The Jewel Of My Heart

A/N: Enjoy the chapter, guys. Please continue to read and review. I am really enjoying this fic and it has quickly become one of my favorites to write. I do hope that it will become one of your favorites to read. Thanks again for all the support.

################################

By the time they arrived at the den, Kagome's sobs had increased in their intensity and his ears were aching from all of the high-pitched sobs that she kept emitting. He had wrapped his tail around her small form for warmth and was relieved to see that she had stopped shaking.

As he entered the large den, his followers quickly surrounded him, all asking questions and staring curiously at the young girl. Maraharu moved forward and held out a cup.

“I prepared this for the girl. Judging by how upset she was at the contact point, I thought that perhaps you might be needing this.” He explained.

“What is it?” Youko asked, his nose wrinkling as the foul odor hit his senses. He would not allow her to drink anything if it was going to harm her.

“It is a very gentle sedative. As the medicine works, she will fall into a deep and calming sleep, thus allowing you to figure out what you wish to do next.” Maraharu explained. “Believe me, the smell is worse than the sedative.” He watched as his leader knelt on the floor and carefully arranged Kagome to a propped up position. He took the cup from his underling and brought it to her lips. When the medicine hit her lips, Kagome gasped and tried to struggle, but a few of the other followers held her as Youko continued to feed the medicine to her. When it was finally gone, Youko stepped back and watched as Kagome gagged and sobbed.

Maraharu had grabbed a blanket and gently wrapped it around the young miko's shoulders before turning to his leader and whispering, “She needs to get out of those clothes. They are damp and she will get even sicker if left in them.”

Youko nodded. However, there was a small problem. There were no females among them and Kagome was certainly in no shape to be of any help in the removal of her clothing. Maraharu sighed. “Where will we be placing the girl? I will remove her clothing and settle her while you decide on what to do next.”

“Take her into my private chambers. She will sleep in there.” Youko replied, grateful for his second-in-command's offer. To be honest, the girl made him nervous and if she really were Kuronue's reincarnation, he had to handle her very carefully.

Maraharu gently picked Kagome up and whispered to her that she would not be harmed. All ready, the sedative was working and her dark head rolled back, her eyes drooping as she looked up at him. When they disappeared, Youko sat down and noticed that his followers were staring at him.

A wolf youkai named Hiko spoke up. “Youko, is that female's name Kagome?” He asked, an amused grin lighting up his normally hardened features.

Nodding slowly, Youko said, “Yes. Do you know her, Hiko?”

“Know her? It's because I tried to attack her that I was thrown out of my former tribe.” Hiko explained. “See, my former leader, Kouga, warned us not to harm her, but she and her kit escaped from the den and ran. We followed and she threw the kit off of the cliff, helping him escape and I threatened to hurt her. Kouga arrived and threw the bore he had killed on me to stop me. After the battle with the birds of paradise, he threw me out of the den for what I tried to do.”

“So, Kouga of the eastern wolf tribe knows her.” Youko mused. “I wonder if Sesshomaru also knows of her.”

Youko shook his head at the thought of the snobbish western lord knowing the miko, but then again, there had been rumors that he was now in the company of a small human girl and protected her viciously. Perhaps the seven hells had frozen over because that was what Sesshomaru had once told him would have to happen to make him give a damn about some pathetic human.

“Yeah....he knows her.” Hiko said. “In fact, he claimed her as his woman. I wonder what he would do if he knew that she was here and being undressed by Maraharu.”

Sneering, Youko said, “He won't be able to do much. I don't give a damn about his so-called claim. She is here and now she is mine and will be staying that way.”

“So, you intend to keep the girl. She is a miko, right?” Tasuku asked, his bright green eyes wide. He was curious as to what his leader wanted with a miko.

“Her being a miko has no affect on why I wish to keep her. But, she is mine and will remain so until I decide to let her go.” Youko stated, his tone firm.

He was about to warn his people about touching the girl, but Maraharu returned and had a concerned expression upon his face. About a year ago, Youko had met the elderly water youkai, took him in, grew very close to the elderly youkai and knew that when he was worried, it was something to be taken seriously.

“What is it? Is Kagome alright?” Youko demanded. He quickly got to his feet and approached the older youkai.

“Come with me. You need to see something.” Maraharu said, his tone soft. Out of all of the others, he knew about Youko's painful past. He knew about Kuronue and after hearing Kagome whisper the former bat youkai's name as he undressed her, it was clear that they had a situation on their hands that could quickly become quite messy.

He led Youko into the chambers where Kagome slept, and he heard his leader's sharp intake of breath. His eyes strayed over to the bed and saw that the only thing covering the young woman was part of the black silk sheet. She had kicked the furs off of her and was very close to losing the only thing that she had left. However, being the healer among Youko's group and use to seeing nude bodies, he walked over to Kagome and pulled the sheet over her body, before turning back to Youko.

“You told me that she and her companions were looking for the shikon jewel, right?” Maraharu asked. When Youko nodded, he sighed and said, “Youko, I believe that this girl is the shikon miko. Rumor was floating around that the shikon jewel was ripped out of its guardian's body. Look, this girl has a scar on her side and it is in the exact place that the rumor had stated it would be.” Maraharu lifted the sheet and showed his leader the scar.

Youko glanced down at the scar that Maraharu was showing him and then allowed a slender finger to reach out and touch the area. Her skin was incredibly soft and he had the random thought that it would be a crime for anything other than silk to touch her body. However, he shook that thought out of his head and stood up tall. He reached for the furs and tucked them around her shivering body before turning back to his old friend.

“I don't want anyone to know that Kagome could be the shikon miko. There is no sense in creating panic until we know for sure. I have an old friend who owes me a favor, and I will send for him. Until then, Kagome is just a regular miko and under my protection. Understand?” he asked.

Maraharu nodded and turned to leave the chambers. He looked back over his shoulder and saw Youko lower himself down to sit beside the sleeping girl and watched as he gently touched her cheek. A small smile formed on his lips as he left the chamber and knew that Youko had finally found a woman to focus on, at least for the moment.

Once they were alone, Youko allowed his finger to slip underneath the necklace and lifted it up to inspect it. His mind began to go back to that fateful night when he lost Kuronue and he wondered if Kuronue's death had been quick. He sure hoped so.

“If you are him, in a different body, I will protect you until my dying day. This I swear to you.” Youko murmured, his golden eyes soft. He brushed back Kagome's bangs and smiled. For the first time since Kuronue's death, his heart felt lighter.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$


“If she is me? What in the hell do you mean by that? I'm me, and she is her. Damn it, Youko. Please don't tell me that you think that I would allow myself to be reincarnated into a human's body, let alone a human female's body!” Kuronue shrieked. He growled when he saw Youko move away and knew what his friend was thinking.

Youko must believe that he had been reincarnated due to the feverish words Kagome had spoken. Well, he would have to just continue trying to gain control and when he did get that control, he would explain what happened.

But, for now, he had to take care of Kagome. He needed her help and to gain it, he had to reveal himself. He didn't want to frighten her anymore. He had seen that she wasn't a bad human and actually liked her. She was also quite pretty. Perhaps when he got his body back, he could keep her around and look after her. After all, they would be spending a lot of time together until he got his body back and he would probably become attached to her.....well, even more so when they were no longer bound together.

Smiling to himself, he sat back and allowed himself to rest. He would need all of his strength to begin his gentle take over of her body and he would have to make sure that he did it while she was unaware. He could not allow her to become frightened any further than what she already was.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

“You did what?!” Inu Yasha screamed, his ears flat against his skull. He, Kikyo, Shippo, and Kirara had been walking and only stopped when Miroku called out to them.

Miroku had known that Inu Yasha would take the news of Kagome's abduction hard. Despite everything that he said, he really did care for the young miko. After all, she was his first love's reincarnation, but also a very unique and loving girl.

“We had no choice, Inu Yasha. Youko won't harm her, not after what she said as he was about to strike.” Miroku explained. He looked over at Shippo and remembered that the kit had heard of Youko and had warned Inu Yasha about him the first time they met.

“Shippo, do you know of any stories about Youko?” He asked, his violet eyes trained upon the young kit.

Shippo nodded solemnly. “Every kitsune knows about Youko. He is the last of the spirit kitsunes and can fight just as good as Lord Sesshomaru.” He replied.

“Do you know of any stories that include Youko and a mirror?” Miroku prodded. He and the others watched as the kit thought hard about Miroku's question and then finally nodded. “There was one story about how Youko lost his partner when he and that partner stole a valuable mirror. It is said that Youko quit stealing for a while, but went back to his old ways because he was looking to gain information on his partner's killers.” Shippo said.

Miroku slowly nodded. He had seen Youko's face as he regarded Kagome after her outburst. The pain that lived in the kitsune's eyes was that of someone still in mourning and had not dealt with their friend's passing. He patted Shippo's head and turned to the others.

“We have a very serious problem. As he was about to strike Kagome, she cried out to him, spoke about a mirror, and he stopped. It was as if he was frozen, but then he picked her up and took her with him. I think that Kagome may be possessed and it could be that the one possessing her is this former partner.” Miroku concluded.

Sango nodded. “That would explain her sudden exhaustion and illness. A possession would drain her and it could be that whatever is trying to take her over is meeting resistance due to her miko powers.” She said.

Kikyo looked back over at Shippo and asked, “Do you recall this partner's name?”

Shippo bit his lip. His mother warned him never to speak about Youko Kurama's personal business, but if his Kagome-mama was in trouble, he would face the spirit kitsune and deal with the consequences. “His name was Kuronue.”