Two Hearts by ShadyMinion
Ch 1: Prologue
SM: I'm still alive. I've just been really busy and lazy and I have more excuses in my profile. Now...FEAR MY CRAPPY SUMMARY THAT HAD ALMOST NOTHING TO DO WITH THE STORY! And of course, please read my story ^-^
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Two Hearts
Ch 1: Prologue
Kagome looked up. The expression on her mate's face made her uneasy. She chewed her bottom lip, biting it with her top front teeth, a habit she had developed when she was nervous. It was a habit she had been unable to break even when Sesshoumaru 'reprimanded' her for it.
"The pup has been weaned. You are no longer necessary. I will take you to a place of your choosing. Then we shall part ways. The pup will stay with me."
The concise declaration took Kagome aback. It may have been the longest speech the inuyoukai had uttered to her, yet it was also the most damaging.
"What?" Her mind seemed unable to stomach the fact that he was taking their son and kicking her out.
"I will not repeat myself. Now, choose your destination."
"Wait a minute! How am I unnecessary?" Kagome demanded angrily.
"You were with pup. I could not have left you alone and unprotected while carrying my pup. So, I took you with me. You stayed until the pup was birthed and weaned. The pup no longer requires a mother. I shall take care of raising him from here."
"You only took me in because YOU got me pregnant in the first place?!"
"Of course."
"This whole time meant nothing to you? At all?" Kagome asked, eyes wide. Her insides were crumbling. But she refused to cry in front of the shameless bastard as she waited for her response.
A silent nod was her reply.
"...So, what do you think of me as?" She trembled, afraid of the answer.
"A mistake."
"...I see..." Kagome drew in a deep breath slowly. "I understand, Sesshoumaru-sama." She said coldly. She gave a mocking bow and strode away.
Sesshoumaru watched her leave impassively. He didn't care what happened to her after this. It wasn't his responsibility. After all, she was nothing but a mistake...
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Kagome spent the rest of the day curled up in a guest room she had taken over. She refused to share a room with the heartless bastard. How could she have been so foolish? The answer was so simple...she had been desperate. He had come to her when she had thought she had lost everything that mattered. Then he had taken even more from her. But in the moments slumbering in his arms, when he wasn't raping her, she clung to his warmth.
Inuyasha was dead. Shippo was dead. She couldn't go to Sango and Miroku, they had married happily once Naraku was no more. They had offered to take Kagome in, but she decided that she would go back through the well and go home. Understanding, they only nodded quietly before embracing her and wishing her only the best. They said they'd never forget her.
Kagome had gone back to the well and contemplated her failed life in the darkness. Why was she alive? She was so weak. So useless. It should have been she who had died and they who had lived. Instead she had been stripped of her friends. There was no way she could intrude in Miroku's and Sango's new life. They had just gotten the happiness they so deserved. As she thought about this on the lip of the well, thick clouds covered the moon. She looked up time to see a shadow, darker than that of the black clouds above her, swoop down upon her. It was Sesshoumaru, and in seemingly no control of himself, he soon stripped her of her virginity.
Sesshoumaru had taken from her as well. When he had returned to himself, he spoke naught a word to her, but instead took her silent and crying form with him to his palace. She had gradually warmed up to him. He was not so bad as she thought he would have been. She saw through his icy mask and learned how to note the inner workings of his mind. She seemed to know what he wanted without him asking. In return, he had cared for her. It wasn't so bad at all...
She had been so desperate for a sign of affection from anyone, she had simply taken Sesshoumaru at face value. That had been a mistake on her part.
They had both erred. Kagome refused to make another mistake when it came to their hanyou child. She gazed lovingly at the two month old that lay slumbering peacefully in a bed many times too large for him. He now looked like a one year old, he had grown so fast.
At first she had been startled to watch him growing so rapidly, until she remembered, he had spent only six months in the womb. Also, Sesshoumaru had explained to her that youkai pups grew much more rapidly than ningen babes. It wasn't until they began to mature that youkai aging slowed. She placed a hand over her baby's forehead and leaned in to place a kiss on his cheek.
"I'm sorry baby. I won't let you live in a loveless home. But I can't take you with me. He'd kill me before I got two feet toward the door with you. No child should ever experience the death of a parent, ever." She whispered to her baby, brushing back his long white bangs. Unable to help herself, she stroked one of the furry ears that adorned the top of her head. 'So much like Inuyasha,' she thought.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't want it to be this way, but he leaves me no choice. If you live long enough, I'll be there, and you'll know what love is. Right now, all I can do is make it so he can't ever hurt you. I love you." Silent tears leaked down her face. Kagome didn't seem to notice. "I'll always love you. Please don't ever forget." She whispered fervently.
Kagome then moved her hand and placed it over her son's chest. Her hand began to glow a bright blue, pulsing to the steady rhythm of her son's heartbeat. Her hand sank into his chest. Slowly, she drew her hand back. In it, a brilliant white and blue mass shimmered. She looked at it sadly then drew it into herself. It came to rest where the Shikon no Tama now rested, beating in sync with her own heart.
"One day, you'll come to me. I'll be waiting. I love you." Kagome murmured giving her baby one last kiss on the forehead. Then she faded into the night, never once looking back.
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Ten years had passed since Kagome had gone. It had taken ten years of being utterly miserable before he had realized that he had made a grievous error on his part: he never should have sent Kagome away.
It hadn't taken him long to discover that something was terribly wrong with the palace. It had taken him even less time to see the differences in his son. Sesshoumaru had awoken early the next morning with the intent to take Kagome to where ever it was she wished to go, as long as it was not within his domain. Imagine his surprise to discover her already gone. He quickly sniffed out her path, meaning to discover where it was that she had gone off to. It had meant nothing to him, he was just curious.
He tracked her down to a random guestroom that stunk heavily of tears, but was still fragranced with her own sweet and natural scent. It then lead him to his pup's room. It was quite a shock to Sesshoumaru to come upon a full-blooded youkai in the bed reserved for his pup. Strange as it was, the pup was still his pup. He was assured by the appearance and scent of the child. It bewildered him to no end. But from there, Kagome's scent faded. It was like she had simply disappeared from the room. He spent the next few hours trying to find a trace of her, but she was gone.
When the pup awoke, he was unusually quiet. Normally the pup awoke bubbling over with energy and eager to spend another day with his mother. On that day, he just lay quietly on the bed, waiting for someone to tend to him. The child did not cry. The child did not utter a sound. He was perfectly obedient, strong, and a full youkai. Sesshoumaru could not have asked for more. But it felt wrong.
The palace had become cold on that morning after Kagome's disappearance. Three years of denial passed. He had tried to convince himself that this was what he had wanted; a full blooded heir without the stringent of having to care for a weak mate who would only cling uselessly to him. All females were like that. Yet...in the back of his mind, he knew Kagome was different.
She had always greeted him with a smile in the morning. She had made it a personal mission to try to befriend everyone within his employ, a task in which she had failed. She had perhaps met only three-quarters of his staff before she left.
Sesshoumaru expected that the minor emotions she was able to bring out within him would fade once she was gone. If anything, her disappearance only made them worse. Not a day went by where he didn't long for her presence, her smile, her scent, her touch. His pup was worth no memory of her at all. The pup had seemed to have died inside. The pup was a cold, unfeeling creature. If he was struck in a mock battle, the pup would not even flinch, but continue to spar as if he had not been injured at all.
Sesshoumaru himself would have to call to the pup and to get his wound tended. The pup would listen to no one else. He sometimes doubted if the child was even his. The only female he had ever impregnated was that of the miko, Kagome. He had witnessed her birth a hanyou. Yet, the child was undoubtedly his. The pup possessed the silver hair and golden eyes unique to males of their bloodline. Even more convincing where the taiyoukai markings which graced the pup's face. He could not deny the dark crescent adorning the middle of the pup's forehead. That alone declared the pup as the future Taiyoukai of the Western Lands.
But he was still not the pup that Kagome had birthed. That child was full of life. It could not be put down or restrained. The pup simply adored everything and had a curiosity that surpassed even Kagome's. This youkai pup was cold. He seemed distant from everything around him. Once, Sesshoumaru lost his temper in trying to draw a response, ANYTHING from the pup, and he had beat the poor thing half to death. He wanted proof that the pup in his household was the same pup that Kagome had birthed.
The pup didn't even change expression. No whimper of fear escaped his lips. No wince of pain crossed his face. The child was lifeless. Only the autonomous movements of the pup's limbs as he did what he was ordered to do proved that the child was a living breathing creature.
After the beating, things only degenerated from there. Sesshoumaru began to hear rumors that he had gone mad from the loss of his mate and that his pup had been possessed by devils. It was nonsense, but slowly, they began to have a ring of truth to him.
In ten years, their pup had grown tremendously. He now had an appearance equivalent of a sixteen-year old ningen. The pup excelled in all traits, be it appearance, strength, guile, or even intelligence. The pup was terribly clever. He was able to convey all communication without a breath of words from his mouth. He had mastered ancient calligraphy and even Chinese script within his first five years of life. He had even surpassed Sesshoumaru himself in the art of wielding a sword.
The child was perfect, but Sesshoumaru was all to ready to trade in the lifeless doll if only he could find Kagome. He believed that Kagome was still alive. He had clung to that belief for years. It wasn't until, completely by coincidence, Sesshoumaru had decided to observe his son one night. It was four years to the night since Kagome had disappeared. He watched his son walk into the room he had been birthed on, sit on the floor where the bed he had slept in as a pup, and stare out the window. An hour later, a single word, sounding more like a breeze caressing the trees, was whispered in the darkness. Then the child would sit, completely still, gazing out the window until the sun rose, then he would stand, and continue about his daily duties.
Sesshoumaru had been stunned when he heard his son speak for the very first time. It was only one word, but it had proven the child's life. That one word, whispered so reverently: okaasan.
From then on, Sesshoumaru was sure that Kagome was alive somewhere, only in hiding. He renewed his efforts to discover her location, or even her family, to no avail. The years passed, and he began to note that every year, on the anniversary of Kagome's disappearance, the child would go to that room, sit on the same spot, and at always the exact same time, call out to his mother.
The boy knew where Kagome was...
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Sango had never been angrier in her life. Terror should have been the emotion that reigned supreme, but at the moment, she couldn't help but loathe the creature in front of her. The door to their home had been torn of it's hinges, and the culprit now stood glowering over her. She glared back, refusing to be intimidated by the deadly creature.
The door...Sango cast a glance back to where it now lay outside her home. It had been something that Kagome had shown them how to make. It was but a piece of wood with hinges on one side and a latch on the other, but it kept the weather out and kept them safer at night. It was much better than the bamboo curtains to which they were accustomed.
Sesshoumaru growled, pleased to see the woman's attention refocus on her, rather than the strange piece of wood which had barred him entrance. "Where is she." He demanded.
Sango knew exactly who he was talking about. She had discovered belatedly, Kagome's abduction, but she never stopped cursing the creature who had treated her so poorly. "I'll never tell." She hissed, her cinnamon eyes flashing in unrepressed anger.
Golden eyes narrowed. "You have a husband and a son. A good life. It would be a shame if you lost it all." He stated calmly.
A jolt of fear streaked through Sango. No. She would NOT lose another family. First it was her village, then the shard hunting group. She would NOT lose another family, especially to another blood-thirsty youkai. At the same time, she wouldn't betray her friend. She glared silent daggers at the youkai. Any of the respect she might have once had for the lord had long since evaporated. She never knew the Taiyoukai would have stooped so low as to abandon his mate, and then threaten her family in trying to find her again.
Sesshoumaru watched the play of emotions in the woman's eyes. Stubborn ningen. She was irritatingly loyal. He would require another tactic. He growled low, once. A strange bark-like sound came out as his lips parted, revealing fangs. In an instant, another youkai stood in her home.
Sango's eyes widened. The youkai was a perfect copy of the Lord, albeit smaller. The child wore a cold countenance, but she could immediately tell that it wasn't a schooled mask like Sesshoumaru. This child was emotionless. It resembled Kanna to such an extent that it caused her to shudder.
"This is Shin, Kagome's son."
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SM: Alright, the prologue is out, and no doubtedly confusing as ever. Lacks plot and is not that awesome or anything. I was tired when I came up with it. Plus, it's been sitting on my harddrive for so long, and it's STILL incomplete. Hahaha. I should be working on other things, but I've spread myself so thin right now. I put too much on my plate and what not... Ugh, excuses! And MORE excuses for not finishing my other fics. Heh heh heh...*naps*