The Trials and Tribulations of Parenthood

Parenthood Chapter 5

The Trials and Tribulations of Parenthood

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho. They are owned by their respective authors. I only claim ownership of the plot.

Authors Note: I have made use of a type of demon that was not found in the series but was mentioned in the story “Broken Promises, Shattered Dreams” written by BrokenRyu. Thank you very much to these two lovely ladies for giving me permission to use their Vorseth. I will try to do your creation justice in this story.

Chapter Five

Kagome gave a scream, which was effectively cut off when the female vorseth grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off her feet. Her mind filled with terror and she felt her holy energy start to swell just to immediately be cut off again. “Damn, it doesn’t work when I’m pregnant.’ She raised her eyes, hoping against hope to find something there that would speak of any compassion in the demon holding her and looked into the liquid pools of hate that was the vorseth’s eyes. ‘So much for that hope.’

The vorseth slung Kagome over her shoulder as if she was no more then a sack of trash.

“Hey, put me down you sorry piece of shit excuse for a demon!” Kagome beat her fists against the scales on the demons back, getting more and more frustrated when it didn’t even elicit a shudder of a response. But a well-placed kick to the ribs got the demon’s attention.

Suddenly Kagome found herself back on her feet and the demon watching her intently, waiting for her to move. Her foot moved in the first motion of starting to run when a huge barbed tail swung out and knocked her off her feet, slamming her head into the ground and nearly knocking her unconscious. ‘So much for that bright idea.’

Satisfied that her prey wasn’t going to be struggling again anytime soon the demon picked Kagome back up and swung her over her shoulder again. She was headed back home to the Makai where she had hungry children waiting and where she knew her mate would be waiting as well. Prey hadn’t been easy to come by lately and if she’d had to venture into the Ningenkai, well then so be it. It wasn’t like anyone was going to miss a human or two anyway; they managed to kill themselves off with amazing regularity. And if this one that she had managed to capture had any kind of spirit to her then it should provide some amusement as well.

‘Mama. No matter what happens I’m here with you.’ The voice wound its way around her soul and into her very being. ‘And with any luck daddy will get here in time too.’ Another voice chimed in; ‘Don’t forget me, I’m gonna be right here too.’ Kagome almost smiled at that when she got the distinct impression that somehow whoever owned the second voice had just gotten a cuff across the head. ‘Oww.’

The demon came to a halt and unceremoniously flung Kagome off her shoulder and onto the hard packed ground as she stared at her mate in utter disbelief. “What has happened to your other tail?”

“Bad hunting and worse timing.” The male vorseth swung his head around to look at his one remaining tail and the spot where his other tail had been frozen off, grimacing at the sight, then rounded on his mate.

“You were the one who said we needed to find good prey for the children to learn to hunt on. You were the one who said they also needed to learn how to hunt other demons. You were the one who told me to go out and find a pregnant one and bring her back. Well, I found one and I tried. And this is where it got me! So I don’t want to hear it when you say what happened to your other tail!”

“Just what the hell kind of demon did you go after? And don’t you dare try to turn this into my fault or I’ll take off your other tail just to prove the point.”

The male swung his head around and refused to meet her eyes in a rare show of submission. “It was an ice demoness that I found. And she was pregnant just like you asked for. Her mate wasn’t at home so I figured I wouldn’t have to contend with him. An easy mark. You know what I mean?”

“Go on.”

“Well, I didn’t think she would still have use of her powers. Some breeding females lose them you know.” The demon sighed and then continued. “Anyway, I had managed to stalk up behind her. She didn’t even know I was there. I knocked her off her feet with my tail and she froze it off! Just like that! Can you believe the nerve of her?” The males voice was full of indignation at the loss of his tail to a mere ice demoness and a pregnant one at that.

“Yeah, just imagine the nerve of her.” The sarcasm was thick in the female’s voice, making the male wince and look for a way to change the subject from his missing appendage.

“What is it that you’ve brought home?” The male craned his neck around his mate to have a good look at Kagome who was still lying on the ground dazed.

“A mere human that no one will be looking for.” The demoness sniffed delicately. “At least she’s a good start for teaching the children to hunt suitable prey.” She poked a claw into Kagome’s back, causing her to scramble away. “Good, she still has some life and energy in her. Children.”

Two young demons came bounding out of the cave, their eyes lighting up when they saw their parents, tails swishing in excitement. “Mommy! Daddy!”
The young demons sat listening attentively as their parents gave them patient instructions on how to chase down and corner their prey. Their eyes continually flickered between Kagome and their parents in their growing excitement.

“And so after you’ve run your prey down, keep your feet in the middle of it’s back to hold it down and bite it’s head off. It’s that simple.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Kurama and Hiei took off at a dead run. Hiei couldn’t feel Kagome anymore so he ran with Kurama hoping Yukina might have an idea what had happened. It was the fact that he couldn’t feel Kagome anymore that worried him the most, meaning either she was dead or no longer in the Ningenkai.

‘If you’d have bothered to take the time to mark her you’d know for sure.’ Youko snarled, taking out his frustration and worry in the biting remark.

‘Don’t you think your frustrations would be better served in shoving your head up your ass?’

‘You’re doing a good job of that yourself, especially considering you’re so short if you bend over you disappear.’

‘Will you both just shut up! This is my head and we have more important things to worry about then who can bend over farther.’

‘Well, you know I’m right and he knows it too.’ Youko was still snarling and pacing in his corner of Kurama’s mind.

‘Shut up Youko!’ The thought came from both Hiei and Kurama at the same time, leaving Youko not sure which to answer first.

‘Well, this is a fine day when my other half gangs up with that little short shit against me!’ Youko was still fuming. ‘Run faster Kurama, we’re almost there.’

They rounded the corner and the apartment building came into view. Hiei jumped up into the tree and in through the open window while Kurama charged up the stairs. They both reached the living room at the same time to find Yukina sitting on the couch with her head in her hands and tear gems hitting the floor as the tears poured down her cheeks.

She looked up as they ran into the apartment and started shaking. It was obvious to Kurama that something had upset her and very badly.

‘Whatever it was, I’m going to kill it. Nothing upsets our mate that way and lives to tell about it’

‘Not if I get to it first. That’s my sister sitting there crying and Kagome is still missing.’

“I had decided to go out shopping for some of the baby things we’re going to be needing. I’d only gone to two stores and had decided to stop and get a bite to eat. I stopped at that little café’ on downtown Main Street where they have that really good sushi and I pulled out my phone to give Kagome a call cause maybe she’d have liked to join me for lunch.” Yukina took a deep breath, and then continued.

“So anyway, she had just answered the phone, when I heard her scream. Kurama, it was awful. I’ve never heard her sound so terrified. All of a sudden, the phone got knocked out of my hand and something grabbed me from behind. I never knew it was coming. I managed to catch this things tail and freeze it. It was so gross when it broke off in my hands. But I brought part of it home cause I didn’t know what it was. I couldn’t carry the whole thing; it was too big. Kurama, what’s after me? And what’s happened to Kagome?”

Hiei and Kurama looked at the piece of tail that Yukina had brought home with her in disbelief. Even in its frozen state the scales were plain to see and the fact that the tail had come from a very large demon was obvious.

“What the hell is that thing? And what was it doing here?” Kurama didn’t like this one bit but it was Youko who answered.

‘A vorseth has come out of the Makai!’

“Why the hell was a vorseth here? Come on Kurama, we’ve got a lair to find. I’m bringing Kagome home. Hiei was already half way out the door by the time that Kurama had turned around.

Kurama put in the call to Koenma while they were on their way to Kagome’s apartment so they could pick up the vorseth’s trail. “Koenma, listen to me, a vorseth has crossed over the border from the Makai. That would be bad enough in itself except that it attacked Yukina. Yes we have the proof, she brought home a piece of its tail.” Kurama rolled his eyes at Koenma asking what was in his opinion such a ridiculous question. “We also believe that one of them has taken Kagome back with it into the Makai. We’re going in to get her and bring her home. I want Yusuke to meet us across the border and I want Kuwabara to stand guard over Yukina until I return.”

The faint sound of rustling paper could be heard over the phone and finally Koenma whispered in disbelief. “You mean to tell me that vorseth now have control of Kagome and with it the jewel? Do you realize exactly what that means? This is a disaster! I’ll have Boton find Yusuke. He’ll be waiting.” The line clicked dead as they raced towards the border.

“It’s a good thing Koenma agreed with the idea that Kuwabara could stand guard over Yukina while Yusuke meets us over in the Makai.” Kurama’s thoughts were dark and bloodthirsty, unconsciously echoing more then a little of Youko’s influence. “If he hadn’t there wouldn’t have been enough of him left to even find the bandages he wraps himself in.”

Hiei’s eyes were glinting a dangerous color of garnet. “There’s that too, but don’t forget fox, it’s also that Kagome and my children have been taken there. If he had said no to us going, you could have had what was left over of him.”

“Do you really think we would forget that Hiei? She is part of our family now too after all.”

“No, I know you haven’t, but I wish we were already there and I knew they were safe.”

‘Maybe after all this is over, he’ll stop being such an ass and finally claim her.’

The border came into view and the boundary shimmered as they raced through it, stopping when they saw Yusuke standing and waiting for them.

“Which way are we going?” Yusuke’s brow was furrowed. “I covered the area looking for an trail but I didn’t find one.”

Hiei removed the covering on the Jagan and let it read the energy signatures in the area. “This way. It went this way and we’re not actually that far away from it. Less then half a days run.”

“Are you sure? We can’t go running without being positive.”

“I’m sure.”

The scene they burst in upon was enough to shock them almost senseless with rage. Two young vorseth were darting in and out chasing Kagome, nipping her each time they ran in, or flicking her with their tails as they slipped past. Two adult vorseth were watching from off to the side calling out instructions to what were obviously their offspring.

For her part Kagome looked to be nearing the point of exhaustion. Her arms and legs were covered with multiple bites and welts from the times the youngsters had tagged her. Dirt covered her clothing and her face. There was dried blood down one side of her head and matted in her hair. Obviously she had been struck across the head at some point during her time with them. But it was also apparent that all of her defensive training had not deserted her, if it had she’d have been dead a long time ago.

Hiei darted in katana drawn, and sliced one of the young vorseths open from it’s sternum to its vent before either parent had time to react. The young demon let out a screech of agony as it’s entrails spilled out onto the ground and began to steam in the air.

The other young vorseth acted on instinct alone at the sight of all the blood spilling on the ground, turning and attacking its sibling lying on the ground.. The screech of the dying young vorseth was cut short as the other young demon lifted its head.

Thank you to all the kind people how have reviewed for me so far. If you want me to continue to write this please continue to let me know the interest is there. Otherwise it's pointless. :)