Hope
By: HopePoe26
Disclaimer: Inuyasha is owned by Rumiko Takahashi. I, certainly couldn't do this type of work myself, simply because I can't draw shit.
Summary: Naraku was finally dead and the Inu-tachi has been recovering the jewel shards that were missing when Inuyasha suddenly keels over in pain and falls into a coma-sort of sleep. What will happen now?
Warnings: Inuyasha and other characters here are obviously a bit out of character. If it seems that Inuyasha looks too weak for the moment it's because for the moment he is… but later on in the story there would be a more hands on Inuyasha acting out.
A/N: I wish to thank all of those people who have reviewed. I adore getting reviews. On the other side… I would like – if possible that you give me some constructive criticism as that would make the chapters more understandable.
- Part II -
Kouga stood before his family council consisting of his mother, his father and his siblings. From the eldest to the youngest, they all stared at him disapprovingly as he had just finished the story of finally coming to his senses and seeing what was right in front of him… Inuyasha and how much he wanted to be his mate.
His father just sighed and shook his head indicating that his mother was about to speak for the whole family.
"You are to marry Ayame. End of story."
"Why?!" – he asked wondering why were they punishing him by choosing a teenage girl instead of letting him go and make Inuyasha his mate. Never mind he knew that the inu-hanyou was nowhere near ready to take a mate.
"Because little brother. You're so insensitive and so incredibly stupid as to want to join for the rest of your life to a hanyou." – said a tall and broad shouldered youkai with black hair and the deepest blue eyes anyone had ever seen. Kouga just glared at his eldest brother.
"Is it because he's a half-breed that you don't want me to mate with him? Are you telling me that after all this time of preaching me about not hating and not being pre-judgmental towards half-breeds just because of their mixed breeding, you're now saying that he's not worthy of me?" – he yelled at them looking on to them and finding bewildered and annoyed expressions staring back at him.
"No. That is not what we are saying Kouga. You are childish. You are immature. You treated him like the lowest scum on earth for the three long years since you met him. You insulted his pride and his intelligence by stating your pre-judged thoughts about him just because at the moment you fancied his woman. And then he goes into heat and you suddenly change your mind because he's suddenly the right choice for you? Because he now has the ability to give you heirs, because he's a prince and he has lands that could benefit the pack?" – said his mother with a belligerent tone of voice. She wondered how her youngest son could be that stupid. She had not raised him to be a fickle demon.
"What mother is trying to say is that instead of him not being worthy of you it is you who is not worthy of him. For that reason if you want to court him, you do so without our approval and without the lands that are rightfully yours to back you up. If you want to honor your pack, you will honor your promise to Ayame. She loves you so much… but even love has its limits Kouga and she will not wait forever. You have until sundown to decide." – Kouga's father exclaimed.
When sundown came, Kouga had thought about all of his options. And he decided that he would mate Ayame though his heart told him that though his decisions were rash and foolish… and slow… Inuyasha would've made a better mate than Ayame. Perhaps… further down the line he could try and search for a way to make Inuyasha his mate despite being tied down to a bitchy girl who despite her good looks didn't have anything else that made her remotely attractive to him.
News traveled fast. One day, Inuyasha had just arrived in his brother's arms and the next the council was deciding about what demons could court the younger heir to the Western Lands. Sesshoumaru found himself a bit annoyed at how news traveled and who delivered them – he knocked Jaken a good one just for that – that he asked the healer to relay a message herself. Inuyasha would not be meeting the council up until he were better. When asked what that meant, she was simply expected to say that the young one was still in the throes of finishing his change and that he was not up to visitors.
But when Inuyasha himself began to be able to walk on his own two feet, Sesshoumaru decided to tell the council that any possible courtier would have to wait until Inuyasha was of age. The council grudgingly agreed.
It had been short of three months and still no word of their friend. So they decided to move on towards the Western Lands. As they arrived they noticed Sesshoumaru standing in an open field with Inuyasha sitting next to him. It looked fairly strange as the image they gave off was that of a husband taking care of his wife. And Inuyasha was no wife. At least that's what Kagome thought he was not. Even after the change, Kagome could not fault her heart for wanting him. Even if she knew that Inuyasha could bare children like any other female, she still felt Inuyasha was perfect for her. Boy, was she going to be hurt when she found out the new Inuyasha had no intentions of mating her.
"Aniki?" – Inuyasha asked as he stood up looking a bit out of sorts. He looked so cute that Miroku found himself drooling at the beauty he found in Inuyasha for as handsome as he were before, it was nothing short of who he was now.
His hair was longer and he was a little taller than he were the last time they saw him. However, even though he had grown up, he had not grown around. He was lean, more so than his brother and that gave the impression of him being weak. Something Miroku was sure that was not so. He wanted – so much – to caress those pale cheeks, those thin violet lines that caressed his cheekbones so lightly and kiss that tempting mouth. But he refrained from even speaking because that might make him a target of Sesshoumaru's rage. The Lord of the Western Lands wasn't known for his patience or his forgiving nature.
"Inuyasha, we've come to pick you up so that we may continue collecting the shards." – said Kagome and was shocked to the core – her eyes widening immensely when she saw Sesshoumaru snort in disgust and turn his head away from them as if they were no more than annoying flies.
"I appreciate your visit Kagome. But I'm not leaving Aniki to collect jewel shards. I fulfilled my promise to you Kagome, I no longer have to protect you because Naraku is gone. Furthermore, I am wanted here. I have obligations to fulfill here. I can ask Sesshoumaru's permission for you to stay a couple of days, for you to replenish your bags with food and water when you finally leave, but I will not go with you."
And with that he stood and looked up to his brother before turning away from them and leaving with Sesshoumaru's arm tightly wound around his waist.
To say that Kagome was stupefied was not a strong word for the emotions that crossed her face. Her cheeks had flushed with red, her gray eyes shined with tears she had not let fall just yet and her mouth quivered with the need to wail and cry like the immature girl they all knew she was. Shippou feared that she might crack under the pressure. He understood what Inuyasha meant by cleaning his hands off the situation. He didn't want to be caught in something more politically dangerous should he go gallivanting with them to hunt for jewel shards. And furthermore… he had extended an invitation for them to stay, but other than that he had basically refused any other association with them. Not because they were humans, but because it was safer for them to stay as far away from him as possible. That's not to say that should he finally be mated to some strong demon he wouldn't visit, but now wasn't the best time to be reunited with his human friends.
He looked over at Miroku and found him looking thoughtful at the path that Inuyasha and his brother had taken. There was a hint of lechery in his violet eyes that made him roll his eyes in disgust. As if Inuyasha having other demons looking at him like that weren't troublesome in itself, having a perverted monk lusting after him just topped the cake. Then he looked over at Sango and found that she was blushing a bit. Perhaps Inuyasha hadn't gone into heat before and now he was on the verge of doing so. He thought as he found how his companions were smitten with the young hanyou. How utterly bad for them.
He wished there was something he could do for Kagome and for Inuyasha as well – he knew he couldn't very well try and play cupid to make them attracted to each other, Kagome was already head over heels in love with a dream Inuyasha (Dream Inuyasha was supposed to drop whatever he was doing to follow on her commands and her wishes and proclaim his undying love for her) and Inuyasha had other things in mind. Unfortunately, he had to go. About a week ago before they resumed their quest, word had gotten out that he was the sole heir to his clan's land seeing as he was the only male in an almost all female community so now he had to go and learn how to deal with leadership and all that to ensure his clan would live on.
He had told this to Sango in passing and she had nodded saying that as soon as they saw Inuyasha he could go on his own travels. But Kagome had no idea of this and that made him a bit wary. He could sense that now that Inuyasha had turned her down 'officially' and was not going to accompany them – mostly they than him – on the rest of the shard quest, she wasn't going to be happy about him going somewhere else. She still thought of him as the little kittling she had supposedly 'rescued' and mothered and stuff from the beginning of their quest. But… he wasn't little anymore. He was tall and broad shouldered. He had grown a lot since before the final countdown with Naraku and whilst he hadn't participated in the fight, he had had a good training instructor on surviving skills. Despite that he had chosen not to use his grown up form and fool the others with his kiddy look, he had other obligations to fulfill as Inuyasha had stated. He hoped that someday he would be ready to honor the young man who saved him and taught him how to survive. And he would in some way he wasn't sure of yet.
But the blush in Sango's face intrigued him. He had never seen her looking like that. And he wondered why it was… it took a minute and then he felt his eyes widen at the thought. Surely Sango didn't find Inuyasha that attractive, now did she?
"How could he have said that?!" – and Shippou was reminded – once again – swiftly of Kagome and her temper tantrums and all that stuff.
"Kagome-chan, I think its fair to take into account that what he said is true. He only promised to defeat Naraku, he did not however mean he had to continue focusing on the jewel and I think that it is very mature of him to acknowledge that now he has other responsibilities to attend that are far more important than a hunt for the jewel shards. You are only upset that he has chosen to stay with his brother than travel with us. It is obvious that he is nowhere near safe if he doesn't have Sesshoumaru by his side. It is also safe to say that he is actually thinking about us as well, for if he were to come with us, he would not only endanger us; he would endanger himself as well." – Sango said after catching Shippou's look of surprise at her.
"But Sango…" – here Shippou could see Kagome's tears had not hold for long.
"No buts. I think its best if we go on our journey now. To go into the western lands now is a waste of time and knowing Sesshoumaru, he would not tolerate your outbursts for long before doing something that there is no guarantee that Inuyasha might be able to diffuse." – and then she turned her head over to Shippou and said…
"I think this is goodbye for us too, right Shippou?" – he found Sango looking back at him as if awaiting his response. An answer to what question he wondered, was it the voiced one or the part where he told her what he saw in her eyes?
"Yes. That's true. I've got my own affairs to see to. I wish I could stick with you guys, but my presence is most imperatively needed with my clan, so I will take my leave now. Goodbye." – and with that Sango nodded kindly towards him as she saw that Kagome was struggling to accept this new turn of events as well. Miroku looked unhappy to see Shippou go, but he did not tell him to stay.
At night, Kagome sighed and figured that it was a lot more quiet now than before because Shippou and Inuyasha were no longer there with them. Miroku was a bit more subdued now than before and Sango was so quiet that she didn't know if she were sad, asleep or mad at her for being such a pain in the butt after the lengthy explanation as to why it was a good idea that Inuyasha should not travel with them. It made her really sad to admit this but she was right. Inuyasha was better off in Sesshoumaru's castle where he was safe and sound from other demons that might want to take advantage of him.
She resigned herself to not see Inuyasha again and as she went to sleep, she felt her heart cry out in sadness at the obvious heartbreak she was feeling.