The Characters of Inuyasha (manga and anime) belong to Takahashi-san
Grandfather's Last Request
Kagome heaved a sigh after she hefted herself out from the mouth of the well. After approximately two long and dangerous weeks in the Sengoku jidai, her whole self was finally at ease at seeing the familiar wooden structure of the well house. She was home, and she was going to make the most of what time she could squeeze into at being a normal girl who went to high school every day, and would have nothing to worry about except for exams—
Maybe after a nice hot bath…and maybe some oden…and a nice long sleep in…
So, with a smile on her face and a bouncy tempo, the miko strolled to the place where she affectionately called home. Carefully, she opened the shoji door and announced her arrival to her family.
However, she was met with an eerie silence.
"Hello," her cheery tone was dampened slightly while she placed her shoes into the shelf, replacing them with a pair of slippers. "Mama?" she called out softly. "Souta?" she tiptoed gingerly onto the step, almost afraid that she would make the floorboards suddenly creak if she made any noise. "Jii-chan…?"
Where is everybody?
It was then, as she neared to the sliding door of the living room, did Kagome hear the sounds of crying. Leaning closer to the door, she listened to the sorrowful sounds coming through the paper-thin screen, but she quickly drew away not wanting to hear anymore. The sounds of pure sadness pulled at her heart, and Kagome could feel the stinging in her eyes as the first trickle of tears threatened to fall down. But the miko would have none of it. She could not cry, she would not cry. Not when she knew who was behind the shoji door, weeping alone in the house with no one to comfort her.
"Mama?" though she had said it as quietly as she could, the older woman still gasped, turning around to face her daughter.
Her hand trembled as she covered her mouth in surprise, "Oh, Kagome! I didn't hear you come in. I'm sorry you saw me like this. But please, sit down. It's good to see you back home. Did Inuyasha-kun come with you?"
"No, he had to do some things."
"Oh…but he'll be back later, won't he?"
"Yeah…," Kagome answered, slowly. "I guess…"
"I'm glad."
"What's this all about, mama? This isn't like you."
"I'm sorry, dear," the older woman replied, wiping a tear that managed to escape from the corner of her eye. "Things have been a lot harder, since…since…" and she could not say any more when she started to cry again.
Kagome sat still next to the sobbing woman, her body numb and unable to comfort her mother. It was certainly a horrible situation to walk in to, to find that all was not well at the Higurashi household. What could have possibly happened in her absence?
Distracted by her own growing guilty conscious for not being at home when it was obvious that they needed her, she did not realise when Souta, her younger brother, had walked in, his face and mood reflecting that of the whole family and the very atmosphere of the house.
"Nee-chan?" he said, his choked voice breaking her thoughts. "You're back."
Immediately, Kagome knew that something was very wrong, and that if she did not act now, it would possibly be too late.
"Where's jii-chan?"
The young boy simply pointed to their grandfather's room while taking her hand into his. "He kept asking for you," and with that, both siblings headed into the direction of his room, where Kagome knocked softly on the door, and announced her arrival.
"Come in, Kagome."
Kagome kneeled next to her grandfather, who lay prone on the futon, his eyes closed as if in sleep, or in pain. She began to bite her lip in worry.
Jii-chan's eyes opened wearily and smiled at his favourite granddaughter, patting the ground to indicate for Kagome to sit closer. "Kagome, I'm glad you came to see me, an old man though I am." His aged hand clasped around hers, and he sighed, refusing to say anymore lest he became emotional and started upsetting the young woman any further. He only wanted the best for his granddaughter, the best, before his life—
"What is it?" she asked softly, trying not to let the pale face of her grandfather upset her.
Turning his head towards the ceiling, he smiled faintly, even chuckled a little. "I never would have thought… no… I'd better not tell you. I'm just a silly old man, after all." He then closed his eyes, and said nothing more, leaving Kagome to sit, frozen, as if she had been struck by a sudden, dark premonition about the elderly man who lay before her. Soon the tears appeared, running uncontrollably down her face. She didn't know how long she had sat there, crying, nor did she remember how long it was until her mother walked in and escorted her to the living room, holding her as she wept quietly.
"I'm sorry, mama, for not being here. I didn't know. Has he been like that for long?"
"It's not your fault, dear. Truthfully, he had been fine yesterday, but when I came home from shopping today, I found him like that. I've tried everything to comfort him, but… but…" she lowered her voice to a whisper. "That's why I asked if Inuyasha-kun was with you. He has been asking for him."
The front door slid open as if to answer for Kagome, and Inuyasha walked in with a look of annoyance on his face. He opened his mouth to berate the woman for not telling him she had left for her time, but once he saw the tears in her eyes, the hanyou quickly shut his mouth, holding his hand over his heart in attempt to stop it beating so loudly against his chest. They both stared at each other, every second making the situation even more awkward, until Kagome could not stand it any longer, and ran from the room, her footsteps becoming faint as she ran up the stairs.
At a loss for words, Inuyasha stood still all the while trying hard to remember if he had done anything to upset her.
"It's not that, Inuyasha-kun." Kagome's mother replied gently, guiding him to her father's room before silently closing the door so they would not be disturbed. With one last look at the door, she walked away, sighing deeply and wondering if things were ever going to be the same again.
After some time, the hanyou cautiously opened the door to the miko's room, and found her sitting on her chair with only the moonlight to light up the darkened room. Padding towards her, he touched her shoulder and found she had fallen asleep, so, he took the blanket off the bed and draped it over her small body, while hoping she had not become too distressed by the news that her grandfather had just told him. At first, he had been a little bit sceptical of the old man's words, the same man who thought he was nothing but a trouble maker who was trying to steal his granddaughter away from him. Only now – when he looked into those tired eyes pleadingly looking back at him – he began to wonder if it was better for him to keep on thinking that he was just a hanyou scoundrel. Maybe he could steal Kagome away, just to spite him. Fortunately, such thoughts fell easily from his mind, when he heard the young miko sigh in her sleep, though her face was clearly showing signs of sorrow. Kneeling, he ran his fingers through her dark hair, watching how the dim light of the moon shone on her skin, making her appear like a creature from the heavens. He touched her cheek, then unconsciously moved closer to… to…
Inuyasha licked his lips, but almost yelped in surprise when Kagome suddenly opened her eyes. His face turned a brilliant red, and he swivelled his head so that he would not be able to be further distracted by her, and her lips.
"Inuyasha?" she whispered, touching his shoulder.
"I… I wasn't doing anything. I was just worried about you, about your old man." He didn't want to mention out loud about how he was about to kiss her while she had been asleep.
"Oh, thank you." For some reason, seeing his face made her eyes well up in tears again. "I really didn't expect something like this to happen. I was just gone for two weeks, and then this happens. Jii-chan… he told me… he's so sick… I should have been there for him… and now… now…" she jumped into his arms, clutched at his haori and began to weep.
The hanyou held her with trembling arms, not knowing what else to do, and began to rub her back in circular motions until the young miko had calmed down to a few sniffles.
"I'm sorry, Inuyasha," she said, her head still nestled in his chest. "I don't know what came over me."
"Baka, you're just tired." Gently picking her up, he placed Kagome on to the bed, covering her with the blanket.
"Wait…" she lifted the blanket, and smiled shyly. "Please. I don't want you to get cold sleeping on the floor." And she waited, with some hesitation, wondering if he would take up the offer. The truth was, beside from the fact she had always wanted him to be closer to her, the news of her grandfather's deteriorating health made her feel a sense of melancholy she had never felt before, save from when her father was lost to them, and now all she wanted was his comforting embrace, so that she wouldn't feel so alone in her room.
They lay together, side by side, but Inuyasha was far from sleep, as he stared at the face in front of him, his heart thumping loudly every time she smiled in her dream. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't relax with her body so close to his, touching. He gulped, while thinking why things had turned out the way they did.
And then he remembered.
His words…
Oh shit…
"Inuyasha, come sit down, boy, I want to ask something of you."
Already by his tone, the hanyou knew that this was a serious conversation.
"My granddaughter, Kagome, thinks very highly of you. She comes home from your time, and do you know what she does? She starts talking about you. Inuyasha this, and Inuyasha that, on and on… She never stops."
"That doesn't sound like—"
"She really cares about you. And you do too, by the looks of it."
Though Inuyasha didn't verbally reply, the expression on his face did it for him.
"You can't lie to me." He continued, "I know. I was young once too, you know. Where has the time gone, Inuyasha? Look at me, such a feeble old man, nearing death. Please don't say anything to my family, this is between us men. I know I can trust you."
Speechless, he sat there, unmoving, though the old man's words ran wildly through his mind, in particular, the word 'death' had caught his attention.
"Don't look at me like that, boy. Although I do admit it came at a bad time. Kagome's always been a happy girl, and… I don't want to ruin it for her by 'going away.' It was bad enough with her father. That's why… all I want to see is my favourite granddaughter's smile. Is that too much to ask?" He grabbed the hanyou's haori sleeve, shaking it, to which in response, Inuyasha hastily shook his head. "I want to ask you, before I die... I want you to propose to her. So that I can pass on knowing that she will be happy."
The colour instantly drained from the hanyou's face upon hearing his words. And for the first time in his life, he found a new meaning for fear by that one word alone: Propose.
"You will ask her, won't you, Inuyasha?" He persisted.
"That is a very dangerous thing to promise, especially to a dying man." Miroku said, after hearing the story of Inuyasha's dilemma. "How exactly are you going to propose to her?"
"I don't know. I never proposed to a girl before, and I never expected the old man to ask such a thing."
"And you have come to me to ask for advice. I am truly honoured, my friend, that you are willing to take me into your confidence." He grinned with some amusement when he saw Inuyasha's face redden in embarrassment. "Don't worry; it's not really that hard to propose to the potential woman. Look, I'll show you." Fortunately for him, Sango was sitting nearby, cleaning her Hiraikotsu with renewed fervour, after hearing the conversation between the two men. Walking to her, he kneeled down on one knee, lovingly took her hand, and with a deep, sincere voice, said: "Sango, I love you. Will you marry me?"
So red was the slayer's blush that Miroku couldn't help but grin. "See? Easy."
"What was easy?" Sango growled, pulling on one of his ears so that his grin turned into a painful grimace.
"N-nothing, my dearest," he replied, somewhat painfully. "Try it, Inuyasha. With these mere words, any man can have any woman he desires."
Inuyasha opened his mouth, made a few indistinct sounds, before closing it again. He tried again, and began stuttering, his face glowing red as a result.
"You don't have to kill yourself." Miroku said after a while, while attempting to hold on to his laughter.
"I can't do it!" he said, clenching his hands in despair. "I can't! I'm not like you. I just can't throw my words around like that."
"Well, thank goodness you're not houshi-sama." Sango said, yet she stepped back when Miroku's smile began to reappear on his face once more. "One of you is more than enough." She for one would not like to think how her young friend would have been able to cope if said hanyou's mind did run along the same tracks as him.
It was not a pleasant thought.
"So don't encourage him."
A hand sprang to his chest, his eyes wide with mock dismay. "Why Sango, you wound me. I was only giving him advice as any other man would. Isn't that right, my friend?"
Inuyasha nodded unsurely.
"Now you're making him nervous, houshi-sama. Inuyasha, listen, a proposal to a woman is a delicate subject, and if you can't voice it properly, then you may as well not propose to Kagome-chan at all." She quickly raised a hand before he could answer. "That's why you should write it down, some people can express their feelings better if it's written on paper." She could see by the look on his face that he was considering her idea.
"Would that work?" he asked, suddenly timid, surprising the both of them.
Sango smiled, "There's no harm in trying."
The evening was spent writing down with a wooden brush filled with fine black ink, the words which would direct Inuyasha in his confession of love, and hopefully his proposal to the young woman. Except such things were never written with ease, as the hanyou found out when Miroku and Sango began arguing about what to write as a suitable speech. The houshi suggested something romantic, but his idea of romance left Inuyasha much too embarrassed to write down.
"You can't make him say that!" Sango said, snatching the brush from his hand. "Kagome-chan would get the wrong impression." And the conversation went along the same thread, until Inuyasha decided he had enough, leaving the two of them to debate amongst themselves. With a heavy heart, he strolled up to the Goshinboku, sitting against the aged trunk of the tree, hoping the quiet sounds of rustling of the leaves would bring him the inspiration he required to write his confession.
"What are you doing, Inuyasha?" Shippou asked, hopping onto his shoulder, his eyes blinking curiously at the paper. "Ooh, a letter to Kagome. Is this the proposal you're trying to write? Miroku and Sango told me about it. It's not much is it? You only have her name written on it."
"Shut up. It's not an easy thing to write."
"But if you love her, what's so difficult about it?"
Inuyasha blushed. "It's… complicated."
The kitsune crossed his arms across his small chest. "You're so hopeless. You can't say it and you can't even write it. What's wrong with you? It's just some words. Anyone can say those words." He pouted when he saw the hanyou shut his eyes, pretending not to listen. "Look at Kouga; he came just a few days ago, claiming his love for her. He says it so easily, and poor Kagome has to listen to him and go red in embarrassment, which only encourages him more. It's disgusting. If he can say it, why can't you?"
"Because they're not just words, you brat," he snarled, picking him up by his tail. "Oh, forget it, you and everyone else don't understand." Without another word, Inuyasha dropped Shippou to the ground, his mood saddened, and wanting nothing more than to be alone in his thoughts.
"What did I do?" The small youkai asked quietly, feeling somewhat guilty from teasing the hanyou. "Is it that hard to say that he loves her?"
Inuyasha stared forlornly into the mouth of the well; almost wishing Kagome would appear from its depths and make all of his problems disappear. Only this time, the miko was the source of his current predicament. To put it lightly, he had to propose to her, thus fulfilling her grandfather's dying wish. He wasn't exactly complaining as he had always dreamt of that day when he would ask her, and that she would say yes. Yet as he already knew from past experience, even thinking about what to tell her was difficult enough, without getting lost in some wonderful dream by just looking at her face, the colour of her eyes, her smile…
He sighed, turning his head away from the well's blackness, and leaning his head onto the wooden edge. "Easy? I wish I knew how." A grim smile formed on his lips. "Maybe that's why Kagome likes Kouga better, with all those nice words he can say to her."
I can't believe you; a dark voice spoke to him. You can kill a youkai ten times your superior, yet you can't even talk to a human girl. You're pathetic.
The hanyou's hands clawed at the wooden structure of the well, angry that his youkai conscious decided to add his own cheery comment, not to mention, to Inuyasha's chagrin, that the youkai had a point.
"Pathetic?!" he shouted defiantly, jumping to his feet. "I'll show you pathetic!" And with one hop, Inuyasha jumped into the well, allowing its mysterious magic to transport him to the era Kagome called home.
The phone sitting on the small table in the hallway rang continuously until Kagome's mother tentatively picked it up; in full knowledge of who it was on the other end.
"Hello...? ... Yes, he told him… No, Inuyasha-kun hasn't said anything to Kagome yet… These things take time… But..., is that wise? … All right, all right… Tomorrow… We'll be there…"
"Mama?" the voice of the young woman came from down the hallway, which startled the older woman to close off the conversation with the person in haste.
"Souta and I are leaving for school. Will you be alright at home?"
"Yes, dear," Luckily for Mama Higurashi, she was an expert at keeping her nerves under control, especially when her daughter was involved. "You two have a good time, and study hard." She watched her daughter slowly leave the house with her brother, closing the door so she could hide the excitement that was attempting to pull a smile on her face. Running to the kitchen, she grabbed the edge of the table and breathed in deeply to calm her mind in preparation for the special evening she had been anticipating for as long as she could remember. Though ashamed as she was, there was no doubt there was something trilling about it…
"I can't wait."
"Can't wait for what?" a voice asked, making the older woman nearly jump on to the table with fright.
"Inuyasha-kun… you're early…" she stuttered while her heart beat fluttered around wildly.
"I am?" the hanyou replied, his ears twitching in confusion.
"Would you like some tea?" She smiled, which only added to Inuyasha's confusion and growing suspicions that the woman in front of him was up to something, devious.
Now I know where Kagome gets it from…
With a shake of his head, the young man sat down to the cup of hot tea and rice crackers being offered. He put the cup to his lips, concentrating his gaze to the steam tickling his nose, rather than at Kagome's mother, who seemed to be staring at him with unnerving interest. Of all the things he admired about the woman, the way she was looking at him, reminded him strangely of the type of face people had when they were secretly scheming some elaborate plot just to spite him, or at least irritate him to the point of wanting to fling them through a wall, or a tree, or any other hard object, twice. Fortunately, this method was only applied to youkai.
Besides, he had a soft spot for lady of the household.
"Do you want me to help you clean the shrine or something?" He asked, wanting to stop the uncomfortable silence passing between them.
"Actually…" she began, "I was wondering if you would help me with a little bit of grocery shopping. It's been such a long time since we had a talk. It would give us a chance, because… I do want to get to know you better."
And that was how Inuyasha found himself, walking just a little behind Kagome's mother, until the woman called for him to have a look at the strange clothing behind the glass windows. Staring at all the colours and shapes of the fabrics in bored interest, the hanyou couldn't really see the fascination with the clothes the same way Mama Higurashi saw them, but he supposed there was something to be said about women and the allure of nice clothes.
Amber eyes followed in the direction she was currently pointing at, a dress she said, made with a fabric which he couldn't describe, yet its colour made him entranced, and for some reason, he could almost picture Kagome in that outfit, her eyes twinkling as she twirled around in it, the shimmering colours dancing around rhythmically in reflection with the light.
Unaware of his actions, he sighed dreamingly, which the woman noticed, and a smile knowingly covered her face.
While Inuyasha and Mrs. Higurashi were admiring the dresses through the shop window, across the street, an expensive, foreign-made silver car was parked next to the curb with three male occupants inside, spying on the pair through the tinted windows. One of the men, who sat at the driver's seat, stared disbelievingly at the man dressed wholly in red and wild snow-white hair.
"That's him?" he asked, his blue, mischievous eyes blinking rapidly to see if he was dreaming. "Wow, he looks so different. I guess it's true when he said he used to wear all that red. Incredible." An audible grumble came from behind him, then a snarl expressing his absolute disapproval.
"I don't see why I was dragged into this. You wouldn't find me helping that pathetic hanyou. Even after five hundred years, he still manages to look like an idiot."
"What are you talking about? It's him from five hundred years in the past. Besides, you have to help, or that brother of his is going to kill us, literally."
"Well, he should do this himself. I'm not his fucking lackey."
"You two, stop arguing." The driver said impatiently. "We have to hurry; Higurashi-san can't stay there all day. We have to act now and get him." With a twist of his wrist, the key turned and the car sprang to life, ready for action.
"No, you have to drive carefully. You might frighten him. He doesn't know that much about this era." Another reason being, that although the man sitting in the driver's seat was by no means a youkai or even half, he certainly drove like one, which he could still vividly remember from the last time he allowed the man to take the wheel.
"There's nothing to it." He smiled, his eyes grinning in boyish delight. "You don't have to worry about my driving. My baby can handle anything. Just worry about getting him in safely."
"Right now, I'm more worried about my safety—" Before he could finish his sentence, the driver stamped down on the accelerator, turned the wheel and sped off to the other side of the street, narrowly missing a few cars. And just as quickly, and somewhat maniacally, he forcibly stepped on the brakes, the screeching sounds of the tires trying to grip onto the road being music to his ears.
A split second later, two of the occupants jumped out to face a startled woman and hanyou, the latter unfortunately, quickly getting over his shock and was preparing his fists for the attack.
Inuyasha growled, his fangs gleaming white in anger, cursing to all the kami for not bringing his Tessaiga with him.
"Oh no, you don't." The man on his right said. "It's time to sleep now, Inuyasha," and from the inside of his jacket, he pulled out what the hanyou could only describe as one of the stink pellets Sango was most fond on using. He covered his nose with his large red sleeve in vain, but as he coughed from the irritating smells assaulting his nose, his world soon became dizzy, blurry, and then, black.
Mama Higurashi stared at the prone body on the ground, unable to even scream from terror, as the two men picked him up, shoved him into the backseat, and hopped into the car before it drove off at top speed down the road, disappearing around the corner.
"What have I done?" she whispered to herself, her legs feeling weak yet still strong enough to lean against the wall. "My goodness, what have I done?"
To be continued...