anyone. If they find out where I’m from or shall I say when, then it will change everything. I will not allow that to happen. I will not allow the future to change and something happen to my mother. I know that she will grieve when she finds that I’m missing but I will not change anything for her sake. I would rather die than do that.”

Inutaisho was not pleased with his pup’s statement, as he said, “Kagome, you don’t have a choice in the matter. You must be mated and live. The only way that this land will be around in the future is if we find you a strong mate. This much Midoriko has told me. Your happiness will dictate what will happen.”

“My happiness? My happiness? Since when is my happiness ever been a factor around here? You brought me here against my will when I told you that I didn’t want to come. Your castle gets attacked because of me. You almost die because I’m here with you! Do you think that I’m happy here? Do you think that I want all of these things to happen because of me? No! I want to leave here and if the only way I can leave here is to beat the male that this stupid introduction, is going to produce, then so be it. I will not be dominated by any man, ningen or youkai!”

Kagome was in tears as she quickly got up off her mothers lap and raced to the door. Unfortunately for her Inutaisho beat her to the door and held her in his arms. He knew that she was upset about telling them where she came from but he could not let her leave the castle just yet. There was someone that wanted to control her and he was determined to protect her.

He purred to sooth her and when she wouldn’t calm down he reached up and squeezed the pressure point on her neck and she fell limp in his arms. Inutaisho then picked his pup up as he held her in his arms. She was resting her head against his chest as he purred to soothe her.

He turned his attention to all in the room as he said, “What has been said in this room will stay here. We can’t afford to have this information leaked out that Kagome comes from the future. If that ever happens then it will be impossible to protect her.”

Everyone agreed to not say anything. It would be hard for anyone to believe their story even if they tried. But they also knew that all it took was just one person to hear her secret before they figured out that what they had said was true.

Inutaisho walked out of the study with Kagome in his arms. He was not about to let go of her just yet. Ayashiko followed closely behind them as the rest went about their normal business. Inutaisho continued to walk with his little one as he went straight into his room. He placed her upon his bed as he went to sit down in one of the pillows in his room to wait until Kagome woke up.

Ayashiko noticed this and sat down beside him as she saw the concerned look in his eyes. She looked at him and asked, “Koiishi, what’s wrong? Why have you brought her back to our room?”

Inutaisho sighed and said, “Someone is trying to control her. We can’t leave her on her own or else she might walk out of this castle and we may never see her again. I for one do not want to lose her, not after she asked me if she could call me Otou-san.”

Ayashiko eyes opened wide as she whispered, “She asked if she could call you Otou-san?”

Inutaisho looked at his mate as he answered, “Yes.”

“I knew that she would call you Otou-san, she just needed time to realize that you are protecting her like a father would his pups. She realized that you were her father when we were at my sanctuary. When I talked to her about her responsibilities of being my daughter, she came to realize everything that you do for her. She came to terms with it and has now made it official. She wants you as her father, though I have a strange feeling that she has not told us everything there is about her father. She seems reluctant to talk about him for some reason.” Ayashiko said as she looked at her sleeping pup.

Inutaisho took all this information in as he mulled it over in his mind. He came to a conclusion as he said, “I have a feeling that Kagome was hurt by her true father. The way she acts around me, the things she said the other night, ‘I will try harder, please forgive me,’ all this leads to indicate that she has been hurt by him.”

They both sat there and thought about what each other had said, as they waited for Kagome to wake up from her sleep.

---oOo---

Kagome was having one of her nightmares. It was something that she has always tried to forget as she started to toss and turn on the bed.

-------DREAM--------

The small form of Kagome was crouched in a corner of her room. She was pressed up against the corner wall of the room trying to make herself look small. She was hiding from him. He was mad at her again for disobeying the doctor’s orders.

The doctors tried to stick stuff in her arm again and she refused to let them do it. It would always hurt and then they would strap her to a table and hook her up to machines while they held up different books in front of her eyes and flipped the pages as quickly as possible.

Once they were done they would ask her questions on the book and if she got it wrong they would send bolts of electricity into her tiny body. She would cry out in pain and the process started all over again. They would continue until Kagome trained her mind to look at a page and instantly capture the image in her mind then recall it when needed.

They had paid her father a lot of money to let them experiment on her. They called it research but she called it torture. They had complained to her father that she was not cooperating with them and that they could obtain a more agreeable subject if she continued to act this way.

Her father reassured them that she would cooperate the next day and do as she was told. The doctors agreed but warned that if she refused to cooperate that they would go elsewhere for their subjects.

Her father was not happy with her. He had done nothing to her because her mother was there with them but that never lasted. Her mother had left to go to the store to get some supplies and at the moment her father was looking for her.

She ran and hid in her room. She was in her closet as she stayed as quiet as possible. She didn’t want him to find her. She was hoping that she could hide long enough from him until her mother returned. But today she was not that lucky. He had found her hiding place and had dragged her out of the closet.

He towered over her small form as she cried, “I’m sorry daddy, I will do better, I promise!”

That did not please her father as he raised his arm up and it came down hard on her face as he slapped her across the room. Kagome landed hard on the floor holding the side of her face as it stung badly. Tears filled with fear, welled up in her beautiful blue eyes and dripped silently down her face.

He grabbed her by the hair as he picked her up and put her on her feet. His face came dangerously close to hers, as she smelled the alcohol on his breath. She closed her eyes and waited, she knew that he was not done with her just yet. “Now you listen to me, you are to do what the doctors tell you to do. They pay me well to have you and I don’t need you refusing to help them in what they want to know. Do you understand me!”

Kagome shook in fear as she cried her heart out. But she didn’t answer quickly enough for him as he smacked her again and yelled, “DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME!”

“YYYessssss dadddddy I…I…I will do better… I promise.” Answered Kagome as she cried out to her father.

“You better because the next time I won’t be this soft on you!” Her father threw her on the floor as he walked out of her room. Kagome curled up into a small ball and started to cry even harder. She cried her heart out as she slowly rocked herself. She continued to cry for about five minutes when her door burst opened and in walked her father.

He was holding a leather belt in his hand as he yelled, “Stop that infernal crying right now or I will give you something to really cry about!” He came towards her as he raised his arm up and was about to level a blow to her small form.

-------END OF DREAM--------

Kagome woke up with a start as she sat up in the bed she was in. Her eyes were still blurred and not focused completely. She was rubbing her neck trying to get rid of the pain she was feeling there. She wondered why she hurt so badly as she whimpered from the pain. She saw a shadow come across her blurred vision as her eyes opened wide.

The dream she just had came back to her full force as she cried out in pain and pushed herself away from the person standing in front of her. She couldn’t see and the only thing that her mind told her was that her father was going to hurt her again.

She backed away on the bed as she cried out in fear. A pair of strong hands caught her by the shoulders as she screamed her head off saying, “Please daddy don’t hurt me! I promise to be good and listen to the doctors. I promise to do better please don’t hurt me!”

---oOo---

Inutaisho and Ayashiko sat waiting patiently for Kagome to awaken. They noticed after a while that their pup was thrashing around on the bed as if she was having a nightmare. She was whining in pain as Inutaisho got up from his pillow and went to sit by his pup.

He looked down at her features and noticed the pain that was there. Whatever she was dreaming about was not a good dream if it was full of pain for her.

She woke up with a start as she was breathing heavily. She was rubbing the side of her neck as she whimpered. He noticed that her eyes were not focused yet as he moved closer to her to see if he could get rid of the pain she was in. He sometimes would forget that she was a ningen and squeeze a little too hard.

As soon as his shadow moved over her small form he saw her eyes go wide as she shrieked and moved away from him. He heard everything she said as he looked at his mate with pain in his eyes. Never before had he seen such terror in anyone’s eyes before.

Ayashiko noticed what was going on with her pup and when she heard her words she looked at her mate and saw the hurt in his eyes. Their worst fears had been confirmed, as their pup was scared out of her mind at getting hurt again.

Inutaisho turned back toward Kagome as he grabbed her by the shoulders and brought her into his chest. His arms went around her small form as he tried to calm her down. He purred in his chest as he rocked her and said, “Kagome it’s me, I won’t hurt you. I will never hurt you my little one.”

Kagome recognized the male’s voice, as she seemed to calm from his words. She cried into his chest as he held her to soothe her fears. Soon she stopped crying as she held on to him for comfort. When she was finally calmed he asked her, “Kagome, my little one, I want to know what he did to you?”

Kagome’s eyes went wide as her heart started to race again. She didn’t want to remember what he had done to her. It was just too painful. That was a time in her life that she didn’t want to remember. “No, please don’t make me tell you what happened.”

“My little one, in order for you to move forward with your life you must confront that which pains you the most. We are here to help you get over that pain, and I for one will never hurt you in that manner.” Inutaisho said as he held her close to his chest. Ayashiko had come over to the futon as she sat near them waiting to hear what her pup had to say. She was hoping that she would open up to them.

Kagome thought about what her Otou-san had said, ‘He’s right, if I want to move forward with my life I have to face my fears and come to terms with them. I know that he will never do what my real father did to me.’

She pulled away from her Otou-san as she lowered her head and said, “Please don’t think of me as weak because I’m not. This happened when I was very young and didn’t know how to defend myself.”

Inutaisho understood what his pup was saying as they waited patiently for her to continue.

Kagome took another deep breath as she began to tell them what had happened in her young life with her father. She told them of his need to have money and saki. How her family had gone without just so he could drink it all away. How her mother never noticed or if she did notice she didn’t care what he did to her.

The pain her father would inflict on her when she would defy the healers orders to stay still or to answer their questions. She told them everything that was in her heart as tears continued to pour out of her eyes as she remembered all the pain.

Ayashiko had moved closer to Kagome as she wrapped her arms around her to comfort her pup as she encouraged Kagome to continue with her story. She let her cry all of her pain.

Kagome told them everything and then she said, “Then one day my father never came home. My father seemed to disappear off the face of the earth and never came back to torment me. From that day forward my life seemed to improve slowly as my mother did everything she could to make sure that I was at least happy and had a normal life.

However, my family could not afford to turn the down offers of money that they still offered if I would help them with their research. But my mother let me decide if I wanted to do it or not. I would agree to most of their requests as long as they paid my mother enough money to keep our family going. When I got older, I refused to be put through any more experiments and I moved on with my life.”

Kagome took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She actually felt better now that she had told her real story. She can actually admit to herself that she can leave that part of her life behind as she looked towards the future.

Inutaisho could not believe what his little one had just revealed to them. ‘How could a father do that to his own pup! To sell off your offspring to be tortured so you could get money for saki. What kind of ningen was this man? He had no heart to do this to such a wonderful young onna.’

Inutaisho’s mind was at war with itself. Though he maintained a calm exterior, to his mate, she saw the truth. Ayashiko was just as shocked as her mate. She looked at him as she saw his blood rising. He was angry that someone could actually do this to his or her own pup.

Her mate was angry and she knew that if he lived long enough to be in Kagome’s era, that he would be the one to bring about the ningens demise so that his pup would not suffer in her young life.

The more Ayashiko thought about this the more she thought that it was him who got rid of the ningen male in Kagome’s life. It was better that she grew up without a father than to have one and live in constant pain.

Inutaisho looked at his little one. She was leaning on his mate chest, as she felt comforted by Ayashiko’s actions. Kagome’s head was turned just slightly as her ear was pressed against Ayashiko’s chest. He knew that all pups loved to hear their mother’s heart beat. It soothed them for some reason and Kagome had a content look on her face at the moment.

He cleared his throat as he said, “Kagome there is something very important that I have to talk to you about. Last night someone was trying to control you. They succeeded in getting you under their control as you were leaving the castle.

Sesshoumaru had gone after you when I had inquired where you had gone off too. He found you deep in the forest almost to the barriers and your eyes held an emotionless glaze to them. I will teach you how to put up mental barriers to prevent this from happening again. But it will take time for you to really master how to do this.”

Kagome was shocked when she heard this as she asked, “Is that why there was a barrier on my room this morning? To prevent me from leaving the castle and going to where this person is calling for me?”

Inutaisho chuckled as he said, “Yes, I had Sesshoumaru put that barrier around your room to make sure you stayed put for the night. It would alert us if you were to leave the room or if someone was trying to get in. By the way Kagome, I have a question for you, what happened to your door?”

Kagome blushed a deep red when she remembered what she did to the door. She lowered her eyes as she said, “I’m sorry Otou-san, I didn’t mean to break down your door. I just wanted to get out of my room. I got mad that someone would lock me in my room when I have done nothing to deserve it.”

Inutaisho looked at his pup as he said, “Kagome, you must control that temper of yours. It is unbecoming in a female seeking a mate. I would hate to punish you to make you comply with my request.”

Kagome understood what she was being told and he was right she had to control her temper but it was getting so hard to do that. It was like someone else was driving her to do these things. It was hard to explain what she felt. She sighed as she said, “I will try to control my temper Otou-san, but it will not be easy since I can’t really control the youkai souls in my body. They make it hard for me to think clearly.”

“Then you are going to try harder to control them. I will teach you some meditations that will help you to control them. It’s the same way we youkais control our inner beast.” Inutaisho said as he tried to explain what he was going to teach his pup.

Kagome’s eyes opened wide as she asked, “Does your beast look as cute as Sesshoumaru's beast?” Kagome quickly put her hand over her mouth when she realized what she had said. ‘Damn, me and my big mouth!’

Inutaisho heard her comment as he narrowed his eyes at her and asked, “What do you mean if my beast looks as cutes as Sesshoumaru’s?”

He saw how Kagome opened her eyes wide at what he has asked as his mate happily supplied, “Koiishi, when you were poisoned Sesshoumaru went with Kagome to get the black moonflower. He transformed into his true form and they left together. They came back the next morning with what was needed to make your antidote.”

Inutaisho was shocked to here this as he took in a deep breath. He didn’t catch the scent of his elder son on Kagome as he asked, “Kagome, why don’t you smell like Sesshoumaru?”

Kagome huffed as she sat up straight and crossed her arms over her chest, and then she said in a defiant manner, “I did smell like him. I didn’t notice his scent until this morning when I woke up in my room. I know from everything that I have read that a males scent on a female means that she has been claimed. I have consented to no such thing so I removed his scent from my person.” Kagome didn’t want to tell them that their son had also made a verbal claim on her person, which she was still pissed at him.

This statement caught both Inu Youkais by surprise. They never knew that Kagome could remove their scent from her body. But the odd thing was that she carried their scent on her body. The only scent she removed was Sesshoumaru’s. Both Inutaisho and Ayashiko knew that this would not sit well with Sesshoumaru. They understood why he had put his scent on her and for her to remove it would anger Sesshoumaru greatly.

At that moment Inutaisho heard Kagome’s stomach protesting in hunger. He chuckled as he said, “Well its time for lunch, I think that we should all head down towards the dining hall to get something to eat.”

They all agreed as they walked out of their bedroom and headed towards the dining area. When they got there, everyone else was waiting on them. They all sat down and once the food was served, Inutaisho took the first bite to start the meal. Everyone was very quiet during the meal.

Inutaisho kept looking at his elder son. He could see the anger in his eyes as he looked at Kagome. His little one would not pay any attention to Sesshoumaru and this angered him even more. He thought of this as funny for he had warned Sesshoumaru that showing Kagome no emotion would not get him anywhere with her but he didn’t want to listen, as he continued with his meal.

The girls were the first to finish their meal as they excused themselves from the table. Inuyasha was next as he raced after the females.

Inutaisho heard a growl of annoyance come from Sesshoumaru as he excused himself and left the dining hall, no doubt he was going after Kagome.

Inutaisho smiled as he said to his mate, “Ayashiko, it’s going to be a very interesting afternoon if Sesshoumaru keeps acting the way he has. He is angry with Kagome for removing his scent.”

Ayashiko smiled at her mate as she said, “Yes, I do believe that you’re correct in that matter. But I do believe that our pup will give him a run for his money. I just hope that our son realizes that Kagome is looking for someone to love her the way she needs to be loved. She has suffered so much for one so young. I only wish to see her happy even if its not with our own son.”

Inutaisho silently agreed with his mate but something was amiss. He could feel that something was coming and soon. He would have to keep his senses open and make sure that Kagome stays safe.

---oOo---

This is the end to another chapter. So now you all know why Kagome acts the way she does sometimes. Oh but you will get to see what really happened to Kagome’s father later in the story. I won’t jump ahead and tell you but you will be surprised to see what happens. Lets just say that it’s not the last we will hear about Kagome’s father.

Hint people, I post a chapter once a week because I don’t get the reviews I want for the chapter. The more people review the faster you get the next chapter. Get it. For all those of you that have been with me before that is how you get the next chapter faster.

I still want to thank all of you who have reviewed. Your reviews bring me much joy in these trying days. I have a lot to deal with but I do try to update as soon as possible.

Oh I almost forgot. This story along with my one-shot A Christmas Wish has been nominated for an Dokuga Award, for best action/adventure and best one-shot.

This award was set up by Demonlordlover to recognize those fanfiction/fan arts that are Sesshoumaru and Kagome pairing. My stories have both made it through the seconding round and the voting will take place from Jan 20 at 9pm and will close Feb 3 at 9pm. This is an adult only site, if you wish to join and vote I will have a link to the site in my profile. Again I want to thank, TheWeimarClassicist for nominating my stories in the first place. Thank you, it means the world to me.

So the tension is building between Sesshoumaru and Kagome. With Kagome removing Sesshoumaru’s scent off her body he is diffidently not a happy youkai at the moment. Oh our Sesshoumaru becomes a bit of a hentai in the next chapter as you see how he put his scent on Kagome. My favorite dark miko will make a showing in the next chapter and things start to heat up.

So until the next chapter!

Ja ne!