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.
As usual, Kagome woke up just at the crack of sunrise—something that she had grown accustomed to throughout her past three years of travel. Since Kagome hardly ever had a roof over her head, the light of the morning sun always woke her up. Sango and Miroku were able to sleep through the light for a bit before Inuyasha's barking (no pun intended) woke them up.
Feeling warm and cozy, Kagome smiled as she looked over at the sleeping Inuyasha beside her. Her heart swelled with love for him. Bringing a finger up, she traced his features and watched his face twitch slightly at the contact.
But he didn't rouse.
I wonder what he's going to do with the sōzoku-jin no noroi, Kagome thought slowly.
He needs to find a mate and have pups in two years. A darkness swept over her heart.
A mate… Who is he gonna choose? The thought of him being with somebody else hurts... Sighing, Kagome stopped tracing his features and stared at the ceiling. Inuyasha's arm was gripped tightly around her waist and she knew if she tried to move him, he'd wake. And she couldn't bear to wake him up; he hardly ever had enough sleep to begin with.
We have fifteen shards, she began pondering.
How many could there possibly be? It's a stupid loop; find a bunch of shards, Naraku attacks, lose a bunch of shards and repeat. This journey needs to finally finish, it is way too repetitive. But Kagome knew deep inside that if the journey were to come to an end, she would never see Inuyasha again.
And she couldn't bear
that.
"Whatchya thinking of, wench?" Inuyasha yawned as he woke from his slumber. Kagome jumped and turned to him.
"When'd you wake up?" she inquired.
"Just now. So, what were you thinking of?" Inuyasha let go of her waist and propped himself up on one elbow. He had a sudden desire to push back her hair… Her lips were pink and full and looked
so inviting.
Dammit, he inwardly groaned.
I really wanna kiss her… "About our journey," Kagome murmured. "Of how repetitive it is. We find a big chunk of the jewel and Naraku shatters it again… We find a chunk
again and Naraku finds it…"
"We'll get there… eventually…"
Kagome was surprised at how soft his voice was. Turning around, she also propped herself up on an elbow and smiled at him. "Of course we will. We're the strongest tag team around."
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Ragtag team…"
"Not really, the other four left," Kagome snickered. "Although we
were ragtag, hmm? A half demon, a priestess, a monk, a demon slayer and two little demons to boot."
Inuyasha snorted. "Your fault, wench. You're the one that took them all in. I was down for just us hunting but
noooo, you had to be all good Samaritan-y…" Inuyasha paused. "…And shit," he added with a gruff.
Kagome giggled as she tapped his nose. "You know you love them."
"
Keh…"
"Soooo," Kagome flopped back onto her back, "what do we do today?"
Inuyasha shrugged his single shoulder as he was still watching the young priestess as he was propped up onto his elbow. "Don't know. We could stay here for the day? I know your ass has wanted to relax for a while now."
Kagome's eyes widened.
"Can we
really?"
Inuyasha nodded. "Why not? We can do that…
shopping thing you love so much."
Squealing, Kagome threw her arms around his shoulder and knock him off his elbow. By instinct his arms wrapped around her waist and he savoured the embrace he was granted for the five seconds it lasted.
"You're really agreeing to go shopping with me… out of your
own accord?"
"
Feh…" But he hid a small smile. They were on their own for a while now and Kagome hadn't had time to relax. Besides, Inuyasha could
smell her hormones and knew that her monthly run was coming up and wanted her to rest for a bit before their journey began. Lord only knows how emotional and hormonal the wench became…
"Thank you!" Placing a feather light kiss on his forehead, Kagome shot out of bed and began gathering a towel, some undergarments and a fresh pair of clothes. Inuyasha flopped back down onto the bed and watched her hustle and bustle around.
"Do you wanna shower?"
"Nah," Inuyasha muttered. "Your modern bathtub thing doesn't fly with me. I'll soak in a hot spring when we go home."
Nodding, Kagome disappeared out of the room and into her bathroom. Inuyasha lay relaxed for a bit longer before hopping out of bed and languidly walking to Kagome's closet. He grew used to wearing shoes, pants, shirts and tying his hair back so that his ears wouldn't show; he hadn't been to the modern era over a few hundred times over the past three years for nothing. Stripping out of his haori and hakama, Inuyasha pulled on some black cargo pants, a silky white t-shirt that Kagome had gotten for him the previous Christmas, and white Nike runners. Studying himself in Kagome's mirror, Inuyasha unbuttoned the top three buttons of the shirt and popped his collar, showing off his subjugation necklace.
What did Souta call me that one time? he thought slowly,
a stud muffin…? Yeah, that's what I am. A stud muffin. Picking up Kagome's brush, Inuyasha pulled his hair over his ears and tied it in a low ponytail. Picking up a New Era baseball hat that Souta had purchased for him (also for Christmas), Inuyasha fitted it on sideways (something Kagome taught him a while back) and examined his masterpiece in the mirror.
I'm more than a freakin' stud muffin, he thought proudly,
I'm a stud cupcake! Just as he set the brush down, Kagome re-entered her bedroom wearing a knee length white skirt, a light yellow tube top with dark yellow flower patterns on it and a black shrug over top. Her jaw dropped as she saw Inuyasha.
He looks… he looks… "You look amazing…"
Kagome snapped out of it, hearing Inuyasha's compliment. Blushing, she walked up to him and slightly adjusted his hat. "You look quite dashing yourself."
Inuyasha's chest puffed. "
Keh… Ready to go?"
Kagome nodded as she sprayed some leave-in conditioner in her hair and picked up her purse. Ushering Inuyasha to follow, they slowly tiptoed downstairs. Her family was still asleep. Writing a messy note, Kagome pinned it to the fridge and hastily left with Inuyasha.
Out shopping with Inuyasha. Be back in a few hours. Love you!
.xx.
It was near noon and Inuyasha and Kagome were just lazing around the city. They grabbed breakfast from WacDonalds and then started walking down the street to head to the mall—it was quite a distance for a walk but they traveled all through Japan by foot, a few extra kilometers wouldn't hurt.
"Wench." Inuyasha nudged her and she glanced up at him.
"Hmm?"
"Do you think we'll see your annoying friends today?"
Kagome blushed. A little while ago Inuyasha found out that
he was the over protective, annoying, jealous boyfriend she always spoke about to her friends. He snickered and decided to play along. He never really asked Kagome a reason for why she made him her
boyfriend but loved acting angry and over protective whenever the girls came around.
The story that Kagome made up was that Inuyasha was a mechanic that lived in the States. Kagome met him while she was there for a little while visiting her father's sister for her fortieth birthday. She came back and Inuyasha was transferred to Japan and worked for Toyota.
"I hope not."
Inuyasha snickered. "Why not? They're funny… Kind of."
Kagome raised her eyebrow. "Oh really?
They're funny or do you find the
situation to be funny?"
"Both."
Kagome rolled her eyes. "And
this is why you're Inuyasha."
Rolling his eyes, they both resumed walking in silence, until…
"Do you think we'll see Ho-ha-he?"
Kagome twitched. "You mean Hojo?"
"Hofo."
"Hojo!"
"Homo…"
"HOJO!"
"Hobo."
"It's HOJO!"
"Yes?"
Inuyasha and Kagome both whirled around to find the aforementioned boy standing behind them, scratching the back of his head. Inuyasha snorted.
Speak of the devil and the devil appears. "Uh…" Kagome was trying to find a good excuse as to why she just yelled out his name. Inuyasha rolled his eyes.
"Higurashi…" Hojo raised an eyebrow. Kagome stuttered as she looked between an annoyingly grinning Inuyasha and a confused Hojo.
"Yeah,
Higurashi," Inuyasha taunted, "why
did you yelled out his name?"
Kagome's eye twitched.
If I don't osuwari your ass to America, my name is not Kagome Higurashi.
"We were having a lover's spat." Kagome murmured, half truthfully. Hojo thought that Kagome and Inuyasha were dating too and he was devastated when he found out. Eventually he managed to move on but still dropped by with remedies for her ailments sometimes (much to the displeasure of the half-demon). "We were arguing about um… you know… past
interests that we had."
"You were interested in me?" Hojo seemed pleased. Inuyasha growled.
"No,
idiot, she meant
you were interested in her. Buddha, how the hell have you survived for this long?"
"Inuyasha!"
"It's true!" he scoffed. "Wouldn't last half a day from where I come from."
Hojo seemed offended. "Actually, Mr. Inuyasha… I lived in Canada for six months last year!"
Inuyasha raised an eyebrow.
He lived in a can of what? Kagome laughed nervously. "Ha ha, okay, Hojo nice seeing you. We'll be going now!" Grabbing Inuyasha's arm, she dragged him off leaving a dumbfounded Hojo behind.
"Kagome," Inuyasha started slowly, "why the hell did that idiot live in a can?"
Kagome paused, slowly looked at Inuyasha before doubling over in laughter. "Can? Oh my god, you are hilarious."
Inuyasha crossed his arms and scowled at her. "What is so funny, wench?"
Wiping a tear from her eye, Kagome giggled a bit longer before smiling apologetically at him. "I'm sorry… That was just… oh man." Straightening up, she grabbed his arm and began pulling him towards the direction of the mall. "He lived in Canada. It's a country on the other side of the world."
Inuyasha remembered when Kagome showed him a map of the world once.
"You know, people like us live there and do similar things but they have different cultures, ethics, and values… language. But they're still people."
Inuyasha snorted. "Do they live in a can?"
"Oh God no." Kagome rolled her eye. "It's a country. Like Japan."
"
Feh..."
Choosing to ignore him, Kagome continued their trek to the mall but left her hand resting in the grove of Inuyasha's crossed arm.
Both of them noticed.
Neither of them chose to remove it.
.xx.
"KAGOME!"
Inuyasha and Kagome groaned. "Do they stalk you?"
Kagome shrugged before they both turned around to find Yuka, Eri and Ayumi running towards them. They had
just entered the mall and were
just getting ready to do some serious shopping when the annoying shrieks of the freak sisters stopped them dead in their tracks.
"Can I senkon tessou them and be over with it?" he whispered to Kagome who smacked his arm.
"It'll only take a few moments," she muttered before smiling at her three friends.
"Morning, guys!"
"Hey!" The three girls hugged Kagome and bowed at Inuyasha. "What're you two doing here?" Yuka raised an eyebrow and Inuyasha rolled his eyes.
"Seriously? We're in a stinkin' mall. We're here to shop,
duh..."
Kagome shot him a dirty look before smiling at her friends. "Don't mind him. I woke him up early to come shopping with me."
Eri squealed. "How
cute!"
"Feh."
Ayumi smiled apologetically on behalf of her friends. "Sorry," she stated, "
they woke me up to go shopping."
"Join the club," Inuyasha muttered. "Are you three done? The sooner you let Kagome leave, the sooner I can get home and the sooner I can go back to sleeping."
Kagome stared in awe at her companion. She knew he had harnessed the power of acting throughout the years but she didn't realize how
good he was at it...
Yuka grinned and nodded. "For sure! But since you two are here, Kagome! I'm having a spring break party at my place next week. It's B.Y.O.B." Yuka winked at Inuyasha. "
Bring your own booze."
Kagome snorted. "You're
so funny Yuka. I'll see—depends on what the family has planned," she lied through her teeth. It depended on if there were shards or not in Feudal Japan.
"Cool!" Yuka grinned. "Okay you two have fun shopping, the three of us are gonna buy party supplies!"
Ayumi groaned.
Save me she mouthed at Inuyasha and Kagome. Inuyasha snickered and waved
bye bye to Ayumi who in turn glared at her friend's
boyfriend.
"Well that was..." Kagome searched for the right word. "Interesting?"
"
Keh, whatever." Inuyasha snorted, his arms crossed out in front of him. "Can we get over this shopping business and go home already?"
Kagome rolled her eyes and dragged him into a shoe store. "Fine. I need comfortable runners for when we're in your era…"
.xx.
After hours of shopping and lots of groaning and complaining, Kagome hailed a taxi and Inuyasha balanced numerous bags and boxes in his hands. Even with his demon strength, he was no match for the power of women, money, and an indoor mall.
"What the hell are you gonna do with a new
purse?" Inuyasha complained as they both clambered into the taxi. "Your yellow backpack seems to be doing a very good job, don'tchya think?"
Kagome rolled her eyes. "A girl needs to pamper herself."
"Well buying a new purse seems useless! And you said you needed
a pair of comfortable runners, why'd you buy three?"
"Because I never said I needed
a pair, I said I needed comfortable runners. I didn't specify the amount." Kagome grinned at Inuyasha. "So there."
He snarled.
Damn wench… "Besides, you offered to come out with me," she said in a sing-a-song voice. "Why are you complaining now?"
Inuyasha shrugged and didn't say a word. Sure he hated carrying the bags and running in and out of shops that reeked of nastiness… but he loved spending time with her without worrying about their lives and the dangers surrounding them. And the only way to do that was in
her time.
He hid a tiny smile. He spent the whole day with her and he would change
nothing of it…
.xx.
Inuyasha was back in his haori and hakama and Kagome fitted herself into navy blue shorts and a pale pink t-shirt. She packed extra clothes, shoved Inuyasha's ramen and Oreo cookies in her backpack and bid her family farewell. Nestled in Inuyasha's arm, they both jumped into the well and welcomed the blue aura that surrounded them...
"Wanna stay here for the night?" she asked him and he shook his head.
"Not really. The monk's gonna make
me help him with Sango's cravings."
Kagome giggled. "They aren't
that bad…"
"BUT I WANT OX! GET ME OX YOU GOOD FOR NOTHING PERVERTED HUSBAND OF MINE!"
Kagome and Inuyasha exchanged nervous glances and started running towards the village when they heard Sango's shrill command. Birds flew out of the Goshinboku forest and many villagers took hiding into their huts. Kagome and Inuyasha saw Miroku running the opposite direction of their hut, and Sango chasing after him with a rolling pin in her hand.
"DON'T COME BACK UNTIL YOU HAVE ME SOME OX MEAT— Oh!" She smiled seeing her friends. "Hey there!"
Inuyasha coughed and Kagome hugged Sango cautiously. "You alright, Sango?"
She snickered. "Of course I am. Just torturing Miroku. He promised me ox meat and I have yet to have any."
"You have
any idea how hard it is to find ox meat at this time of year?" Inuyasha raised an eyebrow and Sango laughed.
"I do… but you can't help a pregnant woman and her cravings. Kirara and Shippo are out scouting for game." Sango filled in when she saw Kagome glanced around for them. Laughing, Kagome playfully hit Sango's shoulder.
"You know me too well. I'd love to stay but we
really need to get going. We wasted a whole day in my era and well… the hanyou nags." Kagome winked at Sango before they took their leave. After he was sure they were out of earshot, Inuyasha turned to Kagome.
"You lied to her," he accused. "I was
not nagging…"
Kagome blushed. "I
know but if we stayed you know she would've sent
you to find some ox."
Inuyasha thought about it for a moment. "True…"
"So where are we headed now?"
Inuyasha shrugged. "We've been through the Panther's land, through Sesshomaru's land and randomly everywhere else. Wanna head towards Hijiri Island and then towards Mount Hakurei?"
Kagome nodded. "Sounds like a plan." Side by side, they began their walk towards the island in which Inuyasha mastered his Red Tetsusaiga. A long while later, without a word being said between the two of them, Kagome glanced idly at him. The sun was beginning to set and the way the light hit his face made him seem almost Godly… like Adonis.
Her heart swelled with love… It felt good to be with him…
But it hurt too. He belonged to Kikyo…
Speaking of the devil: "Shinidamachu…" Inuyasha glanced at Kagome. "…Wait for me?" he whispered.
Kagome had a lump in her throat and couldn't bear to voice her words. She dumbly nodded and watched him hop off.
I'll always wait for you…
.xx.
"Inuyasha…" Kikyo whispered as he stood in front of her.
"Kikyo." He nodded. "What are you doing here?"
"I have come to warn you and my reincarnation that Naraku's forces are accumulating and he is on a search for you both. It is better if you both lay low for a while."
Inuyasha nodded and Kikyo took a step towards him.
"After he's dead," she whispered, "you'll come with me to hell… won't you…?"
Inuyasha gulped. "Thanks for the news Kikyo." He avoided her statement. "It's getting dark and Kagome is alone. I'll… see you soon, right?"
Kikyo nodded. "Yes. You will." Turning around, she slowly left. Inuyasha watched her go before turning around and running towards where he left Kagome.
I can't go to hell with her, his thoughts thundered.
I can't leave Kagome… Even if she probably doesn't feel the same way I do, I can't just leave her like that…
.xx.
Kagome was sitting against a tree, a blanket wrapped around her. Her quiver and bow lay to her side and her head was pressed against the trunk of the tree, her eyes staring at the sky. The sun had fully set and the stars began twinkling beautifully. When she was younger her Mother told her that each star represented a beautiful soul that went to heaven. Korari explained to Kagome that when her father died, he went to heaven in the shape of a star and always watched over Souta and herself. He was their guardian angel…
I wish I knew you, Daddy. she thought sadly to herself.
I wish you were around to watch Souta and I grow up… "Kagome?"
Inuyasha's soft voice broke her out of her reverie and she looked up at him. Sitting down beside Kagome, he tugged on the blanket so that it covered both; he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her towards him. She snuggled into his chest. "You seem in thought?" It sounded more like a question than a statement.
Kagome smiled. "Thinking of my father… of what it would be like to
have a father."
An awkward silence passed between them. Inuyasha didn't know what to say to console her because he never had a father either…
"What did Kikyo say?"
Inuyasha looked at her. "Naraku's out to look for us. We need to lay low… That's about it."
Kagome nodded. "Oh…"
She's upset I went, Inuyasha thought.
She always is.
"Wanna sleep in the trees?"
Kagome looked over at him. "Sure, why not?"
Folding the blanket, Kagome put it in her backpack and Inuyasha hoisted her into his arms with the backpack safely tucked on his shoulder. Jumping to the highest branch of the closest tree, he slung the pack on a sturdy branch and positioned himself and Kagome so that they were comfortable.
"Inuyasha?"
"What?"
"Have you been thinking of well… the curse?"
Inuyasha snarled. "I told you, we'll talk about it when time comes."
Kagome frowned and looked over at him. "But you're already 203. How are you ever gonna find a mate and have a pup and well you know…" Kagome gulped. "Be happy?"
Inuyasha sighed in frustration. "I said we'll talk about it when the time comes! And why are you stressing so much? It's
my curse, not yours."
Kagome looked hurt. "Well excuse me for caring!" This was like déjà vu all over again. "I don't wanna see you die from the inside out."
Inuyasha sneered. "Who says we'd die? What if we submit?"
"That's as close to dying as the Dogs ever will get!" Kagome shot back. "You're my best friend and I wanna know what it is you're thinking."
"It doesn't concern you, dammit!" Inuyasha roared ferociously. "I told you I don't wanna think about it
or talk about it for
at least a year!"
Kagome poked his chest. "Maybe you
should! You never know when something will happen out of the blue and change up your plans for everything."
Rolling his eyes, Inuyasha crossed his arms in front of him and shoved his hands into the sleeves. "Fat chance of that happening. Now can we not talk about it?"
"But I think it'll be better if you
do think about it. Have you thought of who you want to mate with?"
"SERIOUSLY!" he roared. "STOP TALKING ABOUT IT!" Inuyasha was seething. The woman didn't seem to take the hint did she? "It's
not like I'm mating with you and having pups!"
Tears instantly sprung to Kagome's eyes. She moved away from him. "Let me down," she hissed dangerously. That hit her heart. That comment stung.
Maybe she
did want to mate with him.
Maybe she
did want to sire his pups.
What the hell did
he know?
"Kagome…"
"LET ME DOWN!" she shrieked. Inuyasha moved to grab a hold of her before she did something stupid. Instead, she wrestled his arm, lost balance on the branch, and fell.
"AHHH!"
His eyes widened. "KAGOME!" He jumped after her. Managing to defy gravity and fall faster than Kagome was falling, Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her and took the force of the fall. Kagome was breathing heavily in his arms and her hair was dishevelled and strewn across her face.
Inuyasha seemed to be entranced. His body had pounded into the ground and Kagome was wrapped safely in his arms.
"You okay?" he whispered, pushing her hair out of her face. Kagome nodded dumbly, the shock of the fall still fresh. Her chest was rising and falling and Inuyasha felt it as she was pressed up against his chest.
She licked her lips, her eyes downcast not looking at him.
Shit, he cursed.
I can't stop myself… He knew he couldn't.
He knew he didn't have the restraint to do it now… She was so beautiful in his arms…
So innocent and helpless without him…
Without a word, he placed his right hand on the back of her head and pushed her forward. His left hand was wrapped securely around her waist and his eyes searched hers for some sort of approval. With a final push, he brought her lips close enough to his to lean forward and envelope them.
Kagome's eyes widened as she felt his lips surround her very own.
He's kissing me, she thought shakily as his lips massaged around hers.
He's kissing me... Before she had time to react, Inuyasha pulled away.
"I'm… I'm sorry," he muttered. He was about to push her off of him but she grabbed his haori and pressed her lips against his.
This time, he was in shock but quickly recovered and wrapped both his arms around her waist.…
Tonight was going to be a good night…
.xx.
Beta-edited by: Sakura-chan master of the clow
