Kagome yawned and stretched, luxuriating in the softness of her surroundings. She blinked sleepily, and then jerked backwards in alarm at the gold coloured eyes only a short distance away from her own.
The sunlight was streaming in her bedroom window, catching Inuyasha's eyes at just the right angle so that they almost looked lit from within, like citrine quartz crystals. His gaze was serious, a little concerned, and she immediately felt sad that she had caused him to worry so in the last few days. Reaching out, she stroked his cheek gently, and smiled as he tilted his head to push into her hand.
"I'm sorry", she whispered.
"Keh. Don't matter Kagome. If you needed to sleep, then that's fine."
Kagome shook her head, pushing herself to sit upright in bed.
"No, I mean for the last few days, all I've done is worry you. I'm sorry I was hurt and that you've had to look after me." Kagome was surprised when Inuyasha shoved on her shoulder gently.
"Budge over wench."
She shuffled sideways on the bed a little, and he sat down next to her, pulling her into his lap. He bent forwards to sniff at her injured thigh, ignoring the indignant shoves from Kagome. Sitting up again, he sniggered at the glowering scowl on her face.
"So?"
He quirked a dark eyebrow at her. "So, do I pass the sniff test, Inuyasha?" She crossed her arms in a huff, thrusting her bottom lip out in a pout. "So rude".
He grinned at her. "Aww, c'mon 'Gome, I thought rudeness was one of my more endearing qualities." When she didn't smile right away, he 'booped' her on the end of her nose with his long, clawed forefinger. "The wound on your leg smells much better. Still a little off, but you're healing. And you've got some colour back in your cheeks too." He pulled her tightly against him, resting his chin on the top of her head.
"How does your leg feel? Is it still hurting?"
"It's fine", she muttered.
"Is that a Kagome fib? Don't think I haven't noticed when you do that." He tugged gently on one of her ears in reprimand. "You do it to your mother all the time; leave important stuff out, don't tell her when you're hurt, and I know you do it to us too."
Kagome wriggled uneasily on his lap. "It's just… why make people worry?"
"Kagome, I'm gonna worry about you anyway, so it'd be nice if you told me the truth, so I worry less".
"Okaaay, jeez. It was aching this morning after walking around the cemetery, but it feels a bit better now. I need to take some more of my medication with lunch, which will probably help."
"Alright." Kagome felt Inuyasha swallow. "There's somewhere I wanna go after lunch, back through the well. I don't even know if the place would still be here in your time", he said, with a sad note to his voice. "If you're feeling well enough, would you like to go with me? We'd be back by dinner. You don't hafta, it's fine if you'd rather rest here… I'd just, like it… if you came, I mean."
Kagome nuzzled her head into his neck. "If it's important to you, then I'd like to go. I don't want to slow you down though, I'm not exactly up to a ten-mile hike yet."
Inuyasha kissed the top of her head, then her forehead. A little puzzled by his silence, she tilted her head back, so she could see his expression, and he cradled her face in his large hands, kissing one cheek, then the other, rubbing his nose against hers. The faint rumbling growl which she had come to associate with his happiness vibrated against her chest. She reached up and ran her fingers through his choppy fringe, and then twisted one of his long side locks around her forefinger.
"Um, shouldn't we go downstairs for lunch, Inuyasha? I'm sure Mama will come upstairs to get us if we don't go down soon."
"In a minute", he rumbled. "I'm kinda busy right now."
"Um, busy?", squeaked Kagome, as Inuyasha nuzzled his nose into her neck.
He sighed. "I missed you when you when you weren't here. Staying in this room with you not in it just wasn't right. I could smell you, but I couldn't see you or touch you. I just…", he sighed again.
"You know I'm not good at showing you how I feel with words Kagome, but maybe… with a little practice, I could be good at this."
"At… at what?"
Inuyasha chuckled, a faint blush warming his cheeks as he grinned mischievously at her. Cupping her face between his hands again, he smiled. "One", he rumbled, and tilted her head to kiss her gently on the lips.
Kagome's eyes fluttered closed, her cheeks burning as she as she tried to relax her head into Inuyasha's cupped hands, so she could melt into the kiss. At first his mouth was tentative, a gentle pressure on hers, his lips moving softly, almost as if he were afraid he might break her.
She shifted her weight in his lap, leaning her hands against his chest and twisting around so she was facing him more fully, and moved her mouth against his, lips slightly open, applying a gentle cautious pressure, chasing his softness and heat. When he responded by licking his tongue against her bottom lip, tasting, she couldn't help but let a small whimper escape.
"My Kagome," he breathed, his thumbs sliding against her cheeks, caressing the soft skin. Kagome smiled, her eyes misting with happy tears. He leaned forward to kiss her again, first one corner of her smile and then the other. His soft low rumble vibrated against Kagome's chest, filling her with warmth, her body melting against his. Greatly daring, she slowly swept her own tongue against the seam of his lips, and the rumble escalated into a soft growl. He responded by nipping at her lip, his fangs scraping the skin as he pulled gently. Another soft whimper left Kagome's mouth, as a liquid feeling in her stomach tightened. Her lips closed over his again, greedy for more, and when Inuyasha's tongue touched against her slightly opened lips, she welcomed it eagerly with her own.
Inuyasha's hands slid into her hair, his claws scraping her scalp lightly, and Kagome wound her arms around his neck, trying to get closer to him. Even with their bodies pressed tightly together, their tongues dancing against each other, she still didn't feel close enough. Placing her hands on his shoulders, she broke the kiss momentarily so that she could she could move her legs from sitting sideways on his lap to straddling him, pressing her chest tightly to his. Her dark chocolate eyes locked on his golden ones, seeing her need mirrored in his gaze.
"Gome, what are you doing to me?", he breathed, his fingers gently tracing a path from her forehead down to her collar bone.
She smiled coyly at him, biting her bottom lip. "I don't exactly know, but I think I like it."
His eyes widened suddenly, pupils dilating, and that low growl was back. He grinned at her. "Come 'ere wench." His fingers wound their way back into her hair, pulling her face towards him for another bruising kiss.
Knock, knock, knock. "Kagome? Are you awake?"
Kagome's mother's voice from the hallway behind the closed bedroom door had them parting at lightning speed, Inuyasha rolling off the bed with a thud onto the floor and Kagome scrambling back under the covers, frantically patting down her mussed-up hair.
"Yes Mama, what is it?"
"You need to come downstairs for lunch. I read all the details on your medication and you need to take it with food." They heard her footsteps retreating down the hallway. "Oh, and if Inuyasha is in there with you, tell him to come too."
They looked at each other wide eyed for a moment, breathing heavily, hearts pounding, then broke into nervous laughter, hands closing the distance between them.
"So, you still haven't told me where we're going", said Kagome, her hands resting on Inuyasha's shoulders for balance as he sprinted through the woods, her pink checked summer dress hiked up a little to accommodate Inuyasha's warm hands on her thighs. The wind whipped her ponytail around, the matching pink ribbon she had worn fluttering in the warm breeze.
They had popped up through the well, and after Inuyasha had bent down to let her climb onto his back, he had taken off in the opposite direction they would usually take to go to the village, towards the hills in the distance. They had been running for about an hour, and now that the trees were becoming sparser, Kagome could see that they were almost at the foot of the hills, with rocks and grass now beginning to cover the landscape.
Inuyasha didn't say anything, but he began to slow down. He leapt easily over the boulders blocking their path and came to a stop at the bottom of a grassy hill dotted with pink and white cosmos flowers, their heavy heads swaying on long slender stems in the warm summer air. He crouched down, allowing Kagome to slide off his back. Even though they were now clear of the forest, she could still hear the muffled screech of cicadas in the distance.
"Did you need to take a break? I have water in my backpack if you need it?", Kagome asked, slinging the bag off her shoulder to pull a drink bottle out. Even though Inuyasha had said they would be back by dinner time, she just didn't feel prepared in the feudal era without bringing her back pack along.
Inuyasha shook his head and walked over to a large boulder at the base of the hill. He placed his shoulder against it, and with a little effort, pushed it aside, revealing a small cave, the top of the opening a little lower than Inuyasha's height, and about twice his width. He plonked himself down cross legged on the soft grass in front of it.
Kagome joined him carefully, sitting on her knees with her feet tucked behind her. Her thigh complained at the sudden stretch, but she ignored it, a little anxious at Inuyasha's continued silence.
As her eyes adjusted to the darkness within the cave, she peered in, noticing a pile of carefully placed stones in a long rectangular shape. Each of the stones was smooth and white, not like the dark rock of the cave surrounding it, and Kagome realised that they must have been carried here from the river that flowed near the village.
Slowly, she reached her hand forward to Inuyasha's thigh, gently coaxing his clenched fingers apart so she could entwine their fingers together and dropped her head to lean on his shoulder. She wasn't one hundred percent sure, but she could take a pretty good guess at whose grave was in front of them.
"Her name was Izayoi", said Inuyasha softly. "She had beautiful long dark hair and a gentle smile. She was kind, even to people who treated her harshly. Even though being my mother brought her nothing but hardship, she… she loved me."
Kagome said nothing, but continued to lean on Inuyasha, gently rubbing her thumb against his hand. He dropped his head to lean on hers, sighing gently. "She's been dead for over two hundred years, but I still miss her", he said gruffly, rubbing his cheek on Kagome's hair.
"Mama once said to me, when we were talking about Papa and how much it hurt me to think about him sometimes, that grief is just love with nowhere to go", said Kagome gently. "It doesn't matter when she died; she was your mother, and you will always miss her, just like I will always miss my father."
Inuyasha yanked up the grass blades next to him with his other hand absentmindedly. "I just wish I could have helped her more when she died. I was only a pup, not much younger than Souta. She was sick; I had tried to get medicine, but no-one would…" He gulped, remembering the angry faces of the villagers, yelling at him to get out as he pleaded for help, grown men throwing rocks and threatening him with shovels and scythes, driving him away. "We were travelling to the next town to find another healer when the snow storm hit. I found us this cave, tried to keep her warm and dry, but it wasn't enough."
Kagome squeezed his hand. She was horrified by his story, and imagined him as a little boy Souta's age, pleading with villagers for help but being turned away, struggling to help his dying mother, and then having to bury her alone. She buried her face in his shoulder, struggling to hold back tears.
"Inuyasha, I'm so sorry."
Not knowing what else to say, they sat silently together for a while, leaning on each other. Kagome had never seen Inuyasha so still, usually he was all bluster and impatience, but here he was quiet and calm. Looking at their surroundings she had a sudden idea. She gave the back of Inuyasha's hand a heartfelt kiss, and then let go, rising to her feet with an effort.
"Kagome, what are you…"
"Just stay there and visit with your mama for a moment Yash, I'll be right back, I promise." As she turned to leave, she stroked his ears gently with her fingertips, and smiled as his head moved to chase the caress.
In ten minutes she was back by his side, clutching a large bunch of the pink and white cosmos flowers. She sat back down with difficulty, stretching her injured leg out, and hissing a little in effort.
"Kagome…"
Kagome waved her hand at him, ignoring his protest. "Don't worry, it's fine. You'll carry me back home right?", she said brightly. She placed the bunch of flowers in her lap, and then reached up into her hair and pulled out the pale pink ribbon, looping the shiny satin around the flower stems and arranging it into an artful bow.
Shuffling forwards on her knees, she reached into the cave and gently placed the flowers onto the stones, placing her palms together in prayer.
She leaned as far forward as her injured thigh would allow, and then sat back up.
"My name is Higurashi Kagome", she began softly. "I know your son, Inuyasha. I thought that you would want to know, as his mother, that he is loved. He has friends and family who care for him very much." She felt Inuyasha's hand on her shoulder, gently squeezing. "He is strong, loyal and brave, and I know that you would be proud of him, just as I am. I will stay by his side, and he will never be lonely again."
Inuyasha helped Kagome to her feet and squeezed her in a rib cracking bear hug. He didn't say anything, but he didn't need to. Kagome understood, and she hugged him back, as hard as she could. When he spoke, his voice was a little gravelly.
"C'mon wench, I need to get you home."
With a little effort, he pushed the boulder back in front of the cave, hiding the smooth white stones and the delicate summer flowers bound by a pink ribbon from the afternoon sunshine.
The next day was spent quietly, tidying up around the shrine, chatting, eating, laughing with Kagome's family. It almost seemed like a dream to Inuyasha. He was so used to being on constant alert, ready to fight at a moments notice, that the calm friendly family atmosphere felt a little alien to him. The only thing grounding him was Kagome's constant presence, her scent, her smile, her laughter.
She and Souta were in the courtyard, trying to teach him steps to some of the bon dances.
"Okay, I was thinking we might start with the Tankō Bushi dance", said Kagome, tapping her cheek. "It's pretty simple and the actions are easy to remember. It's telling a story about a coalminer finishing his work and stopping to look at the moon."
"Yeah, that should be easy for me to remember wench, 'cause I know so much about coal mining."
"Bite me, Dog Boy."
Kagome was surprised and a little flustered when she saw the sudden wide-eyed expression on Inuyasha's face, a blush rising on his cheeks. Suddenly remembering the way his teeth had gently pressed on her bottom lip yesterday, and the way he had reacted when she bit her own lip, she realised 'oh, he has a thing for… um, yeah that's… oh boy'. Her thoughts took off on their own, and heat flooded her cheeks.
"Hey Sis, you okay?", asked Souta, taking in her flustered expression. "You're not feeling sick, are you? Should I go get Mama?" He started to jog back towards the house but was stopped by Inuyasha.
"She's fine kid, don't worry." Waving his hand in front of Kagome's face he grumbled, "Hey, Kagome! Let's get on with it huh? If I'm gonna embarrass myself stuffing this up in front of other people, I'd like to at least look like I know what I'm meant to be doing."
With a start, she focused her eyes back on Inuyasha. "Oh, I'm sorry", she laughed uncertainly, rubbing the back of her neck, "I guess I just got lost in my thoughts for a moment."
Inuyasha snickered. "Don't think I don't know what you were thinking about wench, 'cause I'm pretty sure we were both thinking the same thing." He grinned at her as her pink cheeks suddenly turned a shade darker.
Shutting her eyes and shaking her head, she suddenly clapped her hands forcefully in front of herself. "Dancing! Back to dancing!" She peeked with one eye at Inuyasha, who was still grinning at her.
"Inuyasha, you're not going to be embarrassed. This is meant to be fun okay? And you won't be the only one who doesn't know the steps. Tourists come to Bon Odori all the time, and they just follow along behind other people, and get the steps wrong. Everyone giggles, but not in a mean way, it's just part of the fun."
"What if I'm not good at having fun, Kagome?"
Kagome giggled at him, but after looking at his expression realised that he was being serious. "Hey Souta, it's a little warm out here. Do you think you could go get us all some cold drinks?" Grumbling a little about bossy older sisters, Souta headed back towards the house, and once he was out of earshot, she took Inuyasha's hand in hers.
"What's wrong, Yash?"
"I don't know. Well, I sorta do, but you're gonna think it's stupid."
"I think a lot of the things you do are stupid Inuyasha", she teased, but then when he didn't smile, she dropped the teasing tone, and stroked his cheek. "Hey, you know you can talk to me about anything right? That we were going to try and talk to each other more."
The corners of his mouth turned down in a frustrated grimace, and he dropped his head to rest his forehead on hers. "It's so different here. I've never spent so long in your time before, and the smells are different, and there's this background noise that hums all the time." He rubbed his thumb against the smaller hand enclosing his. "But at the same time it's peaceful. Your family is kind to me. They don't care that I'm a hanyou. There aren't any demons attacking us." He sighed. "Kagome, I know that's a good thing, but I'm not used to not having to be on alert, and it's makin' me think I'm missing danger signals, that I should be more on guard, and it makes my stomach feel all…"
He stopped when Kagome suddenly hugged him tightly. "If you want, we can go back to the past right now. My leg is hardly hurting at all, and I can bring the medicine with me. Let me just let Mama know and I'll pack my bag."
Inuyasha dropped his head on top of hers. "Nuh uh. I told you I wanted to take you to this dance thing Kagome. And I do. I want to prove to you that I can do normal stuff with you." Muttering under his breath he added. "Stuff that Hobo guy would do."
Moving her head so she could peek up at him, Kagome grinned. "You're seriously not jealous of Hojo, right?"
"No!", he scoffed, way too fast.
She dug a finger into his ribs. "You are! That's hilarious!", she giggled, looking up at his stony-faced expression. "Inuyasha, I don't think about Hojo that way at all. He's… nice."
"What's that sposed ta mean?"
"There's no spark", she tried to explain. "When I'm with you, it makes me feel…", her eyes filled a little, her emotions getting the better of her.
"Like crying?! That makes me feel a whole lot better, wench!"
She slapped him on the arm. "No you jerk. I'm trying to have a moment here with you, and you're ruining it!"
He grinned at her, and then coughed, donning a mock serious expression. "Sorry, carry on. I'm ready."
She looked back up at him, her nose crinkled in annoyance. "You're hopeless."
He smiled at her, tapping her on the tip of her nose. "And you're cute when you look like that. Makes me wanna annoy you more, just to see that face again."
"Oh really", she grumbled, trying to back out of the hug, but he just held her tighter.
"It's not the only thing it makes me wanna do", he said, dropping his mouth to hers.
Mama Higurashi stopped looking out the kitchen window, and turned back to Souta, who was just about to head out the door with three cans of soft drink held in his arms. "Souta dear, why don't you grab a couple of the cookies I just baked to go with those drinks. I'm sure Inuyasha and Kagome are hungry too."
"Sure, thanks Mama", he chirped, putting the drinks down on the table and walking over to the bench where the cookies were cooling on a rack.
Mama turned back to look out the window where she watched a boy with dog ears and long silver hair kiss her daughter gently. She smiled a little wistfully, and then made sure to bang the door against the wall when opening it for Souta, to give them a little warning.
Standing behind Kagome as she stood in front of the full-length mirror in her bedroom, Mama secured the cherry blossom kanzashi into Kagome's hair with a pin. "Are you sure you didn't want me to put your hair up dear?", she asked again.
"No, Inu… I sort of prefer it down now", replied Kagome, smearing some light pink gloss on her lips.
Her mother stepped back to take in the full view of Kagome in her yukata. The pale pink with a white geometric cherry blossom pattern and dark pink petals contrasted with her dark hair beautifully and accentuated the slight pink of her cheeks. Her periwinkle blue obi had a red and purple obijime cord decorating the central knot. A pair of plain black geta were waiting for her downstairs to wear when she left the house.
Mama nodded, pleased that the ensemble had come together so nicely. She had brought it as a surprise for Kagome while she was in hospital and had taken along an extremely reluctant Inuyasha to help choose it. His only input had been that Kagome smelt like cherry blossoms, and that he'd like it if there was a touch of red on her yukata somewhere.
She grinned, thinking back to their shopping trip. He had been even more reluctant when she had taken him to the next store to buy a yukata for himself, but she had insisted. It had taken a while, but she had finally tracked down a red men's yukata with a plain black obi for him. After making him try it on and asking his opinion, he commented that it was a little more 'breezy' than he was used to. After pondering his meaning for a moment, she had silently added a pair of plain black boxers to their purchases.
He'd almost balked at the plain black geta she'd bought, but when she'd mentioned that all the other young men taking girls to the festival would be wearing them, he had huffily agreed that he would try and wear them, even though they were stupid. She smirked a little behind her hand. Such a transparent boy.
She gazed at her daughter, eyes a little misty. Toshi would have been so proud of her. She was strong, capable, courageous and beautiful. She knew that eventually she would have to say farewell to this beautiful girl of theirs and let her leave this house to live her own life. At times it felt like it would be too much to bear, having to say goodbye to another part of her life with Toshi, but it was her duty as a mother to let her child find her own way in the world. And speaking of duty…
"Kagome my dearest, I can't help but notice that your relationship with Inuyasha has… progressed over the last few days since you've been home." She watched Kagome's reflection in the mirror, her eyes round with surprise, her blush almost matching the hot pink petals on her yukata.
"Wha…"
"I'm very happy for you both my darling, truly I am. But as your mother, there's something I must say to you. I may love Inuyasha very much, but there is no way that I am old enough to become a grandmother yet."
"Mama!", screeched Kagome, turning to face her mother with a scandalised expression. "We haven't… I mean, I… why would you say that!"
Mama smiled. "Kagome, I know maths wasn't your strongest subject at school, but haven't you ever wondered about the fact that your father and my wedding anniversary is in August, but you were born at the beginning of April? Your arrival definitely wasn't premature, in fact you arrived a week later than expected."
"Oh."
"Yes, oh", smiled Mama. "My parents had a lot more to say about it than 'oh'. I was almost eighteen, so it wasn't so very bad. And of course your father and I wanted to get married, and we were so happy to have you." Her gaze became a little firmer. "But you are not eighteen, not even seventeen yet. I know Inuyasha is much older, even though he doesn't seem so at times, but I'm not sure you're entirely ready for all the complications that sex can bring to a relationship."
Kagome writhed a little in embarrassment. Then a feeling of dread washed over her. "Mama, you're not saying that I can't be with Inuyasha at all are you?", she asked, her bottom lip trembling a little.
Mama Higurashi hugged her tightly. "No, no, that's not what I'm saying at all dearest girl. I would never try and keep you apart. You're obviously meant to be together."
She placed her hands gently on Kagome's shoulders. "What I'm saying is, I think you should just keep things they way they are now. Have fun. Try not to move too fast. And even though I'm not the best example of that", she laughed a little, "sometimes the girl needs to be the one to try and keep a level head, seeing that she's the one that might get left 'holding the baby' so to speak. Not that I think", she added, seeing Kagome's outraged expression, "that Inuyasha would ever leave you if something like that happened."
She smiled. "I've actually made an appointment for you to see my gynaecologist tomorrow morning, if that's okay. Sixteen is a good age to go on the pill, if you'd like to, and it would put my mind at ease. Just in case."
Unable to speak for a moment, Kagome nodded her assent. Even her scalp was tingling in embarrassment. Her mother had always been so candid about this sort of stuff, which in some ways made things easier, but her relationship with Inuyasha was still so new; they'd only kissed a few times!
Kagome's mother grinned at her. It was so easy to get a rise out of Kagome that she just couldn't resist sometimes. "Why don't you go downstairs and wait with that boy of yours while the rest of us get ready. I'd like to take some photos of everyone in front of the Goshinboku before we leave."
As she turned to go, she was surprised as Kagome hugged her tightly. "Thank you, Mama", she whispered. "Thank you for accepting Inuyasha as he is."
Mama smiled, and kissed Kagome's hair. "He is a dear sweet boy under all the bark and bite", she chuckled. "And besides, how could I not love those ears." They both sighed a little dreamily, and Kagome trotted downstairs to see if she could find Inuyasha.
She found him outside, standing underneath the Goshinboku, waiting for the sun to set. He turned to look at her as she clomped towards him a little unsteadily in the geta, not having worn them for a while.
"Here you are", she said, a little breathlessly, still getting over her embarrassment.
"Well, I thought it was better to come outside. You and your mother seemed to be having a conversation that was meant to be private", he said, his cheeks flushing a little.
"Oh, you heard that", she said, not sure what else to say.
He took one of her hands gently in his. "You know Gome, I would never make you do anything you weren't ready for." He looked down at the ground. "I may be a dog hanyou, but I'm not an animal. I can control myself you know", he muttered.
Kagome looked up at him with round eyes. "Oh, Yash, Mama wasn't implying that you couldn't control yourself at all! She just loves us and is doing her best to take care of us. I know it's a little embarrassing, but she meant well."
"Oh", he breathed. "That's alright then, I guess." Taking in her appearance, he smiled. "You look beautiful by the way. But I also think you look beautiful with mud on your knees and twigs in your hair. My badass Kagome, taking down demons left and right."
She smacked him on the arm, laughing at the cheeky fanged grin he gave her. "You're easy to please." She ran her hands down his chest, straightening the opening of his yukata, smoothing out the fabric. "You look very handsome. Red is definitely your colour." She looked down at his bare feet. "No geta?"
"Do I have to?", he whined. "Mama bought them for me, but they're ridiculous, I can't move in them."
"Where are they?", Kagome asked. He pointed behind the Goshinboku. She grinned at him, and said in a conspiratorial whisper, "Wear them for the photos, and we'll ditch them as soon as we leave the others behind. I don't care if you have bare feet."
He breathed out slowly in relief, and after retrieving them and placing the rather clumsily on his feet, said in a conversational tone, "So, Kagome, what's a gynaecologist?"
Kagome blanched a little. This was not the conversation she had expected to have before a romantic date.
By the time the explanation was over, and Inuyasha had learnt more than he ever thought he wanted to know about the workings of the female reproductive system, Mama, Souta and Grandpa had made their way out to the Goshinboku. The sun was just beginning to set.
"Shit", said Inuyasha, "I forgot to tell Mama about the New Moon."
Kagome looked at him, horrified. "Inuyasha, I'm so sorry, I lost track of time! I should have remembered."
Inuyasha grinned at her. "That's okay Kagome, you've had rather a lot to deal with lately. I promise I won't hold it against you this time."
After smacking Inuyasha on the shoulder again, Kagome looked towards her mother. "Mama, I don't want you to freak out."
"Why should I freak out dear?", asked Mama, looking towards the pair. As the sun slipped down over the horizon, she gasped in astonishment as she watched Inuyasha's silver hair morph from silver to black, his eyes darken from amber to brown, and his twitching ears slide and disappear from the top of his head. She moved towards him, her face filled with dismay.
"Inuyasha, are you hurt? Is this some sort of curse? Your beautiful ears, where did they go?" Sounding almost tearful, she passed her hands over the top of his head. "Inuyasha, you have no ears!"
"Calm down, Mama", he said gruffly, embarrassed by her emotional outburst. "I have ears, see?" He tucked his hair behind one very pink, very human ear.
"I don't understand", said Mama, looking between Inuyasha and Kagome.
"It's okay Mama", said Kagome. "Inuyasha is a half demon, remember? So on one night a month, he is human. It's dangerous for him in his time", she added, "but here, I think it's going to be okay." She smiled at Inuyasha, taking his hand. "At least the noise and the smells at the festival won't bother you so much."
"Yeah," he muttered grumpily, "but the food won't taste as good".
Souta and Grandpa were still looking at the human version of Inuyasha, slack jawed. Souta approached him cautiously.
Inuyasha grinned at him, and Souta immediately noticed the lack of fangs. "Hey squirt, it's okay. It's still me. Nothin' to worry about, see?"
"Does that hurt?", asked Souta nervously. "When you change, I mean?"
Inuyasha rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't like it much, but it doesn't really hurt. All my senses are duller, and I'm not as strong. I can't protect Kagome as much as I want to."
Seeing that Inuyasha was feeling uncomfortable with all the scrutiny of his human appearance, Kagome intervened. "Mama, didn't you want to take photos?"
"Oh yes of course!", said Mama, realising she was still staring at Inuyasha. She patted him affectionately on the shoulder. "I'm very sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable dear. I was just worried… and surprised. Very surprised." She looked uncertainly to the top of his head again. "They will come back, won't they?"
He grinned at her. "They'll be back at sunrise tomorrow."
"Oh good", she sighed. "Not that you don't look cute right now of course!" Still feeling a little flustered, she produced a polaroid camera from her purse. "Okay, seeing you two are already next to the tree, you're up first".
She pointed the camera at them, and Inuyasha looked at it uncertainly. "Kagome, what's gonna happen? Do we need to run?" She giggled at him and entwined their fingers together.
"Don't worry Yash, it's good. Trust me. You'll see what happens in a minute.
"Okay, you ready?", asked Mama. "I'm going to take three, so don't move. Smile!"
Hearing the camera whine, Inuyasha did his best to combat his urge to flee, while Kagome smiled sweetly next to him. When Mama put the camera down, shaking the photos to help them develop, he asked Kagome out of the side of his mouth, "Can I move now?"
"Sure", she said, pulling him by his hand over to Mama. "Can I show him please Mama?"
"That's why I took three", she said. "One is for me, one for you, and one for Inuyasha."
Mama placed the still blank photo in his hands. "Just shake it for a moment. Kagome will show you." She went over to take a photo of Grandpa and Souta together.
Inuyasha copied Kagome's movements, flapping the slick plastic. "Am I doing this right? I don't even know what's meant to happen."
"Look at the picture now, Inuyasha." She turned it over in his hands, and he gasped as a picture of Kagome and himself slowly appeared.
"It's a tiny painting of us!" He looked at her face, and down again at the picture in wonderment. "You look so beautiful; you're smiling!" Kagome giggled at him, loving that he was so excited over something that she took for granted. "Is this what I really look like?", he said, scrutinising the slightly bemused expression of the dark-haired boy standing next to Kagome in the picture.
"Yes, that's really what you look like, for new moon nights anyway. You look very handsome."
Inuyasha looked at the photo again and remembered the painting that Grandpa Higurashi had shown him, that had portrayed him as a demon, teeth bared, claws reaching out for Kagome. He looked at her uncertainly. "Kagome, do you prefer me… this way?"
Kagome reached up and touched his face. "Yash, I just love you. It's only one night a month that you look this way." She put her hand on his chest, feeling the rhythmic thump beneath her palm. "The heart that beats in here is the same as the heart that beats at any other time." She reached up to touch his forehead. "The mind in here, that thinks and worries and loves me is the same as it is at any other time." She softly touched her fingertips to his lips, and whispered "These lips, that kissed me yesterday and today and", blushing a little, "maybe even tonight, are the same. Do you see?" She hugged him, as hard as she could. "I just love you. Do you understand?"
He hugged her back, tucking her head under his chin. "Yeah", he said softly. "I understand."
"Are you ready to go have a good time with me tonight then?", she smiled.
He carefully tucked the photo into his sleeve and grasped her hand. "Ready." And then in an undertone so Mama wouldn't hear, "as long as we can dump these stupid shoes in the first garbage bin we see."
Waah! All that fluff and they still haven't made it to the festival. It's coming I promise! If you'd like to see what Inuyasha and Kagome look like in their yukatas, you can see my artwork here image/180845001983
Next chapter probably won't be until after New Year's, so Happy Holidays to everyone! See you in 2019!