InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Fang of the Father ❯ The Aftermath ( Chapter 7 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Chapter VII: The Aftermath

The next thing Kagome was aware of, she was laying on some sort of cot with something cold on her forehead, and she had a throbbing headache.

“Ah… Inuyasha…?” She moaned.

“No, not Inuyasha.” Kagome tried to open her eyes, but was blinded by the light and shut her eyes again. “It's Sango. Miroku is taking care of Inuyasha right now.”

“I don't understand.” Kagome breathed. “What happened? Why does my head hurt?”

“What happened? Besides the fact that you've become Inuyasha's mate without a single thought about what it could do to you both?” Sango asked.

“How did you know that?” Kagome breathed.

“Walked to the hut to check on Inuyasha this morning and found you two in a very compromising position.” Sango asked. “Do you have any idea how hard it was to keep Shippo from seeing? `Come on, guys, what're they doing? Can't I see? What are they doing?'” She impersonated Shippo.

“Oh, God, my head!” Kagome moaned, rolling over and pressing her face against the fabric.

“If you had just thought for a second, neither you nor Inuyasha would be in the state you are in now.” Sango said.

“Why? Is Inuyasha all right?” Kagome gasped.

“He'll live. It's you I'm worried about right now.” Sango said. “Hanyous almost never mate, and when they do, it's with their own kind, so we could not predict what would happen even under the best of times. But Inuyasha also happens to be a Yokai Lord. It seems we have discovered what happens when a hanyou Yokai Lord mates with a human.”

“What happens?” Kagome asked.

“Well… we're not sure with Inuyasha yet. But you… well…”

“What?”

Sango sighed and handed Kagome a mirror.

What? Has my appearance changed? Kagome asked herself. She took the mirror and glanced at her reflection and gasped loudly. At first glance, she was completely normal-looking, but then she noticed the additions: two black-furred dog ears were perched on the crown of her head. She almost dropped the mirror, which Sango managed to catch, as her hands flew up to meet the strange listening organs. Just like Inuyasha's! Somehow… I've become a hanyou myself!

“I think your head hurts because of your over-developed senses. Your sight, smell, and hearing are now all much better than before. You cannot handle all that information at the moment.” Sango said slowly.

“I—I'm a hanyou!” Kagome gasped, still touching her own ears.

“Yes, it seems that the Yokai that was Inuyasha somehow was able to grant you his longevity, something I had no idea that a Yokai could do. You are, for most purposes, as immortal as Inuyasha is.”

“What about Inuyasha?” Kagome gasped.

“Miroku's with him, and trying to discover the extent of Inuyasha's change.” Sango said. She helped Kagome tie a do-rag around her head to hide her ears, like Inuyasha had done for the short time he had worked for her family's shrine in an attempt to replace the bike he completely destroyed. “I'll take you to him. Don't try to smell too much. You'll probably pass out.”

It was then that Kagome looked down and realized that she was wearing Inuyasha's fire rat robe and not much else. “Where are my clothes?”

“Where else? Inuyasha tore them to shreds.” Sango said, trying to be as tasteful as possible. She began to lead Kagome through the village. “As his mate, he probably won't mind you using it.”

“Oh yeah.” Kagome said, remembering how Inuyasha had ripped her clothes off the night before. Fool! You thought only of last night and not of the next morning!

Several villagers watched curiously, somehow sensing that something was going on. With the do-rag and Inuyasha's robe, she looked even more out-of-place than usual. Kagome felt a sudden shame. She was supposed to be their village miko. Would she still have her powers now that she was… not a virgin? Had she given up on her duties to become Inuyasha's mate? And would they accept a human-turned-hanyou for a miko anyway?

No! Kagome scolded herself mentally. You have never been ashamed of your love before, so why should you start now?! So she held her do-ragged head up high and allowed Sango to lead the way, dignity in her every step.

Sango took Kagome back to Inuyasha's hut and stopped outside. “Miroku?”

“Yes, dear Sango?” A voice called inside. It was Miroku.

“Is it safe for you-know-who to come in?”

“Perfectly. He hasn't awoken yet.”

So Sango led Kagome inside. Kagome gasped at the sight of her mate. Inuyasha was dressed in the rest of his clothes now. He was not awake, but he bore the unmistakable signs of the Yokai. The light magenta markings on his face and his longer fangs and claws were still his.

“Even the Tetsusaiga can't control that.” Miroku said, pointing out the blade in Inuyasha's unconscious grip. “Whatever was done to him, it was powerful. What about you, Kagome?”

Sango answered for her. “It seems that Inuyasha was somehow able to turn Kagome into a hanyou… to share his immortality, I guess.”

Miroku shook his head. “Who knew that Yokai Lords held such power?”

“Inuyasha!” Kagome breathed, moving closer and kneeling at his side. She place one tender hand on his chest and gently pressed her lips to his. As if that was all that was needed to wake him up, Inuyasha slowly opened his eyes. To everyone's relief, his eyes were not crimson and blue, but white and amber, as normal. But the markings on his face did not fade, and his fangs and claws did not shorten.

“Kagome…” Inuyasha breathed, wrapping his arms around her and nipping lightly at the mating mark that he had left on the side of her neck. The fact that she smelled so deliciously like him put him at great ease. He apparently did not notice her own slightly longer canine teeth and her fingernails turned into claws. The only thing on his mind at the moment was: Let's see Kouga try to take Kagome from me now!

“Inuyasha! Snap out of it!” Miroku hissed. Normally, he would be all for letting the new mates have their moment, but it was more important to find out what had happened to them.

Inuyasha rounded on the monk, snarling angry. “What? She's mine!”

Miroku instantly backed off, trying to pacify his friend. “Inuyasha, you know that I'm to be mated to Sango. Kagome's yours.” He spoke in Yokai terms so that it would beat through Inuyasha's thick skull faster. “We are just trying to find out what happened here.”

“What do you mean by that?” Inuyasha asked, glancing at Kagome. The young girl hesitated before reaching up and untying the do-rag. With the cloth removed, Inuyasha got an eye-full of her new dog ears. “But… Kagome… what? Why do you have dog ears?” He smelled her. Some Yokai had the power to take her shape, but none would have the power to take her smell which was imprinted on his soul. That's Kagome! I'm positive! But…

“It seems you were somehow able to transform me into a hanyou like yourself.” Kagome said. “And, you, on the other hand, have retained most of your Yokai traits even with the power of the Tetsusaiga.”

“What do you mean...? Yokai traits?” Inuyasha asked.

Sango quickly offered the mirror that she had given Kagome earlier.

The young hanyou stared at his own reflection, his fingers tracing the light magenta markings on his face and his tongue tracing his elongated fangs. “But… how?”

“Ah, Master Inuyasha, I knew you had it in you!” It was Myoga, appearing from nowhere, as usual.

“Ah! Great timing, Myoga!” Inuyasha swiped him between his thumb and index finger, ready to crush him. “You can tell us what's going on here!”

“But—but, Sire! Surely it is obvious!” Myoga cried out. “Now that you have mated and completed the Yokai manhood ceremony, you've gained your father's awesome powers! You've come as close to being a full Yokai as you can be while still being a hanyou.” Myoga glanced at Kagome, and noticed her exposed dog ears. “It was this powerful Yokai magic that allowed you to grant your mate immortality. It's not something just any Yokai can do. Kagome, I presume?”

“Yes, Myoga, it's me.” Kagome said.

“A fine, FINE choice, Master Inuyasha, if I do say so myself!” Myoga said. “I dare say your father would highly approve of Lady Kagome.”

“Because she is… was human like my mother?” Inuyasha asked.

“No. Because you love Lady Kagome as Master Inutaisho loved Lady Izayoi.” Myoga said.

Was human… The phrase kept repeating itself in her head. “Oh no!” She gasped, causing everyone to stare at her. “What will my family and friends think now that I'm a hanyou!?”

Inuyasha suddenly looked at the floor, a look of deep shame on his face. “I'm sorry, Kagome.” He got up suddenly and left.

“What…?” Kagome asked, confused.

“Kagome, you've got to understand that Inuyasha knows first-hand how hanyous suffer. Now Inuyasha will believe that he will force you to face the same ridicule as he, and that it's all his fault for forcing it on you.”

“Oh my God! You're right!” Kagome gasped. “I should have told him that I willingly became his mate, and I'll accept any hardships that come with it.”

“Then go and tell him!” Sango urged her.

“Okay! I will!” Kagome walked out of the hut, and wondered where he had gone. She remembered that Inuyasha had the ability to track a scent. She took a small sniff and her nose was over-loaded with information. She couldn't make out one individual smell among the jumble, let alone track Inuyasha. Guess I'll have to work on that.

With little other choice, she headed towards Inuyasha's favorite haunt: the Goshinboku to which he had been sealed for fifty years, and where she first met him.

Sure enough, when she arrived, she spotted Inuyasha in one of the highest branches. “Inuyasha!” She called, but got no reply. With a sigh, she recalled the number of times she had seen him scale the tree. It would be impossible for a human to climb the old Goshinboku, but not a hanyou. She copied her memories of him, with less grace, and situated herself on a branch close to him. “Inuyasha…”

“If you are so ashamed of what our mating has made you, I have to tell you that I can't take it back.” Inuyasha said slowly, his fingers still tracing the markings on his face.

“Inuyasha… that was a cruel and untrue thing that I said.” Kagome said. “I love you, and I choose to mate with you. I'll accept every aspect of our mating… even the surprises.”

“So… you'd choose to be a hanyou? To be hated and feared everywhere you go?”

“No. I choose to be with you… forever.” Kagome said. “And if becoming a hanyou is the only way to escape the eventuality of my death and your living on, then so be it.”

Inuyasha thought about her words for a second, and then grinned. “I thought you came out here to sit me. Now I'm really glad that you became my mate and not Kikyo. If this had happened to her, she would have raised hell about it.”

Kagome, though she never tried to think ill of Kikyo, could not help but agree. She could barely stand the fact that Inuyasha was a hanyou. If he had gone into rut, lost control of himself, mated her, and turned her into a hanyou, he would have crossed the proverbial holy line. To defile her purity by mating her while he was still a hanyou and turning her into a hanyou, it would have been the ultimate disgrace, insult, and below-the-belt blow to a miko like Kikyo.

But not Kagome. Like he said, she hadn't even sat him.

“We really should head back, so that Myoga can finish explaining our transformation.” Kagome said.

“Okay.” Inuyasha leapt easily to the branch below her and glanced up and her. “You comin'?”

Kagome seemed to be frozen in place. She had never seen Inuyasha climb down out of the tree, since she was normally forced to sit him out of trees. In other words… “Uh… I don't know how to get down.”

Inuyasha snorted, but in an amused sort of way. He leapt onto her branch and once again invited her to climb on his back. “Okay, your mate is here to save you.” He joked.

Kagome smiled at his light-heartedness and climbed onto his back, and he easily carried them both down.

Once they were one the ground, Inuyasha set her down and embraced her. “Looks like I'll have to get around to teaching you how to handle being an Inu-hanyou.” He smirked.

“And I couldn't have a better teacher.” Kagome laughed as she pressed a soft kiss to her mate's lips.

The lip-lock didn't last long when both their ears swiveled in the same direction and they rapidly broke apart. “Something's coming.” Inuyasha hissed.

“It's Kouga!” Kagome gasped. She could sense the jewel shards in his legs.

Inuyasha growled deep in his throat as she shielded Kagome. Kagome's MINE! Even that mangy wolf can't deny it!

Very predictably, a whirlwind blew up to the two and came to a halt, revealing the leader of the Wolf Yokai tribe, Kouga. The wolf Yokai ignored Inuyasha completely.

“My beautiful Kagome! Are you ready to take your place at my side as my mate?” Kouga asked, swelling with arrogance.

Inuyasha snarled loudly to get Kouga's attention. “Back away, Kouga! Is your pitiful wolf nose not working or something?”

Kouga's eyes finally settled on Inuyasha. “Ah! So the pup has finally become a dog! What took ya so long, mutt-face? Aren't you over two-hundred?”

“It doesn't matter that I was a late bloomer.” Inuyasha growled, baring his large fangs. “It only took me one mating season to find my mate. How many have you suffered through, Kouga?”

Kouga was clearly stung by Inuyasha's comment, as he had indeed suffered through many mating seasons in his long lifetime. But he quickly recalled Inuyasha's talk of a mate. “You? Find a mate? What woman, human or Yokai, would consent to lie for a filthy Inu-hanyou like you?”

Kagome knew that if this male Yokai rivalry went on any longer, they would fight. Inuyasha may not be affected by Mating season anymore, but it was still mating season, and that meant that she was still in danger from being stolen by rival males, and he would fight to the death to protect her, if necessary. She knew that it was time to take a stand for her mate and lover.

She stepped in front of Inuyasha and pointed to the mating mark on her neck and the dog ears on her head. “That woman would be me!”

Kouga stared in complete shock. He moved forward, as if in a trace. Kagome was surprised when Inuyasha allowed the wolf to grab her arms and press his face against her neck. Then Kagome realized that he was smelling the mating mark on her skin, which was something that Inuyasha obviously wanted. When Kouga was done, he glared at the hanyou, pure rage in his eyes.

“That's my mark, all right.” Inuyasha growled, baring his fangs. “You've had your smell, filthy wolf; now back off before I kill you!”

“You!” Kouga was practically spitting in rage. “You filthy hanyou mutt! How dare you do this to MY mate?!”

“Feh! Your mate?” Inuyasha snorted. “Kagome carries MY mark, not yours. I am offering you the chance to give up and leave peacefully, for my mate's sake.”

Kouga lowered his center of gravity as he sank into a clear battle stance. “She is your mate only as long as you live. Once I kill you, your mark will fade and she will be mine!”

“So… you choose a thrashing?” Inuyasha cracked his knuckles. “Good. The perfect time to try out my new Yokai powers.”

“Inuyasha, stop!” Kagome cried out.

“No! If I back down now, he'll kill me and claim you.” Inuyasha growled. “For you… I'll try not to kill him.”

Kagome watched fearfully as the two rivals circled each other. She should have realized that their `male rivalry' would one day come to a head, and it seemed that today was that day. Soon, she would either still be at Inuyasha's side as his mate, or facing the death of her mate and a lifetime mated to someone she didn't love.

Suddenly, the two leapt at each other, clawing and slashing with terrific speed. Inuyasha was not using the Tetsusaiga. But why? Kagome wondered to herself.

Then it clicked. This was a battle of speed. The Tetsusaiga was extremely powerful, but useless in this battle because Kouga could dodge the large fang with relative ease. Unarmed was the only way Inuyasha could match Kouga's jewel-enhanced speed.

Inuyasha was now moving with far more speed, grace, and elegance than he used to. Kagome was strongly reminded of Sesshomaru. This change in fighting style threw Kouga off for a second, but he quickly recovered by adjusting his own fighting style.

Kouga growled loudly and threw a wild slash at Inuyasha's face. Four crimson lines formed on the hanyou's face. “Inuyasha!” Kagome cried, but the hanyou seemed to be fine. He had suffered much worse wounds, after all.

“How dare you mate with Kagome? What if you had gotten her pregnant?!” Kouga demanded.

“And if I did… if she is carrying one of my pups, what would you do then?” Inuyasha growled. He knew the answer, but he needed Kagome to know just how deathly serious the situation was.

Kouga snorted. “Stupid mutt. The obvious thing! I would kill the pup after it is born! I will not stand to have your filthy mutt blood contaminate my proud tribe!”

Kagome gasped, horrified. How could someone even think of doing something like that to a defenseless baby?

Hearing the words out loud made Inuyasha's blood boil. Even he hoped that Kouga would not be so heartless. He was sure that Kagome was not pregnant, because he had not been in heat last night. But it still angered him beyond all reason to hear such threats against his future pups.

He suddenly laughed an evil sound that made Kagome's hair stand on end. “You have no idea what you've just done!”

The wind seemingly picked up from no-where, centering on Inuyasha. He roared loudly as he began to change. Kagome gasped and stumbled back.

She had only seen this once before, but never from Inuyasha. Only Sesshomaru. Inuyasha's eyes blazed crimson and dark blue. His face seemed to stretch and elongate into a snout filled with razor-sharp teeth. Silver fur sprouted from nowhere and his existing hair became a thick mane. Paws and tail completed his transformation into the true form of an Inu-Yokai.

Somehow, Inuyasha could achieve the true form of an Inu-Yokai. But he was smaller than Sesshomaru, not to mention he still had the full use of his left foreleg. And he was definitely a lot smaller than his father.

“So… he's nothing but a big mutt after all?” Kouga laughed as Inuyasha snarled at him. He either couldn't see, or wouldn't see, just how dangerous Inuyasha was in his true Yokai form.

“Kouga! Please run away!” Kagome begged. “Inuyasha's now the true Lord of the Western Lands!”

“I can take him on blindfolded! Lord or no!” Kouga yelled, he leapt at the Inu-Yokai, his claws flashing. Inuyasha rounded on Kouga, his fangs bared and ready to bite down on tender wolf-flesh.

Suddenly, the attack was interrupted by a giant boomerang that Kagome's recognized as Sango's weapon of choice. It struck Inuyasha hard on the snout and he yelp.

Kouga quickly disengaged the attack and glared at the situation. Inuyasha was a full Yokai, distracted at the moment, but still intent on tearing him to pieces, Kagome was clearly on Inuyasha's side for the moment, and now the Yokai Taijiya, the monk, and the kitsune were coming to back Kagome up. “We'll finish this later, dog-breath.” With that, he took off in a whirlwind.

Miroku grabbed Kagome's arm and tried to pull her away from a snarling Inuyasha. “Kagome! Get back! It's Sesshomaru!” Sango yelled. Kagome gasped as she recalled the time she described Sesshomaru's true Yokai form to the others so that they would recognize him should he ever appear in that form. Apparently, she hadn't been through enough in describing him.

“No!” She yanked her arm out of Miroku's grip and valiantly tried to shield Inuyasha's much larger body from attack. “It's not Sesshomaru! He's Inuyasha!”

“Inuyasha?” Sango gasped.

“He's still has his left foreleg! Sesshomaru doesn't! And look at the markings on his face! Just like Inuyasha's!” Kagome yelled. She turned towards her mate in true form and reached up her hand. “Inuyasha…”

Inuyasha growled softly and lowered his snout so that Kagome could caress him and press her face against his fur.

“Oh Gods…” Sango breathed, stepping forward slowly. “Inuyasha?!”

At Kagome's touch, Inuyasha's true Yokai form melted away, leaving behind only the hanyou Inuyasha as his face was caressed by his mate.

“Oh my Gods! Inuyasha! How did you achieve the true Inu-Yokai form?” Miroku asked.

But Inuyasha wasn't listening. Now that Kagome stopped caressing him, he was glaring at his surroundings. “Where's that damn Kouga?!”

“You drove him off, Inuyasha.” Kagome pressed herself into his chest.

Inuyasha quickly embraced her in return. “Heh! Serves him right for trying to steal MY mate!”

“Inuyasha! Can you PLEASE come out of your love-daze and tell us how you managed to achieve the true Inu-Yokai form?” Miroku demanded. “That's something I thought only full Yokais could achieve, not hanyous!”

“Um… I don't know how I did it.” Inuyasha confessed.

“Perhaps I can explain once again.” Myoga spoke up somewhere from Shippo's fur. “All Yokai, even hanyous, have the potential to transform, as Master Inuyasha has nearly done on a number of occasions. All that is needed to sustain a full transformation is a sufficient Yokai aura. This is something that Master Inuyasha lacked previously, which prevented him from fully transforming. However, when Master Inuyasha inherited his Lord Father's Yokai power… that combined with his own means that it is now quite easy for him to sustain such a transformation.”

“So… in a way… Inuyasha is now more powerful than his father?” Sango asked. “Doesn't that mean that beating Sesshomaru and his mother should be easy?”

“Not necessarily.” Myoga said. “Sesshomaru is also Master Inutaisho's son. He may not be as powerful as his father, but he is a mighty foe because he carries the Tenseiga. The Tenseiga, Sesshomaru's rightful blade, will save its Master's life, just as the Tetsusaiga will save Master Inuyasha.”

“Then defeating Sesshomaru will mean finding a way around the Tenseiga?” Inuyasha growled.

“And Sesshomaru's mother is a mighty Yokai in her own right, and nearly as powerful as Master Inutaisho was, and much more wily.” Myoga said. “She is akin to Naraku… she uses tricks to defeat her enemies, not out-right battle.”

“But… one more thing…” Kagome began. “How was he able to change? It seemed both voluntary and involuntary.”

“Transformations always occur when Yokai blood is stirred, either by anger or some other strong passion.” Myoga said. “Only with experience can one trigger a transformation at will, and that will take years to learn.”

“What did Kouga say right before Inuyasha transformed?” Miroku asked.

“He…” Kagome began to explain, but Inuyasha cut her off.

“He threatened to destroy any pups that I sire with Kagome.” He said this almost emotionlessly, but Kagome knew better, as did his friends. His heart was breaking at the sheer thought of it.

“It is understandable.” Myoga said. “A threat made against a mate and pups would be enough to boil any Inu-Yokai's blood.”

Inuyasha now choose to ignore them and was feeling his nose tenderly. He was muttering darkly about not being about to smell for a week. “I'm sorry about your nose, Inuyasha.” Sango apologized. “I really thought you were Sesshomaru.”

“Feh.” Inuyasha snorted. “It's nothing. It'll heal. Let's just get back to the village. I feel blind… like a human.” He began to stalk off.

He really does depend on his nose, doesn't he? Kagome thought to herself. He'll have to teach me how to smell properly. She quickly ran after him.

LES: I hope I'm not twisting canon too much. And, even if I am… so what? This is what fan-fiction's all about, baby!