Curiosity – Chapter 22 - "Seven, Eight, To Catch A Mate"

The night air was full of strange sounds that his demon ears had never experienced before. But then again this entire time was filled with bizarre and fascinating things that even his advanced demon mind couldn't begin to comprehend.

One thing was for sure though, he was greatly impressed with this sleeping mat Kagome had called a "mattress"; he had never seen his mate sleep so soundly before. Well, that wasn't true; she does sleep quite soundly when she is cuddled up against my true for.

"It is too bad I cannot transform here for her, I know she would enjoy that. Perhaps I will have one of these 'mattress's' commissioned when we return home, it could be made of silk and stuffed with feathers. At least then she would sleep peacefully if I am ever gone, even though that won't be anytime soon." Touga thought to himself as he glanced out the window.

Judging from the position of the moon in the sky, it had been almost four hours since everyone had gone to bed. That is, everyone except Touga, for even though he was in bed he couldn't bring himself to go to sleep for one insignificant reason.

He was afraid. The once great Western Lord was scared. Touga was terrified that the entire situation was only some sort of dream. Was this some kind a joke that death played on you? Were they making him live his wildest dreams just to see his sadness when this prank is over? And what is that noise?

"Wait, that doesn't have anything to do with this, but what is that whirring sound? It is quite distracting."

Before he could rise and investigate the suspicious noise, his attention was caught by Izayoi slightly stirring in the crook of his arm. She had always had some sort of sixth sense and could tell when something was bothering him, even in her sleep.

Chocolate eyes blearily blinked open to remove the sleep from her eyes as she nuzzled closer to her mate.

"What is it my dearest? What is it that has you worked up so? Are you worried that this is only a dream again my darling?" She asked while tiresomely raising her hand to cup his cheek.

She felt him smile underneath her palm. "You have always known what has bothered me my mate, but there is something else as well. I hear a strange noise which I believe I will go investigate. I do not wish to be attacked while we are here."

Nodding her head in agreement, Izayoi caressed his cheek one last time before removing it so that she could burrow back into the tail that Touga had detached to keep his mate warm. Giving his mate one last fang filled smile, Touga slowly, so as not to wake his mate again, stood up and made his way out the door and into the hallway.

Thankfully his demonic heritage allowed him to slip down the hall quickly and quietly without disturbing anyone else's slumber. He was surprised to hear voices coming from Yasuhiro's room though. Shouldn't people his age be asleep by this time? Better yet, who was he talking to?

Deciding that it wasn't his place to be listening in, Touga began to make his way down the stairs towards the whirring noise, but not before hearing part of the conversation going on in Yasuhiro's room thanks once again to his demonic heritage.

"So, the elderly priestess is Kagome's grandmother. How interesting. It will be fascinating to see how tomorrow plays out with this discovery."

Lights from the living room caught his attention as he neared the bottom of the steps. As he neared closer to the room, the annoying sound became louder and louder. Now it was stopping and starting again as if it was doing something and then stopping only to start over again.

When he rounded the corner to enter the room to stop whatever demon was creating such a nuisance he was stopped by a, well, by his standards it could be construed as a strange and humorous sight.

All throughout the room there was a menagerie of papers and books scattered about the floor. In the middle of the room sat Kagome upon a chair and in front of her was a table with a strange contraption on top of it. He soon found out that this…whatever it was… was the very thing making the noise.

It didn't appear to be a demon, nor did it have the scent of one, but it seemed that Kagome was getting frustrated with this thing and he felt it was his duty to stop any fight that would ensue.

"It is, after all, my duty to protect my son's pack while he is away. Perhaps this encounter will give me the chance to learn more about Kagome and find out how much she does for my son. I will need to observe if she is worthy of being Inuyasha's mate."

Kagome didn't seem to notice when Touga came up beside her, she was too enthralled with the material in front of her. Why was it so hard to sew with one hand? Weren't machines supposed to make things easier?

"Guess I'll just have to sew this by hand, hopefully I will have this done by morning." Kagome thought while fingering the white fabric before her.

"Is this demon bothering you?"

A small scream escaped the young miko as she jumped a little before seeing that it was only Touga standing beside her.

"Um, what demon are you talking about?" She questioned before realizing what he was asking about. "Oh, you mean the sewing machine! It isn't a demon, it's just a device to help woman sew things together quicker. But I'm afraid I won't be able to use it due to my arm so I'll just have to sew this by hand." She muttered as she unplugged the sewing machine and began putting it away.

Touga could see how much trouble she was having lifting the strange contraption off the table so he immediately helped her set it off into the closet.

"You mean to say this thing isn't a demon?" Touga asked after double checking to make sure that the metal thing wasn't breathing or had been sealed with sutras.

"Yes I'm sure, besides if it was Inuyasha would kill me." Kagome giggled out as she sat back down on the couch.

Touga stood there for a moment, not exactly knowing what to do. Were customs different in this time from his? Thankfully his mind eased when Kagome moved one of her stacks of papers from beside her so that he could sit down. After he did, they just sat in silence for a few minutes, she sewing away at the fabric in her grasp and him watching her every move.

"What is it you are sewing?"

"Hmm? Oh, I was just whipping up another white kimono top for Inuyasha. He always gets so many rips in the one he has." She answered while she kept sewing. "There, it's done."

Kagome handed the kimono to Touga to inspect while she put her supplies away. As soon as his clawed fingers touched the fabric he noticed something.

"This is not fire rat."

Plopping down on the floor beside the white dog and her pups, Kagome gathered a stack of papers into her lap before replying to him.

"I know, but sometimes he gets so many rips in the one he has, so I came up with the idea to make him another one to wear while the original one is repairing itself. The funny thing is that he has never noticed when I switch them out. I always make sure that any new one I make gets covered in his scent somehow. This is the fourth one I have made for him if I remember right."

She didn't notice, but Touga's eyes widened slightly with this new information. "She is doing all the things a demoness would for her mate; cooking, dressing his wounds, and now sewing him clothes. Does she even realize it? Perhaps my son and this woman have a deeper bond than I thought, but what about his bond with Kikyo?"

Laying the kimono top off to the side, Touga slid himself down to sit on the floor next to Kagome. Wondering what all of the papers surrounding him were about, he picked up the first one he saw and instantly regretted it, slightly blushing as he sat it back down. Did they really teach children in such excruciating detail about this sort of thing by paper now instead of by mouth? Why would any adult teach about reproduction in this way?

He was brought from his thoughts by a small yip and a bump to his arm. It was the bigger white dog, the mother. From what his senses could tell him, the dog could sense that he was her alpha and wished to please him, so of course he would bring his clawed hand to her head and pet her fondly to show that he was pleased.

"That is odd. This dog's aura feels like one I have been near before, but that cannot be possible could it? If I study it long enough, it almost feels as if it's a familial tie instead of that of a pack member. How interesting."

"Tinkerbell don't bother Touga." Kagome tried to stop her dog, but a thought stopped her movements. "Touga, what exactly are you doing down here? Shouldn't you be upstairs with Izayoi?"

Never taking his hand from Tinkerbell's head he answered her. "I am here because of course I heard the noise and I am curious as to why a human is up so late at night. Do not all humans need as much sleep as I have been led to believe?"

"Yes humans need a lot of sleep, but I'm not exactly an ordinary human. I am used to staying up late and studying long into the night. Inuyasha doesn't really approve of my schooling and he doesn't like it when I study as we travel which means I can only read when we stop. I usually wait until he falls into a light sleep before I pull out my books. Plus I always have good old sugar and caffeine to pep me up." She picked up yet another Red Bull and took a swig when she finished.

Silence entranced the room once again while Touga rolled her reply through his mind. From what knowledge he had of human education, only the highest of royal families were educated, but even in such cases they merely learned to read, write, and local history. Yet from what he saw written on all of these papers Kagome was learning those things and so much more. She was being taught almost everything under the sun except blacksmithing. He voiced his question about this, wanting to know why she had to learn so many things.

It took her half an hour, but she explained everything about how everyone had to learn about all these things for twelve years before they could go to college to specifically learn about certain fields of work, such as a doctor or archaeology. Kagome also explained how completing such studies brought honor to the student's families, but what she told him next surprised him completely.

"Usually I wouldn't have so much work, but I'm…" She hesitated, not sure whether or not to tell him. "Well, do you promise not to tell any of my friends, especially Inuyasha?"

One of Touga's eyebrow's arched out of interest before sternly nodding once, as if he was almost wary of what she was about to tell him.

"I'm not just going to public school. I sent away for all of the work that I would have to do in my next grade, so I am basically taking two years of school at once. I figured if we don't get the jewel completed by the time I get out of school I'll have already done next year's work, which means I'll be able to spend most of next year tracking down the jewel which would make Inuyasha very happy. He doesn't much like it when I come home for tests."

A rarity occurred then; Touga's mind had stalled – stopped – gone copout in a matter of milliseconds. This was only the third time this incident had befallen him; the first two of course being when he found out he was going to be a father. Had this girl said what he thought she just said? Was he interpreting correctly what she was implying?

"This girl… she is willing to give up her next year of life only to satisfy my son? I can't believe this girl is willing to possibly throw away her and her families honor just for Inuyasha. She is truly selfless. But what if this is all for nothing? What if Inuyasha chooses Kikyo over him?" He wondered.

"Is something wrong Touga? You look like you've seen a ghost." Kagome asked concerned.

Shaking his head to rid his mind of his thoughts, Touga cleared his throat as yet another question popped into his brain.

"If I may be so bold to ask, what is the tale between my son and Kikyo?"

He could smell it in the air now, that scent that smelled like thunder when it roared. It was sadness and it certainly didn't smell good mixed in with Kagome's natural scent. From this he could tell that she apparently didn't like to think about Kikyo or the tale.

A long sigh escaped Kagome as she tried to keep her mind on completing her schoolwork instead of the tears gathering behind her eyes.

"Um… I don't really believe it is my place to tell their tale. You would possibly be better off asking Kaede. If you ask Inuyasha he'll just get upset and asking Kikyo would mean getting the bad half of the story which mostly involves blaming everything on Inuyasha."

Nodding to assure her that he understood, he watched her as she tackled her math work that she was obviously having trouble with. Thankfully for her Touga was a math wizard although how she could ever understand all of those symbols she would never know. She felt lucky to have him here to help her. It almost seemed like he was a father figure to her, but she shouldn't have been thinking that. Touga needed to be Inuyasha's father, not hers.

While he was explaining how to solve a problem minutes later, he felt a weight hit is shoulder. Turning his head only the slightest bit, his eyes showed him that it was Kagome, but his ears told him that she had fallen asleep.

Slowly and carefully so as not to wake her, Touga set down the strange writing instrument Kagome had given him to use and ever so easily gathered her up in his arms, stood up, and laid her down on the couch. After moving a couple stacks of paper with his foot, he revealed a blanket which he promptly picked up. When he turned around to cover her his eyes were shown an amusing site.

Apparently the two pups had woken up sometime during their teachings and were now cuddled up together on Kagome's stomach while Tinkerbell was by her side and tucked under her arm sound asleep.

Thinking that she would become hot if covered with the blanket, the inu-youkai put the blanket down on the table and did something that surprised even himself.

He leaned down and placed a chaste kiss upon her forehead. It wasn't one for a lover, but one meant for a daughter.

*Somewhere in the mysterious beyond*

The mysterious woman was once again sitting next to her bird bath like gateway, but this time she wasn't looking into it. No, she was gazing out at nothing. The odd thing about it though was that her eyes were glazed over in a white haze.

"What is it that you see Mistress?" Her companion asked kindly. "It isn't anything bad is it?"

She didn't respond for a few moments, she merely breathed as she "lived" through the rest of her vision.

"They must be careful." She whispered on the wind.

The man's head tilted like that of a dog. "Why? Why must they be careful?"

"They will need to be careful with what they do for the next few days. I see many possible scenarios coming from the upcoming dilemmas. As long as everything goes as it should the world will be safe."

"And how should these occurrences go Mistress?"

She took a deep breath as her eyes cleared and grasped her companion's hand in her own.

"They must be reunited for all to go correctly. Already two have found each other once again, now it is time for the rest."