Disclaimer: Inuyasha and all the characters involved do not belong to me, neither does the original storyline. All credit there goes to Rumiko Takahashi.
Hello, fellow readers and writers alike! Thanks for taking the time to read my story! As promised, here is chapter two of Separated, but Never Apart! Enjoy!
Chapter Two:
Kagome opened her bedroom window and the familiar longing filled her entire body. She longed to run down the stairs into the well house and throw herself into the well. She longed to return 500 years to the past and rush into Inuyasha's arms. She could imagine him then, perched on the sill of her window, an angry scowl on his face.
"What's keepin' ya, wench? We've got jewel shards to find!"
She could almost hear him yelling at her, his voice fresh in her memory. But for how long? It had already been six months since Kagome had last seen Inuyasha in the dimension between worlds. Not a single day went by where she didn't attempt to get back through the well. She thought of Inuyasha often, but the tears that used to stain her pillow slowly dried to a stop. Her hopes were starting to run dry as well, but she still clung to the smallest sliver that she would be reunited with Inuyasha once more.
Sighing, the young woman returned to her studies, trying to force golden eyes and fanged, crooked smiles out of her mind's eye. An hour later, she gave up and threw herself onto her bed, remembering moments she had with Inuyasha and their unlikely group of friends.
It occurred to her that every time someone joined their group, they tried to kill Inuyasha. Or, in the case of Kagome trying to join Inuyasha's solo group, the half demon turned his claws on her. She remembered Shippo pinning Inuyasha to the ground with his statue and stealing away with the jewel shards to avenge his family, leaving Inuyasha to succumb to whatever fate fell upon him.
She remembered Miroku taking her bike and the large chunk of the jewel that they had worked so hard to collect. Inuyasha had hunted him down and attempted to kill him, but not before getting a taste of the wind tunnel's powers. She also remembered throwing herself in the path of the wind tunnel in order to save Inuyasha's life. But he saved my life so many more times than I've saved his.
Lastly, she thought of Sango, who was barely clinging to life through the aid of a jewel shard and her misguided hatred for the hanyou. Her burning desire for revenge caused her to believe Naraku and turn her giant boomerang weapon against Inuyasha in an attempt to avenge her village and comrades. Inuyasha had defeated her without causing her any injury. If we had encountered her earlier in our travels, he would have killed her without a second thought. He used to be so cold hearted and cruel, but he grew kind and just.
Kagome glanced once more at her open window and wished that Inuyasha would come leaping through it. She would hug him and kiss him and watch him sleep peacefully on her soft bed. He never rested, not when he had all of us to protect. The only time I really saw him sleep peacefully was here in my time, where danger always seems so far away.
As her eyes drifted shut and she started to slip into a deep sleep, Kagome could have sworn that she heard Inuyasha whispering quietly. Inuyasha whispering? Yeah right. Kagome laughed quietly to herself before sleep claimed her.
Shippo ducked as a large chunk of tree came sailing over his head. His tail quivered from the close proximity to such danger and he immediately turned in fury towards the one responsible.
"Inuyasha!" Without a moment to waste, the young fox demon launched at the hanyou, digging his little teeth into the older man's shoulder.
'Dammit, runt," Inuyasha sneered, punching Shippo in the head to dislodge him. Shippo flew off and hit the ground, tears growing large in his eyes. Realizing that he had hit the kid harder than he had intended didn't stop him from continuing his rampage through the forest that had once shared his name.
Shippo watched Inuyasha run off, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake. This was how things had become, ever since Kagome had left them. Some days, Inuyasha was quiet and kept to himself. Shippo saw him looking into the well with longing or laying a palm against the sacred tree. He even thought he heard him whisper to the tree once, but he must have been hearing things. Inuyasha didn't…no, couldn't whisper.
Mostly though, Inuyasha acted like he was at the moment. His angry nature would rise to the surface and he would wreck havoc on everything and everyone around him. It had been ten long months since Inuyasha saw Kagome; it had been even longer for everyone else who wasn't lucky enough to share some time with her between the worlds.
Shippo had grown up a little in those long months. He learned how to be faster and stronger…mostly because he needed to avoid Inuyasha after he picked on him, since Kagome wasn't there anymore to protect him. Being punched multiple times in the head was really a great motivational tool for learning how to be a more powerful demon.
A mournful sigh escaped the kitsune's lips as he sat down on the ground where Inuyasha had left him. His tears had dried up, but his sorrow was still present. I miss you, Kagome. He could picture her laugh and bright brown eyes so clearly that it was as if she was right in front of him. He felt like no one wanted him, now that Kagome had left.
"Sango and Miroku are all fussy about Sango being pregnant and Inuyasha is either sulking or beating everything up," the young child said out loud, to no one in particular. "I don't belong here anymore."
"What makes ye say that, child?" The kitsune jumped at the sudden voice, but his heart quieted down when he noticed that it was only Kaede. She carried a basket full of herbs that grew in the forest. He felt a mild sense of shame that he hadn't heard her coming. "Would ye care to accompany this old woman back to yonder village?" Shippo nodded once and ran to Kaede's side. He politely took the basket from her arms, just like Kagome had taught him.
"Ye must forgive Inuyasha, Shippo. Kagome's absence is tough on him. Even more so when he is in the presence of love such that Sango and Miroku share," Kaede said as the two made their way to the forest path. Shippo didn't feel much like forgiving anyone, but he knew that he was supposed to respect his elders. Inuyasha doesn't count as an elder since he acts like such a baby, Shippo decided.
"I'm not needed here," Shippo found himself saying. Kagome had once told him how easy it was to open up to Kaede and how wise the old woman was. "And I miss Kagome," he added, although that much could have gone without saying.
"Aye, I miss Lady Kagome as well, but it does no good to dwell on things that ye have no control over, child. Fate has it's own way of working things out." Shippo glanced at Kaede out of the corner of his eye and noticed that she had smiled when mentioning fate. As if fate taking his Kagome away was anything to smile about…unless she was smiling about something else…
"So, you think fate will bring Kagome back then!" Shippo discovered what it was that Kaede had to smile about. The prospect of Kagome returning, even if it took a while, was great news to the kitsune.
"I don't know, Shippo. The most we can do is have hope and hold it close." The elderly woman took her basket from the kitsune and made her way into her hut, humming a beautiful tune to herself. Shippo decided that she knew more than she was letting on and he took it upon himself to find out just what the old woman was hiding.
Another short chappie and I am sorry about that! But, it will have to do to keep updating so quickly! Thanks for reading, and I do appreciate reviews, especially criticism!