As Death Gives Life

Chapter 3 – Search for the Protector

Anubis wondered across the beautiful countryside of Japan looking for just the right one. He would have to be strong; able to defend against terrible enemies who may seek to use his future child for the strength it would carry. He would also have to meet certain standards, as he couldn’t very well leave the mother of his child in the care of a homeless renegade.

Thoughts of her current protector came to mind. The hanyou she travels with is no doubt strong, and he does, of course, care for her greatly, however he lacks stability, and not just a village hut, but true stability; a home fit for the child of a God. No, the brash young hanyou can not provide the things he desires for his child. He would have to find a suitable caretaker for Kagome soon.

‘Kagome’. A smile played on his soft lips as he thought about his chosen female. She would be perfect to bare his offspring. She was strong and bright. Her beauty natural, and her heart pure. She held an inner strength that would be imperative in the coming months and years ahead of her. The girl even carried a strange sort of power, which radiated goodness and light.

He almost felt a twinge of guilt for what he was about to do to her life. The girl could not begin to know of the changes looming in the future. Anubis knew that she would carry this burden dutifully, but in the end he feared she might hate him for his actions. It should be a great honor for a human to be gifted with the seed of a God, but something about Kagome gave him the impression that she would not be as grateful as he hoped.

Anubis finally stopped before a great gate leading to a winding road. In the distance, atop a hill, he could see a palace. The palace of the demon Fuskae, the Southern Lord. He decided to observe the demon lord and his underlings before making his presence known. With shimmering light, Anubis took to the air.

He found the Lord seated at a large dining table along with his wife and three small children. The lord, Fuskae, was a rather talkative sort, a friendly fox youkai. Anubis was pleased with his mannerisms as well as the way he interacted with his children. He seemed a bit firm, but a jovial sort. The type to give punishment when needed, as well as to offer tenderness openly. Certainly a good candidate to offer protection to his chosen female.

Unfortunately Anubis found his high hopes crushed rather quickly when the lady of the manor spoke. He listened intently to the conversation, gauging the usefulness of the information to his own plight.

“Husband, have you yet been informed of the most recent offense to your house?” the lady asked in a sharp tone.

Fuskae raised a thick brow in question, waiting for his wife to clarify her words.

“It has come to my attention that a family of human filth has taken up residence near the old mill. That is entirely too close to our home, leaving our children subject to encounters with such vermin. I assume that you will take care of the matter post haste.” The final sentence was more of a demand than a question, and despite the grim look on her lord husbands face, the kitsune nodded in agreement.

Such hatred towards the human race would not be acceptable for the protector of Kagome. Anubis dared not place her in a home such as this. The lady of the manor would make her existence miserable, even though the girl would technically cease to be human as the pregnancy progressed.

Anubis shook his head in disgust, and drifted away to continue his search elsewhere.

As he soon discovered, the Eastern Lord was an ookami prince by the name of Kouga. Apparently the wolf has a mate, a young bitch by the name of Ayame. Anubis watched the prince for a couple of hours. The intricate cave system carved into the mountainside was quite impressive, as was the size of the wolf’s pack. The place lacked grace and was a far cry from posh, but it was clean and roomy, holding a family style charm.

Kouga’s underlings were extremely loyal, which was obvious after only a short time of observation. The ookami’s mate was a pleasant girl who carried herself as a warrior. The two seemed to get along pretty well, and Anubis found that the prince himself was a strong athlete. He would clearly be a formidable adversary.

The inu God was beginning to think that Kagome and his pup would be well cared for and accepted amongst the Eastern wolf tribe, but thing took a turn for the worst when two young males joined Kouga and his mate around the fire, near the mouth of the main cave inlet.

Ginta panted as he tried to catch his breath. He and Hakaku had just returned from scouting and he was anxious to tell Kouga the news, “Ko.... Kouga, Ginta breathed, guess who we met a few miles south of here?”

“Spit it out. I ain’t got all day,” Kouga replied with a hint of aggravation.

“Inu.... Inuyasha,” Ginta panted.

Kouga perked up at the mention of the hanyou, and Anubis noticed that Ayame had suddenly acquired a dangerous look in her eye.

Kouga ignored his mates glare and asked Ginta, “Well? Was Kagome with him?”

Anubis quickened at the mention of his chosen female. It was interesting indeed that the wolf prince was already acquainted with Kagome and her current traveling companion. Before the one called Ginta could reply, the female, Ayame, leapt to her feet growling at her mate.

“Kouga you asshole! After all this time you still pine after that human! It’s disgusting! You mated me! Remember? I get so tired of your pathetic crush on Ka-Go-Me! UGH!” Ayame shouted before stomping off.

Anubis was rather shocked at the sudden outburst. It would seem that Kouga had some sort of obsession over Kagome. That in itself was not really a problem, but the fact that the ookami female held such strong feelings of jealousy was certainly cause for alarm. Even though the wolf prince would gladly risk his life to protect Kagome, perhaps the wolf tribe was not the best place for his chosen female to reside.

Anubis shook his head in frustration. There were only four demon lords in Kagome’s homeland, and he was sure that she would strongly be against relocating. He had to choose a taiyoukai, as only they would be strong enough to fend off a would be assassin, or even a malicious kidnapper. A human would likely be more accepting of Kagome and her future child, but the forces would not be strong enough to properly protect them from harm. In addition, a demon household would be more adept at assisting Kagome through the changes, as well as the actual birthing. No, a human lord simply would not do.

Traveling Westward, Anubis came to the lands of one Lord Sesshomaru. The palace was impressive. A fortress carved into the side of a mountain. A wide mote, and tall stone walls protected the front portion. It was not as lovely as the country estate of Lord Fuskae, but it was formidable. A strong keep, built to withstand attack, and obviously had been standing for many centuries.

Behind the walls Anubis was delighted to find a rather lush garden, complete with hundreds of various plant species. It was scattered with beautiful flowers, which were growing sporadically around the little stream that trickled amongst the beds.

The most interesting thing that he found in the garden was not the vegetation. It was, instead, very much human. Anubis was suddenly fascinated with the lovely young girl that was happily moving about the garden picking the most succulent of buds and carefully placing them in a straw basket carried over her arm. She was singing a pretty tune as she labored away, and Anubis took a moment to enjoy the melody.

Could she be a slave, or possibly a child belonging to one of the servants? His answer was not at all what he expected, when a tall pristine male demon walked into the gardens. The male was obviously the lord, or a higher up of the manor, as his airs spoke clearly of his aristocracy. Anubis watched the child, anxious to gauge her reaction to the rather stoic inuyoukai strolling in her direction.

To say he was surprised would have been the understatement of the century. The young girl turned to the demon and released the most radiant smile before running toward him and cheerfully calling, “Sesshomaru-sama!” It appeared that the girl held no fear for the male, and his reaction to the child was rather unexpected as well. The demon nodded sharply, but then placed his clawed hand upon the girls ebony head in an almost affectionate manner.

Anubis found this display to be highly intriguing. So the lord of this keep has an affection for humans? The information that he had received did not mention a mate, and Anubis decided to stick around to find out if there was indeed, a lady of the manor. It would certainly be advantageous to keep an eye on this taiyoukai, as this turn of events looked potentially prosperous.

After several hours of hovering about the fortress, Anubis was more determined than ever that this male would be the perfect one to house his chosen female. There apparently was no mate to comply with, and the taiyoukai treated the human girl as if she were his own child. The only drawback, that he had uncovered so far, was that the taiyoukai had lost an arm at some point in time. While that tiny fact would not necessarily downgrade the strength of Lord Sesshomaru, it certainly would be an added bonus if he were not handicapped. This could also be an effective bargaining tool when the time arose for discussion on the matter. Anubis filed that important piece of information away for later use.

Anubis decided to take his leave of the Western fortress. His mind was made up. Lord Sesshomaru would be Kagome’s protector. He would approach him the next morning, after he spent some time in meditation. He needed to contact the spirit world, and find out a few things concerning the future of Lord Sesshomaru.

Floating. Silent freedom. Drifting reality. Solid nothingness. As light as the tiniest speck of dust Anubis melded into his state of meditation. Focusing yet indistinct. His mind drifted into the spirit realm. His search began.

Anubis discovered two interesting things during his probe. One was vital to the future of Lord Sesshomaru, as well as his own plans for his future child. The information was sporadic and disconnected, as was all information obtained in such a fashion. The who’s and why’s of the events to unfold were not forthcoming, but the event itself was as true as if it were engraved in stone. This one event would be the certain downfall of the great taiyoukai, Sesshomaru. With this information, Anubis felt assured of his victory in procuring the inuyoukai’s assistance to his plan.

The second bit of information was completely unexpected. It came to him in the form of a young maiden. Upon his retreat from this domain, Anubis was stopped by a woman who beckoned him to listen to what she had to say. Most often than not Anubis would have brushed the spirit away as no consequence to his own motives, as spirits were apt to beg for attention during a journey to their realm. Something stopped him from moving on when this woman spoke. It was what she said that caught his undivided attention.

Her form was devoid of solidity, and the wisps of smoky aura gently swirled about in attempts to mock her true form. Her voice was musical, but her words were a warning. She said, “The woman child you have chosen has a powerful obligation, oh Great One. With this obligation comes a dangerous foe. He would seek her power to extinguish her light, and with it, the light of your future child. Her time is beyond.” The spirit faded away before his eyes, and Anubis then returned to the land of the living.

He remained where he was, sitting cross-legged beneath a huge shady tree deep in the forest. He took some time to reflect on what he had discovered, and whether the information he now held should deter his current path. So Kagome was sought out by an enemy? That was a bit disconcerting, but considering her traveling companions it was not so unlikely. If he had more time then perhaps he could determine the true strength of this foe that the spirit woman spoke of. In truth, he did not have such extravagances. He needed to discover what the obligation was and who her enemy was quickly.

He would simply have to ask her.

First things first, however, he would go to speak with the demon lord.