Miko... Kitsune?

Disclaimer: Um yeah... don' own it!!!

Chapter 14: Bond

Kagome sighed as she wandered the empty halls. Soon, they would leave this place for battle. She could feel something heavy in the air, as though something ominous was brewing. She shook her head clear of these thoughts as she wandered into one of the gardens. The children were in classes, while the lords, InuYasha, Kouga, Renshi and Miroku polished off their plans for battle. Tsaisuki was in meditation, gathering her power in preparation. Sango was working with her father’s troops, not really wanting to spend another day amongst the bickering men.

Kagome herself could stand it no longer. It seemed as though their egos were constantly fighting for superiority, each wanting to be right in their strategy. She shook her head and sighed again as she weaved her way through the thick sakura trees. The ominous feeling was growing, as though the trees were boxing her in. Kagome could not see the light dimming behind strange clouds, nor the dark miasma that gathered at her feet as she entered one of the clearings, her thoughts so focused on what was to come. It was too late when she felt the presence of the shards before her, too late to fear what was to come.

Sapphire eyes widened as she locked her gaze upon the vile hanyou. She gasped, taking a step back in retreat. She looked about, her snowy hair tumbling about her as it hung loose over her white kimono that seemed similar to the garb of her mate, the trio of blossoms on her shoulder and sleeves sea green in color instead of red. She stepped back again as he began to chuckle cruelly, only to feel the rough bark of a tree press against her spine.

“My, my, what have we here? The miko-kitsune mate of Sesshomaru, I see. All alone, with no InuYasha or Sesshomaru to save you. Not even a pathetic bow to defend yourself with? Pity,” Naraku teased.

Kagome hardened her gaze at him, her eyes sparkling in fiery anger, her fear forgotten. “Naraku, you vile monster! How did you get here?” she demanded.

“I do as I please, dear Kagome,” he purred.

Kagome shuddered, hating the way he said her name in such a poisoned way. “Not for long. We will stop you,” she snarled.

Naraku was suddenly inches away from her, his cold hands cupping her face. “Dream as you like. Kikyo thought she would beat me as well once. Now, she is my subservient bitch, as I have always wanted her to be. Now, I desire something more… corruptible than that clay copy.”

“You’re a monster,” she hissed as she pulled from his touch.

Naraku laughed as he gripped her chin tightly and drug his slimy tongue against her cheek. Kagome gasped in mortification and began to struggle harder against him as he gripped her wrists and pinned them to her sides with tentacles.

Kagome wanted to scream, for the choking feeling on her voice that his miasma caused. “Damn… you,” she managed to choke out.

~*~*~*~

Sesshomaru stormed down the halls, his temper rising, although he appeared the sternest in stoicism. ‘Damn you, InuYasha! Why must you counter me at every step?’ he growled mentally as he turned out of the claustrophobic halls into the freedom of nature. He breathed deeply, catching the faint scent of his mate. Inwardly, he smiled. ‘Surely, Kagome can help deter my thoughts from InuYasha’s evisceration.’

“Sesshomaru!” a voice called from inside, causing the stoic lord to turn.

He rolled his eyes and looked away from the approaching brat. “What do you wish to grace my ears with now, InuYasha?” he asked his voice only trembling slightly in irritation.

“What are you so pissy about? I just said that I disagreed with your idea. Naraku won’t fall for it,” the hanyou stated as he came to halt beside the taller youkai.

“Is that all?”

“No! I’m not here for a fight, even though I know I’ll win,” InuYasha boasted, causing the older male to roll his eyes again. “I came to see if you’ve seen Sango. I can’t find her.”

“This Sesshomaru is not here to keep track of your women, hanyou,” the taiyoukai growled.

“I didn’t say that you were. I just thought you might have seen her,” InuYasha boiled. He hated it when Sesshomaru referred to himself in the third person. It was so… irritating. He was about to begin a tirade when he noticed his brother stiffen and stare out into the trees.

“So you sense that?” he asked lowly.

InuYasha turned, all senses sweeping the trees before them. Kagome had been here not long ago, but she had not been alone. His eyes widened as he recognized the scent. “Naraku!”

The brothers moved forward with great speed, their bodies weaving through the trees as they approached the source of the stench. They both froze in terror as they breeched the clearing, their eyes taking in all that lay before them.

At first, neither would admit that what they were looking at was real, that it was another trick of the monstrous hanyou. It was when the wind picked up, and the scent of her blood hit them that they stopped denying it. Kagome lay in a ball in the center of the clearing, her kimono in tatters over her beaten and bloody form. Naraku stood over her, Kagome’s shards hanging from a bloodied hand as he smiled deviously to them.

“Ah, I see we have visitors,” Naraku’s poisoned honey voice acknowledged the inu brothers.

“You bastard!” InuYasha growled.

Sesshomaru said nothing as his eyes stayed upon his unconscious mate. The world seemed to fade around both his and her bodies. He could feel her through their bond. Feel her pain, and her joy at his presence. ‘How could I have not felt her earlier? Did Naraku block the bond? Is that possible?’ he asked himself. ‘Naraku has gone too far… harmed those I love. He dies!’

~*~*~*~

Kagome felt as though she were made of lead. Her limbs, weighted, as she slowly returned to consciousness. Faintly, she could hear Hotaru shouting at her soldiers through an open window. Part of her agreed with her hanyou cousin, twice was too many times to allow Naraku onto their grounds, but another part felt for the men, Naraku was a slippery monster, able to evade the most observant of noses. Hell, he had figured a way to block the mating bond between her and Sesshomaru.

“Is she awake?” a soft, light whisper asked to her right.

“I dunno. I think so,” another whisper answered. Kagome’s lips twitched. Rin and Shippo were at her bedside.

Slowly, the miko kitsune opened her eyes and turned her head. She almost laughed at the sight. Two pairs of eyes peeked over her bed, two green and two brown, with two pairs of hands on either side of the eyes. She smiled to the children, wishing she could lift her arms and hold them.

“What a wonderful way to wake up,” she greeted. “My two favorite kits, watching over me.”

Shippo was first to climb up onto the bed, Rin following shortly after. They were cautious, sitting next to her, not on her as they usually did in the morning. Rin snuggled up beside the white haired miko, her hands twisting into her sheets as she curled into Kagome’s body.

“Rin was really worried, Kagome,” Shippo said as he mimicked the little girl on Kagome’s other side. “So was I.”

Kagome smiled sweetly to the two children and wished that she could hug them, her arms still feeling too sore and heavy to lift. “Oh?” she asked.

“Yeah, Sesshomaru I think was scareder,” Shippo continued with a nod against her neck. “He wouldn’t even let us come in!”

“I’m sure he had a good reason.”

“No! He just wanted you all to himself, like he was the only one that cared,” Shippo pouted.

“We had to sneak in while he was with Jaken ,” Rin admitted. “Sesshomaru-sama doesn’t know we’re here.”

Kagome looked over to her bedroom doorway, amusement glittering in her eyes as she locked her blue gaze with the golden one of her mate. “We’ll keep it our secret. Sesshomaru will never know,” she said.

The children nodded against her body as they dozed off beside her. The western lord moved forward, a small, rare smile on his face as he took a seat beside her bed. Kagome watched with love in her eyes as he took her hand in his and squeezed it gently.

“You were scared?” she asked. “I thought you didn’t do scared?”

He snorted. “On rare occasions, this being the second in all my years, I have felt such an emotion. It did not stop me from trying to kill that bastard.”

Kagome’s eyes widened before glaring at the inu youkai. “Must you swear? I mean, it’s hard enough that they hear that from your brother.”

Sesshomaru sighed and shook his head. “They are asleep.”

“Then it gets logged into their subconscious and they become unable to control those types of words from entering their mouths. You should know better.”

Sesshomaru rolled his eyes and smiled to her again. “I am glad to see you are feeling better. Your berating of me must be a sign that your health is improving.”

Kagome narrowed her eyes at her mate and pouted. “That wasn’t funny at all.”

Sesshomaru’s face changed suddenly, a look of seriousness on his usually emotionless face. “Shippo was correct. I feared for you.”

Kagome’s eyes softened. “I’m fine, you found me.”

“It should never have happened. The mating bond should have told me you were in danger right off.”

Kagome sighed. “Naraku must have found a way to block the bond.”

“He has,” a solemn voice spoke from the doorway. Both mates looked to see Tsaisuki standing in the door. “He has the miko, Kikyo. She would be able to find a spell.”

“That worries me,” Kagome said.

Tsaisuki nodded. “As it should. To be able to manipulate such powerful youkai magics is dangerous to us. Who knows what else she may know.”

Sesshomaru bowed his head to the kitsune sorceress. “Arigato, Tsaisuki. I will make sure to bring this forward at tomorrow’s meeting. If you could summon someone…”

Tsaisuki smiled as Kuni slipped past her and gathered the sleeping children. “I shall take them, milord,” the raven youkai abdicated as she left the room, a child under each wing.

Kagome smiled to her cousin and retainer. “Sneaky.”

Tsaisuki smiled again and bowed her head to the couple. “I must go seek out my consort. If you have need of me, you know how to summon me.”

Kagome nodded and Sesshomaru glared. “We do,” he said.

~*~*~*~

Levii: Um... I will start by apologizing here and now for my lack of updating.
Inu: You damn well better, woman!
Levii: Hey! I'm trying here! Anyways, school and that pretty boy, Writer's Block, have been distacting me as of late. What can I say... I have a thing for tall, blonde, badboys with a hidden soft side. I mean, look at me here, I hang out with Sessho and InuYasha here! Is this not proof enough?!
Kag: I have to say, the evidence is very much here.
Levii: See? Even the rest of my acting crew thinks so. Anyways, once I get Writer's Block out of my way, I should have a lemon with Tsaisuki, Renshi and Miroku coming up. As well as possible Sango/Inu goodness... Oo! Sessho and Kagome get it on next chapter... so, give me those updates and motivate me ppl!
Sess: I shall motivate you, my dear. (Tosses authoress over shoulder and runs offstage)
Levii: Whee! Later guys! REVIEW!