Bloodline Curses

An ancient curse plagues the InuYoukai Tribe: if an heir is not produced every generation, the clan will cease to exist. Against his very will, Inuyasha sets out to find a way dispel the curse but with time running short, will Inuyasha be forced to take Kagome as his mate?

"Wench, how much longer?"

Higurashi Kagome looked up from her task of roasting skewers of fish to glower at her half-demon companion. She knew he was both hungry and antsy seeing as it was the eve of the new moon, but she didn't appreciate being rushed. Inuyasha's ochre eyes bore into Kagome's and an awkward silence ensued; Kagome refused to answer and Inuyasha refused to relent. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Inuyasha's shoulder's sagged.

"Okay, fine. Sorry. Keh…" He added his signature scoff for good measure. Swallowing her laughter, Kagome told him it would just be a few more minutes until the fish was ready before returning her attention to the seven skewers—Inuyasha insisted he was starving and brought back a haori-full of fish.

It had been three years since Kagome fell into the Bone Eater's Well, which meant three long years of travelling with Inuyasha. Kagome's eighteenth birthday had just passed and, to her joy and dismay, she had passed high school but didn't pass her university entrance exams. Her mother had explained that it was actually a blessing in disguise; Kagome didn't have the time to juggle to save both Feudal Japan and get her degree.

"The degree can wait," Kaori Higurashi smiled at her, "the world cannot."

And, thus, Kagome didn't pursue a post-secondary education and lived full-time in Feudal Japan. It had been a long time since she discarded her school uniform and accepted proper Feudal Japanese garb; it was quite the adjustment when Kagome had to get comfortable travelling and fighting in a yukata, but she had eventually gotten the hang of it. She also kept a set of her traditional shrine priestess attire, similar to what Kikyo wore, but Kagome didn't feel comfortable in such a getup—not because of mobility, but because of the memories attached to it.

"… it's been a few minutes, wench." Inuyasha called and Kagome laughed.

"They're ready," she affirmed and, without hesitating, Inuyasha plucked a skewer. Kagome glanced over her shoulder, westbound, and saw that the sun was dangerously close to the horizon, which only meant that they had but a few short hours before Inuyasha transformed into a human. It was nights like these Kagome wished that her companions were still with her, but Sango was with child, which forced her and Miroku to temporarily retire from their travels, and Shippo was enrolled in Fox School.

It wasn't by choice, though. The ancient Kitsune Clan had sought out Inuyasha and Kagome and informed them that, as Shippo's acting guardians, they had an obligation to enrol him into the Fox School. With much reluctance on Kagome's part, the duo agreed to send Shippo off to school.

That put Inuyasha and Kagome back to their roots: just the two of them searching for the Shikon no Tama.

Kagome shifted so that she was sitting on her butt and not her legs and stretched her legs out in front of her. She was wearing a light pink yukata Inuyasha had bought for her in the previous village they were passing through; he had earned money for transporting giant sacks of rice and used the proceeds to buy travel necessities and a new outfit for Kagome.

"You know something," Kagome finally said as Inuyasha was midway through his fifth skewer. He looked up at Kagome to see that her eyes were in a trance, lost in the flickering of the dying flame that cooked their dinner. "Although I miss our friends… especially on nights like this," Kagome's eyes refocused and she caught Inuyasha's. "It feels nice just to travel through Japan, the two of us, again."

Inuyasha nodded slowly. "Well, yeah. It was originally our mission…"

Kagome exhaled loudly. "Yes but it was our fault the other's became involved."

Inuyasha finished his skewer and tossed it to the side. He leaned back on his left arm and propped his right arm on his right knee. "Not exactly. Miroku was always cursed, Sango has her brother because we shattered the jewel, and the Thunder Brother's killed Shippo's dad. None of it, except Kohaku, has anything to do with us."

Kagome chewed on her bottom lip. "I guess you're right. I just have mixed emotions about travelling with it being just us."

"I think I know what you're saying," Inuyasha looked up at the sun. It was time. He stood up and dusted off his hakama. "They became our family and it's odd to continue doing the norm without your family, right?" He held his hand out to Kagome which she took without reluctance. Not caring about the dying fire, Inuyasha leapt into the tall tree they were camping beside just in time for the sun to set. Within seconds, his demonic features were gone and the black-haired human appeared.

"Let's get some rest," Inuyasha said with his arms outstretched. Kagome, who had picked up her bow and arrows before allowing Inuyasha to pull her into the trees, shoved four of her sacred arrows into the bark of the tree trunk behind them, and in the branch they were perched upon.

Inuyasha watched. Kagome had learned a powerful barrier spell when the group disbanded for the sole purpose of ensuring that they were protected during the nights of the new moon. Chanting a quick incantation, a pale pink aura surrounded them ensuring their safety for the night. With everything done, Kagome positioned herself in his arms before he loosely let them rest on her waist.

Sleeping in the trees, next to each other, was a habit they picked up after Sango, Miroku, and Shippo left the group. With nobody on the ground to keep watch of predators, Inuyasha insisted she slept in the trees with him. It was both safer, as there were less aerial predators than there were land monsters, and more practical as Inuyasha was right there.

It was also the main reason Kagome had been determined to learn her barrier spell, as well.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha whispered and Kagome made a soft humming sound.

"Goodnight."

He saw her smile. He knew it made her happy when he dropped his guard, and it was easier to do so when he was human.

"Goodnight, Inuyasha."

.xx.

Kagome woke up when she felt Inuyasha's core pulsate. Not even worrying, she yawned loudly and only snuggled closer to her, now, half-demon companion. She felt his chest rumble and she immediately knew that Inuyasha was laughing. Three years of travelling with her had caused him to lighten up considerably.

"It's the crack of dawn," she muttered. "I'm still exhausted."

"We have to set off now, Kagome." He tried to pry her hold off of him, but it was to no avail.

"No we don't." Kagome argued back and refused to let go of her makeshift pillow. "We have no leads on any shards, no leads on Naraku, no evil creatures coming to kidnap me, and no psycho witches coming to marry you. So, in retaliation, we do not have to set off immediately."

"Nobody has ever tried to marry me." Inuyasha muttered but decided to cave in and give his companion a few more moments of shut eye. She had been rather amicable as of late, travelling the extensive hours he wanted them to, and not taking as many breaks as she did when Sango was part of the group. Maybe the hot spring loses its charm when you're bathing alone. Inuyasha surmised.

"Yet." Kagome muttered, drifting off to sleep again. "Nobody has tried to marry you yet."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes but chose not to rebuke her statement. She was already in a state of half asleep and he knew that she had no idea what she was saying. "Fine. But only until the sun has risen."

Inuyasha's condition fell on deaf ears; Kagome was already asleep.

Inuaysha shifted slightly so that Kagome was a little more comfortable and leaned his head against the trunk of the tree. It was a rare occasion that he had a few moments to himself; his left arm was wrapped around Kagome's waist and his right was gripping the hilt of Tetsusaiga. His mind wandered aimlessly, his thoughts were scattered.

He loved having Kagome in his arms, it felt right but he didn't want to contemplate that. It was a feeling that he wasn't allowed to feel.

He loved travelling with Kagome on a mission all their own, but he didn't want to think about that either. It was an arrangement that would end as soon as the Shikon no Tama was recovered wholly.

He hated Naraku, and in order to not piss himself off, Inuyasha avoided thinking of him. That bastard wasn't worth his time or energy.

I wonder what would've happened if Kagome never released me from the Goshinboku. But it was useless thinking about that as well, since Kagome's destiny and Inuyasha's were intertwined before either of their births. Inuyasha closed his eyes and began to enter a state of meditation. He allowed his body to forget all of his worldly trouble and simply exist for that moment in time—it was a rare occurrence that he and Kagome were able to relax and, as much as he was itching to resume their travels, it was an occurrence he was willing to embrace with open arms.

Before Inuyasha knew it, he had drifted off into a dreamless slumber.

.xx.

"Nothing?" Inuyasha asked for the umpteenth time.

He and Kagome were following the dusty path to the next village. They were headed east, straight into Kouga's territory, and made it a point to stop by all the villages that were on the main road. They were hoping that by stopping at all villages and towns that they'd be able to pick up on jewel shard rumours…

"Nothing." Kagome confirmed. "Odd how there's no jewel activity."

"Keh," Inuyasha shoved his hands into the sleeves of his haori. "I'm willing to bet Tetsusaiga that Naraku has all the shards and he's waiting for us to find him."

"That's a possibility, but very unlikely."

"And why the hell is it so unlikely, wench?" Inuyasha cocked an eyebrow and spoke with a gruff causing Kagome to roll her eyes exaggeratedly. Despite maturing over the last three years, he's still has a long way to go.

"Because Kohaku and Kouga still have their shards. Naraku knows we aren't going to extract their shards. For Kohaku and Kouga to be rid of their shards, it would have to be Naraku that does it." Kagome watched Inuyasha's expression turn from annoyance to realization and back to annoyance. She muffled her laughter with the back of her hand which resulted in Inuyasha growling deeply.

I hate when the wench makes sense. He wasn't going to voice his thought, though.

Kagome made a humming sound and adjusted her yellow backpack – Inuyasha could barely fathom how her backpack made it out alive over the course of the last three years. He had already made a mental note of which brand her bag was from and when he made it to the future; he was going to invest in stocks… Thank ramen Souta gave me a little lesson on the stock market. Inuyasha was grinning stupidly, recalling a time in the not so distant past where Kagome's brother showed him how the stock market worked while waiting for Kagome to come back from dinner with her friends.

"Maybe it's just a quiet shard week." Kagome finally answered and Inuyasha snorted. Her excuse sounded lame, even to herself.

"No such thing—is that thing too heavy?" Inuyasha eyed Kagome struggling to shoulder her bag.

"A little, there's extra ramen in here… I wasn't expecting to not have ramen last night—what the?!" Kagome was taken by surprise when Inuyasha pulled her bag off of her shoulder and slung it onto his own.

"Keh."

Kagome giggled and pulled her arms over her head in a loud stretch. It was good to not be busy with constant battles, but it did concern her slightly. What is Naraku up to? Actually… Kagome chewed on her thumb's nail. Kikyo's been quiet too… this can't be good, but I can't even begin to guess what the two of them are up to… Not without being in possession of more shards, at least.

"What's on your mind?"

Kagome's eyes flickered to Inuyasha and back to the dusty path in a matter of seconds.

"Nothing, really."

"Bullshit." Inuyasha called her bluff. "You spaced out. You never space out, so what's wrong?"

"Just thinking of what Naraku could be up to."

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed. He knew Kagome was lying, he smelt it on her but he wasn't about to press the matter. If there was anything he had learned it was that if Kagome make up her mind in not telling him something, no amount of yelling at her would change her mind. He would have to sneakily bring up the topic later that evening after he lulled her into a false sense of security.

The wench has made me ridiculously sneaky. He was kind of proud of that fact.

"Plume of smoke!" Kagome called suddenly as her eye snapped to a rising cloud of spike in the horizon. She pointed in the direction and Inuyasha's eyes followed suit, seeing a thin plum of smoke peeking out from behind a thick layer of trees.

"Could be the village we're on route to." Inuyasha looked over at Kagome. "Shall we run?"

Kagome nodded and took the backpack from Inuyasha, allowing him to crouch and her to mount his back. Within seconds, the whoosh of the air greeted Kagome's face and took her back to a familiar feeling— riding on Inuyasha's back was something that always made her feel at home. Apart from the fact that she was physically so close to him, it also brought back memories of her childhood… a childhood that was quickly stripped from her when she was tossed into the throes of danger.

At least travelling with Inuyasha has taught me a lot of valuable things. Kagome mused. Like being able to fake sleep… and fake indifference… and being able to mask certain scents of mine.

Like love.

Like affection.

Like lust.

Like despire.

All the emotions she felt for Inuyasha were flawlessly masked. Even if she shoved her naked body in his face, he wouldn't be able to catch a whiff of how her scent changed when she was around him.

He wouldn't be able to scent the change in her arousal… of how it spiked…

He could never find out that she loved him so much that her soul hurt. It wasn't allowed, it wasn't in her stars to be with him. He had committed himself to being with Kikyo in the afterlife, so she had no right to call him anything other than just a friend.

In any case, it took her three years to master hiding how she felt about Inuyasha, and she'd be damned if all of her efforts were in vain.

Masking other scents though, such as when she was lying, was still a work in progress. He probably knows that I just lied to him. She thought with a groan. She was kind of glad that he said nothing about it, though… perhaps he had finally learned that probing for answers when Kagome wasn't willing to give any was a futile feat.

Inuyasha leapt from tree branch to tree branch, hitting speeds that Kagome had long become accustomed to. Within no time at all, Inuyasha arrived at the foot of the village that had the plume of smoke rising from it. As soon as Kagome dismounted from Inuyasha, he plucked the backpack from her and they began to walk the rest of the way.

"What's our story this time?" Kagome glanced over at Inuyasha who merely shrugged.

"Let's play it by ear, as we always do."

Kagome watched him for a second longer before tearing her gaze off of him. After their ragtag group of shard hunters disbanded, Inuyasha and Kagome found it difficult to seek refuge. Kagome's appearance was less flashy, since she had adopted the yukata and retired her school uniform, but an unmarried woman in Sengoku Jidai travelling with a hanyou companion was something that most villagers were not willing to accept.

Inuyasha being a hanyou was alone to be turned away.

The duo had started to read the different villagers emotions. In one village, Inuyasha had to pretend to be an evil monster that kidnapped Kagome and threatened to kill all the villagers if they did not give them a place to stay for the night. Another village located in the Western Lands (close to Kaede's village) Inuyasha and Kagome got by with the truth: they were the shard hunters.

Recently, they had to pretend to be mates as the village they travelled to did not have issues with Inuyasha being a hanyou, but were concerned over Kagome's female purity.

"How about we start off as shard hunters and go from there?" Kagome suggested and Inuyasha made a sound that resembled keh. Kagome rolled her eyes before turning to look at Inuyasha.

"A response would be appreciated."

"I responded, wench."

"You made a sound."

"I said keh."

Kagome groaned. "That doesn't mean anything."

"My ass it doesn't."

The duo bickered their way to the threshold of the village. It was unusually quiet, not a single soul could be seen nor were there any living animals or creatures around the village. Their bickering faded to obvious concern: this isn't normal. The same thought echoed in both of their consciousness.

"A little quiet, wouldn't you say?" Kagome whispered, moving to pull an arrow out of her quiver while sliding her bow off of her shoulder. Inuyasha silently gripped the hilt of his Tetsusaiga; he was ready to protect Kagome at any and all cost.

The shard hunters ventured further into the village, their pace slow but cautious. Inuyasha had all of his senses on alert; he was ready to hack and slash at anything that may deign to put a finger on Kagome. Despite the creepy feeling in his gut, Inuyasha didn't sense anything.

"Do you feel anything, Kagome?" He asked his voice just above a whisper as he was unsure what sort of creature could surprise attack them if they were heard.

"Nothing. No shards." Kagome confirmed and that caused him to tighten his grip on the hilt of his sword.

"This is fucking eerie." Inuyasha admitted and Kagome could do nothing but agree. There was an ominous feel to the village, but no ominous aura existed. But if there was anything the shard hunters had learned over the course of the three years, it was that they needed to always trust their gut instinct. They had gotten themselves in to a lot of messy situations when they hadn't followed their gut.

Kagome staggered when Inuyasha whirled around and pointed his rusty sword in the face of wrinkly old man.

"Who the fuck are you?"

Kagome bit her bottom lip to prevent herself from chastising Inuyasha. Normally she would've threatened to osuwari him into the darkest depths of hell, but something didn't sit well with her.

"Are ye travellers?" The old man peered at the duo over the rim of his partially broken glasses. "What is yer relationship with the woman, half-breed?"

It was that time to, what Inuyasha referred to as, play-it-by-ear.

"Not that it should matter, but she's my mate, old man." Inuyasha concocted. Alone in a desolate village with a creepy old man, Inuyasha would be damned if he let the old man think that Kagome was something other than Inuyasha's.

She's ours regardless. The grumble of his full-demon blood roared to life in his subconscious. Inuyasha, though, was quick to lock it away.

"Your mate? My, my… we have progressed substantially." The old man's shoulders relaxed. "A miko and a hanyou joining together in love. Who officiated yer marriage, half-breed? There aren't many monks who will join a miko and a hanyou in holy matrimony."

Kagome decided to interject. "That is none of your concern, honorable grandfather. We simply are seeking a place to stay tonight."

Inuyasha shoved his Tetsusaiga back into the scabbard and listened to the old man tell Kagome the directions to the village inn. He also said something about the all the villagers taking a pilgrimage to the sacret Mount Hakurei, but he was too old and fragile to tag along. The old man claimed that he stayed back to ensure that the village was maintained and taken care of.

Sounds like a bowl full of wolf-shit. Inuyasha couldn't help but scoff, but didn't choose to voice his opinion. How the hell can this decrepit pile of shit do anything to maintain the damn village?! With a stiff bow, Kagome returned her arrows back into her quiver and gripped Inuyasha's left bicep, effectively tugging him in the general direction of where the old man said the village inn was.

The elderly man watched them intently and, as soon as Kagome and Inuyasha turned the corner, he let his shoulders sag. Do not worry young miko. I will save you from this cursed half-demon who has forced you to give him your purity. His body bubbled and morphed, changing the old man in to a creature that didn't resemble anything human. Bearing his fangs, the demonic creature encased in wispy black smoke let out a breath of acrid air before running in the opposite direction of where Kagome and Inuyasha had headed.

.xx.

The village inn was deserted, as Inuyasha and Kagome expected, so they sought out the largest and loftiest room. It looked to be a room that newly married couples would rendezvous in, but nothing fazed Inuyasha and Kagome anymore, so they decided to get comfortable. Inuyasha shrugged off his outer haori as soon as they placed their weapons and Kagome's backpack down, and gave it to Kagome to wear.

She looked at him quizzically. "In case something happens." He said as he reattached Tetsusaiga's scabbard to his hip. "And to keep you warm." He added as an afterthought and Kagome fought to hide her blush. "I have a really shitty feeling about this village… and the shitty feeling keeps getting shittier and shittier." Unceremoniously, Inuyasha sat down as Kagome fluffed up the pillow that lay on the single futon. "Why are we staying here?"

"Because I have a bad feeling and we never ignore my bad feelings. I'm sure somebody is in trouble and I want to know what's going on." Kagome muttered as she began to dig through her backpack to find her yukata for sleeping. Inuyasha snorted and leaned his head back against the wall adjacent to the bamboo door. He closed his eyes and allowed his shoulders to sag; the chill of the night air was beginning to creep up on him, he was always used to the warmth and comfort of his red fire rat haori but his body would be able to sustain any damage it took.

Kagome, however, wasn't so lucky.

And I have a really bad feeling.

He sensed no life force in the village. He didn't even sense residual life force. If the villagers were indeed on a pilgrimage, he would've sensed their presence in the village at least. But he didn't. He didn't even scent a human.

"Ahh," Kagome pulled out a pale yellow yukata. "Found it. Let me go change real quick—"

"No," Inuyasha grunted as he stood up. "Something is up with this village and you are not leaving my circle of smell." Inuyasha pushed the bamboo door open. "Change here, I'll be right outside. In the highly unlikely event something attacks you, scream bloody murder."

Though taken aback, Kagome could do nothing but nod. She knew he was right, and she knew never to question his gut feeling. Nine times out of ten, his gut was on the mark.

"Fine." She replied as he shut the door behind him. Inuyasha leaned against the door, his one leg crossed over the other and his hands behind the back of his head. His ears occasionally tweaked at the soft sounds of Kagome changing in the room just behind him. Though his inner demon roared to pounce at Kagome – as Inuyasha was a virile young man, regardless of his blood –, he was quick to turn his attention away from the sound. Subconsciously, he brought his right hand down to grip the rusty hilt of his Tetsusaiga.

He didn't know when he would need it to protect Kagome—that was the only thought that ever went through his mind.

Protect Kagome.

A mantra that all three of his forms chanted: ningen, hanyou, youkai.

Protect Kagome. Don't let her get hurt at any cost.

Protect Kagome…

And die trying.

.xx.

The sun had long set, yet the eerie feeling that plagued Inuyasha and Kagome had yet to disappear. Neither were going to be able to sleep, so they decided to work out a plan as to what they were going to do. Kagome sat on the futon, Inuyasha's haori wrapped around her, while Inuyasha sat beside the door with Tetsusaiga erect before him. His hands were gripping the body of the scabbard while his forehead rested against the hilt.

"I think we should just leave, Kagome." He finally said, catching her off guard.

"What?! But we don't know what's going on."

"Exactly." His eyes flickered to catch hers. "We don't know. There's no shard involved so I'll be damned that I let you get hurt over absolutely nothing. Hell, I'm damned when you get hurt over a shard regardless!"

Despite what he said, his sentiment touched her.

"But what if there are people in trouble?" She tried to argue back but Inuyasha shook his head.

"There aren't. I can't sense any life force, not even the lingering scent of a human."

Kagome chewed on her bottom lip. "… what about the old man?"

Inuyasha was stumped. He raised his head from its resting position on the Tetsusaiga and gawked at Kagome. "I don't… recall… sensing anything…"

Kagome frowned. "Neither do I…"

"Fuck it," Inuyasha made a move to get up, "we're out of h—"

Inuyasha swallowed his words as a sudden sharp pain stabbed at his chest. Stumbling back against the wall and dropping down to his knees, he clutched his white inner haori, right above his chest, and gasped for air. Kagome sprung to her feet as soon as the first signs of distress were shown, and raced over to Inuyasha, inadvertently pushing the Tetsusaiga out of the way.

"Inuyasha?! INUYASHA?!" Kagome grabbed his shoulders but it was to no avail; Inuyasha was gasping for air while clawing at his inner haori, trying to rip it off of his torso. Kagome's left hand went to cover his hands while her right hand moved to cup Inuyasha's cheek.

"Kag—gome…" He struggled to say her name before letting out a howl of pain. Kagome, in a wave of panic, ripped his haori open to see if there was anything on his chest, simply because he was trying to tear it off of himself. She prayed there was no parasite latched onto him, draining him of his hanyou life force.

There wasn't anything.

Her fear began to escalate.

"What's wrong?! Where is it hurting?" Kagome cupped his face, willing him to look at her. Beads of sweat pooled at his hairline and his eyes were squeezed shut. The colour on his face began to drain and Kagome's panic began rising.

"Inuyasha!" She said urgently, tightening her hold on his cheeks. Her right thumb was stroking his cheek, hoping that the caress would snap him out of his pain. What do I do?! What the hell do I do?!

Weakly, Inuyasha opened his eyes. "Kagome—"

A loud bang was heard outside of the inn and, almost immediately, an explosion rocked the building, causing Kagome to hurtle across the room. The only reason Kagome even stopped her trajectory was because she collided with the wall opposite of the crash. The Tetsusaiga fell beside her with a loud clang.

Inuyasha, however, wasn't anywhere to be seen.

A shadowy figured, enveloped in grey smoke with wispy tendrils snaking out from its body, stalked in to the room. "I've come to eradicate this halfling and free you from your prison, miko."

The official rewrite of Bloodborne Duties! Tell me what you think :)