Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or its characters. All rights to Rumiko Takahashi.
Chapter 7: Girl Talk
Kagome was waiting as patiently as she could.
Every few minutes, Inuyasha would complain that she was sighing too much or being obnoxiously fidgety. Kagome would only roll her eyes when he said that. Her husband was the definition of fidgety.
Rin and Sesshomaru had returned to the village not too long ago, and Kagome was waiting for Sesshomaru to leave so she could hurry over to Rin's house. Kagome wanted to know everything that had happened. Well, not everything, but enough to know where exactly Sesshomaru and Rin's relationship was headed.
Sesshomaru seemed to have nearly blown a gasket when Inuyasha and Kagome had met up with him and Rin right when they returned, and Kagome couldn't help but notice the way Rin had calmed Sesshomaru down.
As she and Inuyasha had walked away from the new couple, Kagome couldn't help but lean her head on Inuyasha's shoulder. Inuyasha drove her crazy almost all the time, but she loved him deeply.
Inuyasha must have noticed that she'd gone from annoyed to semi-content ridiculously fast. He planted a kiss on the top of her head and squeezed her hand.
"Where do you think they went?" Inuyasha asked. Kagome knew he didn't really care. He just wanted to help ease Kagome's curiosity until she could talk to Rin.
Kagome smiled. "I don't know," she replied. "But did you see the way they interacted with each other? Sesshomaru just seemed so…Zen. It's like he's a new person." Inuyasha just shrugged wordlessly.
"It kind of makes me think of you and me," Kagome said, knowing that would spark his attention. And spark his attention it did. Inuyasha peered down at her.
"Rin and Sesshomaru?" he asked with a scoff. "How are they anything like us?" Kagome smiled up at him.
"Well, Sesshomaru was a jerk before Rin," she explained simply. "Just like you were a jerk before I reigned you in." Inuyasha frowned.
"That is not true," he protested. "I was nothing like Sesshomaru. At least I was halfway decent." Kagome thought about his words for a moment.
"Well, you're right about that," she agreed.
By that time, they'd reached their house.
"But I still see a little bit of a similarity," Kagome continued as they walked through their door.
She turned so she could wrap her arms around Inuyasha's neck.
Inuyasha looked down at her, and she saw his eyes soften.
"Maybe just a little," he replied as he leaned down to kiss her. "But I think we're cooler." Kagome giggled against the kiss but quickly ended it.
When she moved to pull away, Inuyasha tightened his hold on her. "Where do you think you're going?" he murmured against her cheek as he kissed her again. Kagome knew by experience that she would completely lose all train of thought soon, so she pulled away again, this time more assertively.
"We've already established that you distract me," she replied as she remembered their trip to the beach right before they got married. Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "I want to be ready to leave the moment Sesshomaru is gone."
"Sesshomaru is still in the village," he said. "It'll probably be a while." Kagome frowned.
"Darn," she replied. Inuyasha grinned and moved toward her. He quickly caught her in a tight embrace.
"What were you saying about distracting you?" he said as he leaned toward her. "I think a little distraction would be good…now where were we?" Kagome laughed as he found her lips and enveloped them in a passionate kiss.
Quite a while later, Kagome figured that Sesshomaru was gone. Inuyasha refused to tell her if he actually was, and the first few times Kagome couldn't bring herself to care. Finally, curiosity got the best of her.
As she and Inuyasha let go of each other from the fun they'd been having, their children walked through the door.
"Perfect timing," Inuyasha whispered in Kagome's ear. Kagome tried to stifle a giggle.
Once the kids and Inuyasha were settled with dinner, Kagome headed over to Rin's house.
"Rin?" she called from outside the door when she arrived.
"Come in!" Rin chirped from inside.
Kagome moved through the doorway with a smile on her face.
"Hey," she greeted. "When did Sesshomaru leave?" Rin blushed at the mention of his name. "He left about an hour ago," she replied.
Kagome was surprised. Man, Inuyasha and I made out for a long time, she realized. She shook her head and tried to focus on Rin.
"Did you all have a fun trip?" Kagome asked as she down. Rin nodded.
"It was lovely," Rin replied. "We visited my old village and I found some clothing from my house." Kagome smiled.
"That's great," she said sincerely. "So…how's Sesshomaru?" Kagome tried to sound as casual as possible, but she was pretty sure Rin saw right through her.
"He's fine," Rin replied cautiously. "He was very nice today." Kagome was a bit flustered. Come on, Rin, she thought to herself. We need some serious girl talk!
"You know," Kagome began, "I have experience in the whole inu-yokai relationship world. If you need any advice, then you can ask." Rin met Kagome's eyes and did something completely unexpected.
She laughed.
"Thank you, Kagome," Rin said. "But Sesshomaru and my relationship is a lot different than you and Inuyasha's." Kagome was a little hurt. What was that supposed to mean?
Rin quickly caught on to Kagome's feelings. "Oh, I didn't mean that in a bad way," she quickly recovered. "Not at all. You and Inuyasha have an amazing relationship, and I envied it for a very long time. It's just, you know, Sesshomaru is a lot different than Inuyasha. They have a lot of the same qualities, but the things that are different about them overpower everything else." Kagome nodded slowly; her hurt feelings quickly receded as she began to understand what Rin was saying.
"You're right," she agreed. "And I think that's good. You and Sesshomaru seem to already have a really good relationship." Rin laughed.
"It's been a long time coming, but yes, we do," she replied. "I'm very happy." Kagome practically squealed.
"I'm so happy that you're happy!" she cried. "When will you get married?" Rin blushed like a madman.
"We haven't been together long enough to even begin to discuss that," she replied in embarrassment. "Of course…I want to marry him, and I think he has that in mind, too. Sesshomaru is always certain of what his goals are and what he wants, so I don't think he would have begun this courtship without marriage in mind." Rin smiled like a schoolgirl with a crush.
Kagome laughed. "You two make quite a pair," she replied. "I told Inuyasha just the other day that you just complement each other." Rin appeared to think about that for a moment.
"Huh," she said. "I've never really thought about it that way, but I think you're right." Rin's smile grew. "Let me add that to my list of reasons why I love him," she joked. Kagome didn't see that Rin was kidding.
"You made a list?" Kagome shrieked. "Kawaii! Can I read it?" Rin burst into laughter.
"I was joking," she replied. "I didn't make a list." Kagome frowned but that just added to Rin's amusement.
"We could make a list together," Kagome suggested. "Do you have any paper? We can start right now." Rin tried to stifle an eye roll.
"Kagome," she said before Kagome could begin searching for stuff to write with. "I'm grateful that you're happy for Sesshomaru and me, but…um, I guess I'm just wondering why you're so happy?" Kagome sighed.
"This is going to sound terrible," Kagome admitted. "But Inuyasha and I have been married for about eleven years. Sango and Miroku have been married for fourteen years. That's a really long time." Kagome sighed. "I'm just excited that there's some new romance happening in the village. Yeah, villagers get married all the time, but never anyone that I'm especially close to." Rin laughed again.
"Then I'm happy to help you in that regard," Rin replied. "So you and Inuyasha have been married for eleven years now? Wow, that just seems crazy." Kagome nodded. And what crazy years they've been, she thought.
"Eleven years have gone by but he's still at the maturity level of when we first met," Kagome said. Rin chuckled as Kagome shook her head. "I'm just kidding. He's grown up through the years, and so have I. I guess in a way we sort of grew up together. We were separated for three years, but we were married soon after I returned. That was right before I turned nineteen, and I'm thirty now, so I think it's safe to say that we really have grown up together." Rin smiled.
"That's nice to hear," she replied. "And you don't ever get bored of each other?" Kagome giggled.
"We keep each other on our toes," she said. "And we still have…fun together." Kagome's mind drifted back to the afternoon she and Inuyasha had had. A slight blush came to her cheeks. Nope. She'd never get bored of that.
"And you know, you've grown up with Sesshomaru," Kagome continued. "You must know him better than anyone." Rin's smile faltered.
"You're probably right about that," she replied. "But I still don't know as much I would like." Kagome reached over and took Rin's hand.
"Now that you're together," she began, "you should talk to him about it! He'll probably be more open with you now that you're officially together." Rin hesitated.
"Maybe…" she said. "I guess it can't hurt to try." Kagome smiled brightly.
"That's the spirit!" she replied. Rin was quiet for a moment.
"I had almost forgotten that you were gone for three years," Rin said. Kagome felt her heart ache. Those three years away had been beyond difficult.
"Yeah…it was hard," she replied. Rin looked at her sympathetically.
"And you and Inuyasha just immediately got together when you returned?" she asked. Kagome couldn't help but smile at that.
"Yes," she affirmed. "He kissed me on the night I returned, and the rest is history." Kagome thought for a moment. "The thing with Inuyasha and I is that we were always sort of extreme. When we argued, we were ruthless. But when something happened to either of us…it always brought us closer together." Rin looked intrigued.
"Like what?" she asked.
"He once turned full yokai," Kagome explained. "The first time it happened, he was terrified he would come after me. It took something extreme like that to begin to bring us closer together. Then…he said that he no longer desired the power that came with being a full yokai because he wouldn't want to lose his human heart…the heart that loved me." Kagome blushed and Rin nearly swooned.
"That is so cute," Rin cooed. "But wait, Inuyasha wanted to be a full yokai?" Kagome nodded.
"That's why he teamed up with me to find the Shikon jewel in the first place. He wanted to use it to turn into a full yokai." Rin was shocked.
"That seems so crazy," she replied. "It's just…it seems unbelievable." Kagome sighed.
"He was very different when we first met," she explained. "He slowly changed during that first year. His heart slowly warmed up, and he said that falling in love with me is what completely changed him. He once told me that when he met me, he had regained his lost heart."
"Kawaii!" Rin squealed, copying Kagome. Kagome laughed.
"We haven't really told anyone this," Kagome began, "but right before we were separated, we kissed for the first time. We were already in love with each other even though we weren't officially together. It took me being lost in the jewel for three days to actually get Inuyasha to really make a move. We'd almost kissed a few weeks before, but he never went for it again. But then when the kiss happened in the jewel, we were finally, I don't know, ready to be together. I think that's why it was so easy for us to pick up where we left off when I finally returned." Kagome smiled. "And like I said, the rest is history." Rin smiled back at Kagome.
"I love that," Rin said honestly. "It gives me hope." Kagome laughed.
"I believe that you and Sesshomaru will be a strong couple, too," she replied. "You two are meant to be together." Kagome couldn't help but notice a small change in Rin at that moment.
"Thank you, Kagome," Rin said sincerely. Kagome smiled but was confused.
"For what?" she asked.
"For always being there for me," she replied. "I was only twelve when you came back, and you always treated me like a half-daughter, half-sister. Even now, it's the same. I've always really appreciated you." Kagome was touched by Rin's heartfelt words.
"Aw, Rin," she said. "Thank you for saying that." Rin Squeezed Kagome's hand.
"It's the truth," Rin replied simply. "Also it's really great to have someone to talk to about Sesshomaru." Kagome cheered inwardly. Yes! She finally understands girl talk.
"I'm always here," Kagome reminded.
Kagome left soon after, and she couldn't help but feel a sense of peace. She knew that things would work out between Rin and Sesshomaru despite any lingering thoughts of negativity.
So Kagome walked back home in a good mood. She tucked her kids into bed, kissed her husband, and went to bed.
The villagers, especially Kagome and Rin, were all peaceful that night.
Little did they know that this peace was temporary.
To be continued…
Dun dun dun!
A sense of foreboding muahaha. The next chapter might take a little longer to upload. I have an idea of where the story will go, but I haven't even begun to write the next chapter which is very out of the ordinary for me…usually I'm working on consecutive chapters simultaneously.
So I guess we'll see where it goes!
And also, when I was writing this chapter and it came to the part where Kagome says she's thirty, I was just kinda like omg. I know that I wrote it and all, but it's hard to see Kagome as a thirty-year-old even though their my own words lol.
Much love. :)
