That night, he came to her in her dreams. It was just like the night they first met, except thi stiem, those golden eyes were accompanied by his fever-inducing body...but something ws different. As Kagome continued to stare at him in shock and wonderment, those eyes turned indigo; wings sprouted from his back, as well as a tail, and now Kagome gawked.
Inuyasha wasn't Ainu. He wasn't even human. He was the god of night! (duh)
"How could I have been so stupid?" She bemoaned, and he merely grinned.
"I can only come to you like this in your dreams...this way Kouga won't notice anything out of place." With a snort, he bitterly added, "Although I wouldn't be surprised if my continuing existence at all flew right over that idiot's head..."
"Don't just talk to me as-as if this were normal!" Kagome yelled. "You lied to me! I actually lu..." She bit off the words, blushing even in her dream, but Inuyasha was no fool.
"You lusted after me, didn't you?" The way he said it made it more a fact than anything else. "Oh, Kagome." Inuyasha sighed, touching her face gently. "You are so innocent, yet so..." Kagome said nothing, letting him wrap his arms around her and hold her as if she were a child. "You're right. I was not entirely truthful with you."
"The only truth to ever come from your mouth was your name, and even that was a half-truth." She said quietly, feeling betrayed somehow. "Why did you lie? Did you think I couldn't accept the truth?"
"I wouldn't condescend to you like that, Kagome. That wasn't what I was worried about, though. I was worried about you. I did this for you." He told her, resting his chin on her shoulder.
"And why should I believe that, Inuyasha? Why should I believe anything you say, or for that matter, anything you've ever said?"
"If you thought me so bad as all that, I don't think you'd be letting me hold you like this." Kagome snuggled even closer to him, liking how warm he was, but it still didn't change the fact that he was a liar, and she told him so.
"Then please, let me tell you the whole story. If you decide that you still want nothing to do with me, I will leave you forever." He swore solemnly, and at Kagome's reluctant expression, he appended, "I give you my word as a god, Kagome."
"Well...tell on, I suppose. I've got all night. Heavy sleeper, you know."
"It all began some hundred or so years ago. Ayame, the wind goddess and creator of your race, had a good balance with both me and Miroku. The sun rose in the morning, then set, and that's when I, Shippou, and Kikyou made our appearances as the denizens of night. Kikyou provided the light of the moon, Shippou the light of the stars, and I the contrasting darkness. My role proved even more important than Miroku's, as the people of our land liked and accomplished more in the night than in the day.
"Ayame, who had wanted a rest from her position for some time, came to me and asked that I take her place as the ruler. I consider myself a modest man, but I was so flattered that she should ask me and not some of the more suitable gods, I declined. Many more nights did she come to me, requesting this, until finally, I relented. Few days later, I was crowned."
"So...why is it that you are here now? I know that gods rule for much longer than a century, and Kouga has been Our Divinity since the days of my mother's childhood."
"I ruled for only two years." He shook his head, lamenting his short reign. "Ayame had had such high expectations for me...I felt horrible that I couldn't live up to them. Mind you, I did nothing like what Kouga's doing now—I never dominated the days with the darkness of night. I wasn't weak either. I was simply young, inexperienced, and foolish. Kouga was a friend and brother to Miroku, and he didn't much care for me. Miroku had no problem with me initially, but Kouga played upon his slight at the time jealousy that people appreciated night more than day.
"I tried to make him think better of me—both of them. I supplied them with an endless of women, wine, and wonderful food. I had fine garment made of the best fabrics for them. I gave them with the strongest weapons most suited to their personalities."
"But they still hated you, didn't they?" Kagome sighed, her anger at him gone in a rush of sympathy coursing through her.
"Nothing I did was good enough. They sneered at my clothing, refused my weapons, and broke my women. I had just about given up, when suddenly, Miroku invited me to his hall for a banquet. He even offered to have it at night, knowing my discomfort with daylight. Kikyou and Shippou were invited as well, and I suppose I should have found this suspicious, but I was so eager to have their favor...and they knew that, and they exploited it." His fists clenched in anguish, and Kagome twisted around to face him, her eyes moist.
"That's not right," she whispered, her heart bleeding for Inuyasha. "Inuyasha, please, don't tell me any more. I don't think I can take it."
"I'm sorry to have upset you." Inuyasha kissed her lightly on the lips. "Don't cry, Kagome."
"I can't help it. Injustice like that makes me so angry!" Inuyasha smiled slightly at her.
"Kikyou, Shippou, and I have recently been making some plans." He began slowly, like he was saying the words even as he thought them. "I've decided to challenge Kouga for the throne."
"That's wonderful, Inuyasha!" Kagome beamed, and he stood, taking her hands in his, spurred by her encouraging smile.
"The only thing I need now...is a mate." His intense gaze boring into her eyes made her redden terribly.
"Wh-who? M-m-me?" She stammered, her palms suddenly sweating profusely. "B-but why?"
"You are everything a goddess should be, and more. Even if it were not necessary, I would still want you for my own. By myself, I don't have nearly enough strength for the ascension into the pantheon realm. Powered by the heart's bond to another, not only can I enter the realm, but overpower Kouga as well. Kagome..." She was stricken dumb by the raw emotion in his eyes. His voice had cracked on her name, indicating that he was actually on the verge of tears. Kagome had never seen a man, much less a god, display so much fervor. "Please, help me. Be my strength. Be my mate."
"I..." How could she possibly refuse? "But...why does it have to be you to step up to the throne? Why not Sesshoumaru or-or even Kikyou or Shippou? Kouga did, and he's just the god of speed." Kagome had to struggle to keep her own voice steady.
"I must make up for my failure to Ayame. She was like a mother to me, Kagome—she wanted for nothing but a more peaceful world, the ruler of which she wants to be...me. I don't know why she puts such faith in me, even now."
"You said..."was" like a mother to you?" He nodded.
"She has gone on into eternal rest, but she still contacts me every now and then. I go to her shrine in Furano, in the center of Hokkaido, to communicate with her from time to time."
"Bankoutsu and I are headed towards Hokkaido!" Kagome gasped, and Inuyasha smiled, pleased.
"Then we will go there. Ayame will want to meet you, and verify the truth of what I say."
"Well...I do kinda want to meet her...but she doesn't have to verify anything." She looked shyly up at his quizzical orbs. "I believe you." Inuyasha stared at her, as though he couldn't really see her, and when Kagome was about to start worrying, he grabbed her and kissed her passionately.
"You, koibito, are the most extraordinary woman I have ever had the great pleasure to meet." He breathed incredulously, as Kagome struggled to regain focus in her spinning vision. Inuyasha paused to listen to something, then swore lightly. "Damn—the centaur calls for you. Wait for me—please?" She blinked, her eyes returning to normal, but before she could ask him what he meant, he was gone, and Bankoutsu was the only person around again. Kagome stared at him for quite some time, before she realized that her eyes were open.
"B...Bankoutsu?" She murmured. Had the dream been real? Or had it been just that—a dream?
"Who the hell else, crazy girl? I've been trying to wake you up for the longest! You better wake up—you're the one who dragged me along on this little excursion of yours, so there's no time to be taking catnaps." Bankoutsu huffed, and Kagome glared at him, rising to her feet to brush off her clothes.
"Well, excuse me for wanting to get some sleep in. It's completely my fault that I haven't gotten any good sleep in days, not your fault for always being so amorous. Please forgive me." She drawled, sarcastic beyond belief.
"You're excused and forgiven. Lucky you." Bankoutsu turned around, gesturing for her to get on his back. Kagome gaped at him. She should've expected sarcasm to fly right over her dense friend's head...but she couldn't believe that he was seriously this slow!
Shaking her head, she got on his back, and he began to walk. He was obviously in no hurry, much to Kagome's annoyance.
"Don't you think you could move a little more quickly?"
"I don't know why. We're just going to Hakodate."
"...Yeah...about that..." Kagome fidgeted with her fingers. "I, um, actually need to go to Furano." Bankoutsu's eyes nearly popped out of his head and he involuntarily gave a loud whinny that startled Kagome. She'd never heard that sound come from him before.
"Hell no! You must've clanked that hard head of yours on a damn rock or something! I already told you, Hakodate's as far as I'm going to go!" He growled. "You're really pissing me off with these unwarranted requests, Kagome!"
"You can't even spell unwarranted, Bankoutsu!"
"That doesn't mean I don't know what it means!"
"Why are you being such an asshole?!" Kagome snapped. "I'm just asking you to go to Furano!"
"And why the fuck is that?! All before you were perfectly content to just be in Hakodate! What brought on this change of heart?!"
"The old village is in Obihiro, yes?"
"Was," Bankoutsu corrected, and Kagome narrowed her eyes. Maybe it was the conversation she'd had with Inuyasha, but she was really hating Bankoutsu!
"It just seems like an easier trip from Furano. And then you can leave as you see fit."
"So that's it, is it?" Kagome shrieked when Bankoutsu dumped her off onto the ground, then turned to glower at her. "You want me to leave. There's someone you're meeting in Furano, yeah?"
"...WHAT?!" Kagome laughed in disbelief.
"Yeah, I'm not as stupid as you think I am, Kagome."
"No, you're not! You're even fucking stupider!"
"That's not a word!"
"LIKE YOU WOULD KNOW!" Kagome raged. "How in all the hells would I be meeting someone in Furano?! I haven't even been to Hokkaido in years! Who would I be contacting?!"
"The hell if I know!" Bankoutsu and Kagome glared at each other silently for a little while, before he said, in a more level tone, "Look. I thought maybe your attitude might've softened up over the years, maybe even more if we were a couple. But it looks like you're not mature enough to handle a lover. You're still a child, with all kinds of unrealistic fantasies that you want me to fulfill, but guess what, Kagome? I can't, and I won't try to."
"So let me get this straight, you pompous asshole. You were just in this relationship for the lust? You never had any feelings for me?"
"That's not what I said. See, there you go, blowing everything out of proportion like you like to do." Bankoutsu shook his head. "How about this, Kagome? You go back to that school of yours, and call me back when you're more mature. I think I liked it better being a nomad on my own."
"You—Bankoutsu, you cannot be serious!" Kagome spluttered, watching him walk away from her. "You're going to just leave me here?!"
"Like I said, if you're willing to be more mature, you know where I'll be."
"NO, I DON'T!" She screamed, scaring birds from their treetops. When Bankoutsu was out of sight, she bellowed at the top of her lungs, "INUYASHA!!!!"
Black Ice: That seemed a bit rushed, don't you think?
Blood Rain: Yeah...kinda. But let's be honest, ladies—you're with a dumb jock like Bankoutsu. Then a better deal, say, a romantic, intelligent dude like Inuyasha, comes along and basically says he wants you. You want him too. Wouldn't you kinda lash out at the guy you're with, out of frustration that you can't (yet) have the awesomer guy?
Black Ice: My. That was...quite the analogy. (whistle) Whoa.
