The darkness swept across Tokyo, brushing its fingers along the skyline as the flickering of neons and yellow lights dotted the city streets. It was balmy, so humid as the fat, graying cumulonimbus clouds swelled with rain. A few bursts of wind rustled the trees outside of the Sunset Shrine that evening. Kagome's parted window creaked as she peered at the Goshinboku.
Its weathered bark began to become slick, as the leaves wilted beneath the weight of the plump raindrops that pummeled it. The window sill was damp, holding tiny rivers of moisture from the valleys of claw marks left from a certain hanyou.
It was a hanyou whom she hadn't seen in weeks. Surprisingly, she had been fond of the time alone for the first few days of her journey home.
Yet, as she glowered at the books strewn about her desk she relented to thinking of him. A twitch of her brow personified the magnitude of irritation she had felt when she left Sengoku Jidai.
Inuyasha had driven her beyond mad, and left her stressed and her mood sullied. He should have known better than to say the nasty things he's said, and acted as though his whims were to be fancied while hers went unfed.
With a sigh, the girl rain her hands through her hair and slumped in her chair. She wanted nothing more than to be there with him. She had fought for so long to prove her point and her she was alone.
Her family, per usual, stopped planning their vacations around the miko and left abruptly two days into her return home. Sota had garnered enough points at school to be granted with an exchange program in a tiny town in Austria. Of all of the places in the world, he was tossed into Europe for three whole months.
After Jii-chan had passed, Ume and Sota were not often found at home. And it was fine with Kagome. The world had changed over the years she had spent in the past, and it was something she had accepted over time.
She had grown into a well behaved woman (mostly, if you only account for appearances in public out of necessity), and took care of the majority of the upkeep on the shrine grounds. Ume was most likely on her way home, but it would be telling when she would actually come back.
Knowing her, she was taking full advantage of her travels. It was something she hadn't been able to do since the children's father had died all of those years ago. And she deserved it.
Yet, while Kagome bustled about her old, pink bedroom, she kept feeling the pull to go to her window. She hadn't felt Inuyasha's presence she had been in Tokyo, and relented to the familiarity in the air. He was there. She knew he was.
She reached into her tiny closet and pulled out a thin cotton jacket. Peeping out the window, she had yet to see the man and huffed to herself as she pulled the jacket over her t-shirt.
On her way downstairs, she stopped in the kitchen and fumbled to find a flashlight and slid on her rain-boots.
She felt his presence fading and a small panic set into her. Did he already leave? She thought, scrambling for the door.
Outside, the small covering did nothing to guard her from the steady rain splashing on her bare legs. Shorts were not the best idea, but to each their own, she grimaced.
Squinting in the darkness, she flipped on the flashlight to no avail. "Where is he?" She muttered, pulling the hood over her head.
Curiously, the girl called the hanyou by name several times as she walked towards the tree-line. The rain drenched her clothing, making her heavy as she trudged along. No sign of him near the Goshinboku, even though her fingers ran lovingly over the scar he left behind.
The miko shivered at the chill now running down the ladder of her spine. Looking overhead, she was bombarded by a heavy plop of rain from the canopy. She usually kept an eye out for the moon, or the lunar cycle in general. Not only for her sake but for Inuyasha's and she wondered for a moment if it was the moonless night - in more ways than one.
Even though it was horribly wet outside, and she was miserable and wanted to crawl inside of her bathtub for warmth, the girl laughed quietly to herself. She thought of the boy with black hair and that awkward sweetness that she seldom got to see.
In that moment, she knew exactly where he had been hiding.
Quickly, she scampered to the old well house and cautiously opened the door. It slid roughly across the tracks as she peered into the blackness. The flood light from the house flickered little bursts of light, just enough to make out a figure.
And, there he was.
The boy was cloaked by his haori, much like it was a blanket and he was curled against the wall asleep. His hair was dark, slick from the rain that had leaked into the small shelter.
Gingerly, Kagome hobbled down the steps and placed a hand on his shoulder. To her surprise, he didn't flinch, didn't panic as he would have. He merely acknowledged her voice when she spoke, and parted tired eyes at her.
She could barely see his expression, but he felt warm to the touch and she glowered. "Why didn't you just come inside, instead of sitting out here brooding?"
The boy scoffed, as he always did, "I wasn't planning on staying. I just kinda got stuck here."
"Why did you come in the first place? I told you not to." Kagome's award winning passive aggression seeped from her pores as she pulled on him.
Following her movements, Inuyasha grumbled as he gained footing. "I wanted to come and see if you were okay and that's all. A quick in and out was what I expected."
"Well, that didn't work out so well for you because you think things through before you do them. Now you have a fever and don't lie and say you don't." She said in that cold as a matter of fact tone she often used.
"Keh." Inuyasha muttered as he followed her into the rain. Instinctively throwing his haori over the girl.
He didn't care that he was soaked. It wouldn't matter much once he regained the better parts of his gene pool come morning. He would be well, but Kagome would harbor her sickness for days.
As they stumbled to the house, Kagome shot him a glance as he passed directly under the waning floodlight. His eyes were dark and his long hair was sticking to his jaw and neck. She wondered if he knew he was beautiful in any of his forms, and forgot about her own discomforts as she slid the door open.
"Are you hungry?" The miko asked, flipped on the kitchen light. "You should probably eat something. I doubt you've had anything good to eat in days."
"Where's your mother and Sota?" He asked as he watched the girl lay the haori on the counter, dampening the surface. "She's usually here at this time."
Kagome rubbed the condensation from her cheeks and pulled the hood off of her drenched head, "Sota is gone for three months and Mama, I guess, is traveling while she can." The girl looked a bit dejected as the rosiness in her cheeks bloomed.
"Oh, so you've been here alone with no one to protect you?" Arguably, he had not visited her due to circumstances in his time, and he felt it inappropriate to acknowledge those things. It was mostly pettiness but some other important, or unimportant depending on how you looked at them, developments.
No, he thought idly as he watched her hands fuss with the kettle as she put it on the stove, they were not important. They were activities to keep him busy until she returned to him.
Despite not having his youkai senses, he could feel her tensions beginning to build and sadness manifesting in her gray eyes as she shook her head in response to his inquiry.
The very rawness of the humanity in him made him want to run to her and warm her, and absorb her loneliness. Had he known, he would have come and sat and guarded her despite his own pride.
Yet, he merely fixated upon the length of her dark hair as it hung in thick rivulets as it clung to her skin. The girl was shivering and she removed her wet coat, laying it beside the haori.
Inuyasha tried not to stare at the way her clothing gripped to her frame, outlining the figure she had grown into. She was cold and he felt guilty for her having to rush outside in the conditions that she did.
He acknowledged his own state and sighed. He was used to it, but it would be nice to put on something clean and soft and warm. He would eventually find where she'd hidden the clothing she had bought for him.
Kagome idly removed the kettle and made a couple of cups of tea, and sat them on the table and moved to the refrigerator and pulled out some eggs and noodles from the market.
It was second nature to take care of him, and she didn't mind. She did mind the way her skin was flush and cool against the fluttering of the aircon her mother had had installed in the kitchen. It has been a perk of having to remodel it after someone had gotten ahead of himself.
As it were, whenever the hanyou suffered the great disadvantage of losing his youkai blood, she selfishly enjoyed his gentle prowess and the ease of intimacy. His human hours were numbered and she would relish every second of this until she was given back the entirety of what she adored.
She was idle, making a makeshift bowl of noodles and broth. Vacantly, she hummed, warming her cold hands with the steam. Inuyasha listened intently as he raised himself from the cushion on the floor and pittered up the steps.
He was accustomed to the house now, with his own towels, his own set of human clothes and thought nothing of rummaging through the girl's bedroom for the things he needed. Tessaiga was placed against the foot of the bed, and his clothes were neatly folded along the top shelf of the closet.
He grabbed Kagome a set of pajamas and set them in the bathroom for her to change. The girl was surprised to find them when she peeked in to see him awkwardly fumbling with the faucets. She held a hot bowl of soup with a pot holder and gestured towards the bedroom. "I'll sit this on the desk, go ahead and get into those dry clothes."
Part of her was bemused and listless his lanky frame so cautiously playing with the new world contraptions and she settled her nervous heart. When she was younger, by a few years, the miko would have been consumed by the wanton of emotion that coursed through her diminutive body. It ate her from the tip of her noses to her toes, regardless.
Despite how miserably cold she was, or how pitiful the boy was with his low grade fever and snivels, she was content to have company.
A beautiful person for company was better than no company, even if it meant consciously biting her tongue.
Deep down she wondered if Inuyasha was naked. It was a scathing thought, but she had thought about it thousands of times. She was a human, she had wants and desires just like the next person.
She had dated a few boys but they were filler, boring, and not the man that she had melded lives with. A wrenching fathomless weight drew down her stomach and it caught her breath.
The water was running and swimming in the pooling in the tub. It was probably hot, frothy from the soap she used. Kagome snorted. She didn't know if the idea of there being a man in her house or the hot bath was more appealing.
For a moment, she closed her eyes and rubbed her own arms until she heard Inuyasha call her name briskly.
It sounded panicked and she quickly responded. Barreling into the bathroom, she found water spilling into the floor. Inuyasha screamed at the faucet and the handles, fumbling with them as though he could turn them off.
Kagome blindly reached in and flipped them off as she stood in a puddle. "How can you be able to adjust the water and turn it on but you can't turn it off?!" She groaned, meeting eyes with the boy sitting square in the tub.
She sucked in a breath and felt her cheeks flare with heat.
Inuyasha's body hunched over as he hid behind his curtain of wet hair. His features riddled with blotches of red and rosy pinks as he looked away from her. "Well, I didn't think the damn thing went the other fucking way!" He huffed.
His own body was terse. He wasn't the most modest person, but he had some-what politely covered himself with his arms. Why would she want to see the scarring on his body?
Kagome wanted more than he could give and she turned around, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You've taken a bath here a million times, Inuyasha. I really wish I could say it right now."
"Keh!" Inuyasha stared at the back of her head as the dim light enveloped her. She was still in those wet clothes. A wry smirk hit his mouth as he outstretched an arm. Water dripped onto the floor as he grabbed the back of her arm.
It caused her to flinch. "Get in. You're freezing." He said, tugging weakly.
The miko wriggled out of his grasp and found that familiar panic was settling in her stomach. "Iie!" She whined, flailing away as she nervously covered her ears in dismissal.
"Seriously, Kagome, you're gonna get sick and you'll stay sick!" Inuyasha snapped, "Get cleaned up. You don't have to look at me!" He continued, finding the girl's resolve wavering.
His hand clasped her wrist as she tried to walk away and he pulled her down until she was eye level - despite how much she fought, thank you very much.
Kagome stared at the tiled floor, brows furrowed in defeat. Her heart was rapt, shelling out missile after missile of palpitations.
"We've been traveling for years. You've seen me naked a million times. I know what you look like. It ain't hurting a damn thing. I won't even touch you." Inuyasha said, grimly looking at her ruddy skin.
Kagome narrowed her eyes at the boy and scowled. "Miroku-sama has rubbed off on you."
Inuyasha flashed a quick grin and loosened his grip. "You should think about all the times you've done un-ladylike things."
"That's not true!" She quipped, raising to her feet.
"Just get in." Inuyasha sighed, turning away from her. He slid his legs across the bottom of the tub and waited until he felt the disturbance of her feet hitting the water.
His human body was so weak in comparison to his usual form that in these moments of closeness, his resolve melded with his feelings for the girl. And he craved her presence. She was safety and he kept his word and let her slither into the bath and warm herself to the edges of her elbows.
In front of them rested the mirror, and she dared to raise her eyes and see him sitting there. She pressed her body close to the faucet as she tried to keep her distance, save for the edge of his knees barely grazing her sides.
It wasn't as awkward as she thought it would have been. She smiled softly to herself as though it had become s victorious achievement. She hadn't panicked as badly as she would have had she been that green fifteen year old girl.
Instead, her hands reached for the bottle of shampoo, that smelled soft like honeysuckles and dipped her palm into the water. Her head was still cold and her hair felt like wire as she began to lather.
Inuyasha watched her fingers and he astutely absorbed the way her body curved in that low light. She was beautiful and so fragile, in all honesty. Despite how hard she tried, the girl was still human.
He waited quietly, wanting to pour out his feelings but remained taut as she handed him the shampoo over her shoulder. It was a bit ambitious to think he could touch her, to slip his hands across her fingers accidentally as he had so many times to feel the smoothness of her skin.
Yet, he fumbled with the bottle causing the girl to turn her head enough to just see the corner of his face. It was still splotchy and his hair stuck to his cheeks like a child. "Are you having trouble?"
Inuyasha grumbled trying to remember if he took the whole cap off, or whether or not this one has a button thing to press. "How do you open this fucking thing?" He huffed, "All of your shit is different."
Kagome snorted and held her hand behind her. "Hand it here."
"Just show me, I can do it myself." The boy said, feeling somewhat guilty. He knew she would turn around.
"Inuyasha, just hand it here." She pleaded awkwardly, covering her breasts with her free arm. When she slid around, she fingered the button and it opened much to his dismay.
"Why don't you want me to see you?" He asked poignantly, now happily lathering his head with that newfangled soap.
Kagome sharply inhaled and hunkered down with her chin carving into her knees. Her back arched, exposing the notches in her spine. "Wh-why would you even ask me that?"
Inuyasha looked into the soapy water and shrugged. "There's nothing wrong with you, you know? You shouldn't be so shy about it."
"We've been through this before." She said softly.
"Well, we aren't around anyone else. I'm not stupid. I know at home you act like it's the end of the world. Isn't this what you wanted?" He asked, finding his nervousness quelling. This had been years, not days, weeks, actual full years.
He had shared intimate moments with her before. They had kissed, they had accepted those feelings silently within themselves.
Kagome reclined and felt moisture clinging to her eyes as she began rinsing her long hair. "Because what happens when we're finished? What happens when I ended up finding out that answer and it isn't the one I want."
The gravity of their reality drowned them as Inuyasha thoughtlessly reached forward and wrapped his arms around her small frame. His head rested in the crook of her neck. "Does it matter anymore? I'm tired of fighting with you and you leaving. When we're in your time, it's just you and me."
Kagome was rigid. She felt his hand search for hers in the warm water and he held it for a moment. In all of those years, she had kept herself together and every time he was human he broke down those barriers and absolved her worry.
"My feelings are my own, and I've fought them for so long. The idea of losing you after this is the worst thing that I could even imagine." She said in nothing above a whisper.
Inuyasha nuzzled her, "I've been waiting for you for so long. Whatever time I have with you is mine and whatever I say or do tomorrow, remember that."
He inhaled her scent and the softness of the soap she used and released her. He finished cleansing himself and sloshed around the tub. As he exited, Kagome looked away in modesty and held her hand over the rapt beating of her heart.
When he was gone, she didn't know what emotion was going to take hold. The sheer delight and giddiness made her belly swell, whereas the feverish panic and what-ifs tore her into pieces.
She hesitated as she finished cleaning up and hopped out of the bath. She found her pajamas laid out and she sighed.
In her room, she found Inuyasha with his bowl firmly grasped in his hands. He looked so innocent. His legs weren't crossed as they normally were, just tossed open with a new pair of black pajama bottoms that were still a little short on his long legs.
He had one of her magazines strewn about as she took her place at her old desk. Those magazines had been one of the tools she used to teach him how to read better, but like the children's books she brought to the kit.
Brushing the knots from her hair, she leaned back and felt relief hit her. This was the life she wanted.
She wanted peace. If she could have this man, albeit in any form, in these close quarters she would be happy. Tomorrow would bring the worst out in him as blood would sully his face and that long dark hair would become wilder, paler as the sun came up.
She wondered how it must have been for him, as she always did. Watching him flip through those glossy pages full of lipsticks and high heels, he stammered new words and sounded out the characters. He'd wrinkle his nose as he sipped on the half-assed broth she made and he looked so content.
This wasn't the Inuyasha the others got to see. This wasn't the Inuyasha that Kikyo knew. This was the purest form. The most beguiling of them all. He was merely existing in a time where he didn't have to endure the hardships he had grown up with, or remained in.
No. He was free here. Kagome quietly opened a book and stared at the pages as she tried to take her mind off of him. When she was younger, she would have fought him, still tried to shoo him to the well. Albeit, it was to save her own pride and feelings. But her love remained genuine, and now was tamed by his closeness.
Sango-chan never knew about the way he wore modern clothes and played video games. Miroku-Sama never knew of the way he would complain if she didn't read to him. And Shippo, the sweet thing, wouldn't know how loving the man actually was or what he really thought.
Time and time again, they murmured softly at one another until the clock signified how late it had become. Kagome offered Inuyasha's Sota's room out of habit, and he declined.
Instead, as the girl watched the rain patter against the window, Inuyasha curled up in her bed. She scowled at the amount of room she had left and let out a heaving sigh.
She hesitated to lay down beside him as he watched her move about the room. She turned on the lamp and flipped off the overhead light, leaving the low glow to illuminate a little bit of the room.
Her mind started to wander and she felt her stomach beginning to knot. Inuyasha merely wound himself deeper the covers until he eventually succumbed to sleep. She hunkered down on the floor and stared at his flushed face and rested her head along the side of the bed. She admired his features, that hung softly beneath his mess of hair for a few moments before she began to cry.
Nights like these made her remember exactly why she prolonged her journey. She could no longer wait for destiny to take its course. It would tangle her deeper into a web of unknown perils when the morning came.
She wanted nothing more than to intertwine her body with his, love him the way she wanted and to become a permenant mark in his life, much like the scar above his heart.
Everything she worked towards, and fought for, was laying there, waiting for the new day to fight for her and to rectify all of the damages that had been caused.
He was abrasive, uncouth, tumultuous. Above all, he was safety in a world she had finally begun to understand. His life was so disfigured by the blood he carried, and it often made her heart ache. That never changed.
Wiping her eyes, the girl drifted into her own slumber. Morning would come and her neck would be crooked, and sore as she fell limp against the side of her bed. Taking Inuyasha's place as the protector.
AN: Short serial story.