Inuyasha banged on Tetsuya's penthouse door. Tetsuya, for reasons completely unfathomable to Inuyasha, chose to live in the middle of the city surrounded by metallic skyscrapers and hardly an ounce of nature. When he heard someone grumbling inside as they slowly prodded to the door, he couldn't help but smirk. A moment later an annoyed Tetsuya had thrown open the door to stare disdainfully at his uncle.
"What are you doing here?"
"Why the fuck aren't you awake at noon?"
"That's none of your fucking concern, old man."
"Don't fucking swear." Inuyasha snapped. Did the pup have to pick up all of his bad habits?
"You did." Tetsuya huffed.
Inuyasha stepped passed Tetsuya and quickly turned his ring to unmask himself. The two hanyous looked freakishly alike. While Tetsuya had inherited Sesshomaru's stern face, he had Inuyasha's ears. Inuyasha had been about three feet into the penthouse when he abruptly spun on his heel, his mouth agape, as he stared incredulously at his nephew.
"What did you do to your hair!" He nearly squealed. Tetsuya's once long and nobel-looking silver hair had been cut short. Now, it barely skirted his shoulders and was cut perfectly straight across the bottom. The stern haircut only managed to enunciate his stern facial features all-the-more.
Tetsuya's eyes narrowed slightly. "I cut it, duh."
"You know what I meant."
Tetsuya rolled his eyes and strolled past Inuyasha, shrugging his shoulders as he went. "You should try to blend in at least a bit better, Uncle. Long hair makes you look like a woman."
Inuyasha wanted to reach over and smack the insolent pup on the back of the head. Instead, his lip just curled up as a small growl slipped past his throat. Tetsuya used to love his long hair. When he had been growing up, for the longest time, he had wanted to look exactly like Sesshomaru did. "You saying I look like a woman, brat?" He snapped, easily rising to the challenge that Tetsuya had presented.
Tetsuya looked behind him at his Uncle. His eyes were still foggy with sleep, but there was a distinctly playful glimmer in their amber depths. "No, I'm saying your hair simply belongs on a woman."
Inuyasha took two giant steps forward and promptly punched Tetsuya. He may have grown up, but that didn't mean he had lost all of his impulsive habits. Tetsuya quickly spun to return the favor with a kick to the gut, but Inuyasha caught his foot midair, a smirk apparent on his lips.
"Still not stronger than me, huh?" He dropped Tetsuya's foot and the pup leveled him with a perfect Sesshomaru impression.
"You're still not stronger than my old man." He retorted. His deadpanned face fell away as soon as he saw Inuyasha's jaw drop.
"Why you!" He had pulled his fist back, ready to dive into another playful rumble, when Tetsuya waved his hands in front of his face.
"It's too early for this." His words were harsh, but the small smile on his face told Inuyasha that he had enjoyed their little scuffle.
Inuyasha huffed and folded his arms across his chest. Tetsuya eyed him for another moment, before he walked past him to slouch down onto his giant couch. "So, I heard that you found your mate."
Inuyasha stiffened. "Who told you?"
Tetsuya shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "Shippo called."
Inuyasha bristled as he spun around to look at Tetsuya. The pup was ignoring him. He had reached for the TV remote and was currently flipping through the channels on mute. Inuyasha huffed and strode over to flop down on the other end of the couch. It was quiet for several long moments, which was an odd occurrence between the two rambunctious hanyous. While Tetsuya was more reserved and thought through his actions a lot more than Inuyasha did, which were traits that he surely inherited from Sesshomaru, he had been raised for far too long by Inuyasha not to pick up some of his bad habits. Finally, Tetsuya turned to analyze his uncle. His eyes were piercing, and Inuyasha couldn't help but be reminded of Sesshomaru scrutinizing his prey.
"Why are you ignoring your mate?" The worry in his voice was in direct contrast to the firm set of his jaw. He may look like his father, but he still cared like his mother.
Inuyasha didn't answer. He simply stared at the silently flickering images on the TV.
Tetsuya sighed and turned his gaze back onto the TV as well. "Do you know what my Dad would have given to see my Mom again?" The pain in his voice was all too evident, and it made Inuyasha suck in a breath and whip his head around. Tetsuya slowly turned to look at him, his eyes somehow all-knowing and far-reaching. He had a way of being able to look right through you, of making you feel completely vulnerable and weak beneath his gaze. It was Sesshomaru's stern glare mixed with Rin's kindness. It was debilitating.
Inuyasha fucking hated that look.
"He would have done anything. Anything at all. To see my Mom again." Tetsuya's words rang through the quiet space between them. With a pang of guilt, Inuyasha's tortured soul decided to hurt him some more. He knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that if there had been any way for Sesshomaru to see Rin again, Sesshomaru would have moved Heaven, Earth, and even Hell to get to her. Yet, here he sat, doing nothing when his mate was so near. Inuyasha turned so that Tetsuya wouldn't be able to see his face, his bangs effectively shadowing his eyes, as he weakly protested.
"It's not that simple." Inuyasha felt like he was cowering in front of the youngster, and he hated it. His hands clenched into tight fists as he tried to push his pride aside. After all the years that he had raised the pup, he liked to think that there were no barriers between the two, nothing that couldn't be said. He hadn't wanted Tetsuya to grow up without a family. Inuyasha wanted him to feel the love that he never got to feel after his Mom had died. Family was important. Yet, now as he tried to make weak excuses, he could feel his temper rising and his hurt pride swelling.
Seriously, why couldn't he just accept advice and damn his hurt pride?
"It is that simple." Tetsuya shrugged, as if it was the most basic concept in the world.
Inuyasha couldn't help but growl. "You know it's not." His voice was fierce and demanding, but it didn't phase the pup.
Painfully slowly, Tetsuya turned to meet his glare. With a completely level voice, he shook Inuyasha's once firm resolve. "Are you that blind? Your issue…" He blushed slightly, but his pitch never altered. "…Doesn't mean you can't have pups. It's not the Feudal Era anymore. There is technology that you wouldn't believe. You have plenty of money. The Doctors can probably fix whatever, ugh, the issue exactly is."
Tetsuya let his words hang there as Inuyasha slowly sucked them in. It was like he was swimming underwater. He felt sluggish. The words slowly maneuvered their way through his brain until they clicked into place, one after another, until he had the full picture. His eyes widened as he felt an intense flood of hope. His shocked voice broke the din, as his nervous heart questioningly announced his realization.
"I can have pups?"
Her arrow scorched a hole into the target. With a smirk she realized that her aim was getting better. That last shot was almost a bullseye. For the last several days she had been taking out her anger, frustration, sadness, and overall mess of an emotional state with her bow and arrows. It felt good every time that she slid an arrow into place. She relished the feeling of the taught bowstring when it was pulled back by her fingers. She loved the way her muscles moved in a familiar pattern that could never be erased from her muscle memory. Every single time that her pink arrow slammed into its intended target she felt a burst of pride. Her aim was improving, and her ability to channel her immense spiritual power had increased exponentially since she had started practicing again.
The cold of the winter air did nothing to stop the sweat from slowly pooling on her forehead. She wiped it off with the back of her hand before she reached for another arrow. When she had started practicing again, she had hunted down all of the arrows that she could find and stored them in a tall bucket so that they were easy to reach while practicing. With a slightly dissatisfied frown, she realized it was the last one.
"Better make it count…" She whispered as she slid the arrow into place. With a steadying breath, she raised her bow and slowly pulled the string back until her fingertips nearly grazed her cheek. She could feel the string pulling against her fingertips, she could feel the way that it gently cut into her soft hands, and she briefly wondered if she should invest in shooting gloves. She smirked and tossed that thought from her head. She liked doing it like this; it was the exact same way that she had done it in the Feudal Era. She steadied her resolve and willed as much spiritual energy into the arrow as she could. She could feel its power buzzing as it anxiously awaited for her to let it fly. She carefully aimed the sharp tip at the target, exhaled, and released.
With a resounding whack it slammed into the bullseye before the powerful spiritual energy began to slowly burn away the paper target. The small paper turned into ashes and she couldn't stop herself from giggling slightly as she slung her bow around her shoulders. This was the best she had felt since her world had been flipped on its head.
"Bullseye!" She cheered.
"Good going, sis."
Sota's voice made her jump out of her skin. She whipped around to glare angrily at him, the hairs on her arms standing on end. His heavy laughter soon broke her anger. She walked over and punched him lightly on the arm. "You scared the living daylights out of me."
"I… I… Just… Couldn't… Help it…" He managed to squeak out between fits of laughter. Kagome tried not to, she really did, but the sound of his happiness quickly wore off on her and her lips pulled up as she tried to suppress her own laughs, before she quickly succumbed. Their laughter bounced around them in a happy embrace.
When their laughter finally died down Kagome was left gasping for air. She shot her brother a look before she started to head down to the target to pick up her arrows. She heard shuffling footsteps so she looked behind her, only to see Sota picking up the large bucket and carrying it down to the target.
"I'll help."
Kagome nodded and bent down to yank an arrow out of the ground. They worked in silence for a few moments. Now that she wasn't concentrating on pulling back the string of her bow, she could feel the cold worming its way underneath her clothes. She shivered slightly, but kept her focus on yanking yet another arrow from the ground. She had missed nearly as much as she had actually hit the target. With her handful of arrows she walked over towards where Sota had dropped the bucket. She drooped them into it and they made a clunking noise as their metal tips made contact with the bucket's plastic bottom. Sota walked over and drooped his handful into the bucket as well.
"You've been practicing a lot lately."
Kagome nodded and walked back towards the target to pick up some more arrows. With a frustrated sigh she realized that a few had broken their tips.
"You're amazing…" The slight awe in Sota's voice pulled her attention away from her task and she turned to see him staring, in wonder, at an arrow. "You somehow make this glow. You took down demons with these things…" His eyes rose to meet hers and he dropped the arrow into the bucket. "I don't know why I looked up to Inuyasha so much, I should have looked up to you. Seriously, look at what you can do!" Sota pointed towards the destroyed remnants of the target.
Kagome blushed at her brother's praise and quickly turned to yank an arrow out of the ground. It was stuck in a bit deeper than the others, and she had to really pull on its shaft in order to tear it from where it was logged in the ground. With a grunt, she yanked it from the ground, nearly falling onto her butt in the process.
With a huff, her blush still tainting her cheeks, she turned to look back at her brother. "I'm not that strong."
Sota shook his head. "You are though. Don't talk down about yourself. I remember every story that you ever told me about the Feudal Era. When you were back here for those three years, I couldn't get enough of those stories. You're strong and you know it!"
Kagome's blush grew as she resisted the urge to hug him. "I'm not weak… But, I stopped practicing. It was like I almost forgot how to use my powers. It was like I was trying to lock that part of myself away. That was a mistake. This is who I am… I don't know why I was so scared to be who I am."
"I just don't think that you wanted to remember… You wanted to forget."
Kagome's hand tightened around the arrow that she held. "Maybe so, but that doesn't make it right." Kagome strode over and dropped the arrow into the bucket. "You know, I get why you still look up to Inuyasha."
Sota's face flushed and he waved his hands defensively in front of his face. Kagome giggled slightly, which seemed to confuse him.
"There's no need to deny it. It's okay. He was your childhood hero, and he was amazing. He was strong, unique, brash, and you two always had fun together. He was like a real-life superhero. I can see it in you even now. The way you push yourself in karate, the way you strive to always become stronger, even in the way you defend me. You are a lot like him."
Sota grimaced and turned away from her to pick up another arrow. "What are you going to do Kagome? Are you going to find him? Are you…" Sota hesitated. His knuckles turned white as his fists tightened. "Are you going to go back to him?"
Kagome frowned and looked away. Her head swam with memories. The good, the bad, and all the in-between floated in her mind's eye. She didn't know what to feel. She wasn't sure what to think. Inuyasha was alive. He was out there, somewhere, avoiding her. "I… I don't know."
"Maybe you should give this Daichi guy a chance?"
Kagome's head shot up to look at her brother. Her eyes were wide. She hadn't told Sota about him yet.
Sota laughed. "I saw a missed text from him on your phone the other night. You had left it in the kitchen, remember? Plus, I heard Shippo say something to you about a Daichi."
Kagome blushed and nodded. "He's… Just a friend."
Sota gave her a knowing look. "I just want you to be happy. No matter what happens. I hate what Inuyasha did to you, I saw the way that he destroyed you, I saw how much pain he put you through. If this Daichi guy makes you happy, then maybe you should give him a chance."
Kagome was about to respond when she felt a pricking sensation. It tingled down her spine, putting her spiritual powers on full alert. The hairs on her arms rose and she stilled as she pushed out her powers to search the area. There were no demons… But, there was definitely something off. Sota stilled and his eyes widened slightly at the change in his sister's demeanor. Kagome's eyes narrowed, and she felt her powers nearly pulse around her as her power swirled up inside of her.
She heard a twig break and someone cleared their throat. Slowly, she turned around to face the newcomer. He looked normal. He was of average build and height, but he had unique white spiky hair. If she had to guess, he was maybe around thirty years old. What was most startling about him though, was the staff that he carried.
Miroku…
She shook the image of Miroku's smiling face from her mind as she forced herself to focus on the odd man before her. As innocent as he appeared, there was something off about him. Her senses were tingling.
What was someone with a Buddhist monk's staff doing at a Shinto shrine?
"Hello, are you the people who care for this shrine?" His voice was deep and rough.
Sota walked up to stand beside her. His eyes flicked to her before he looked back at the man. "Yes, we are. Our family cares for this shrine." He stated matter-of-factly.
"Ah…" The man looked around. The wind softly blew the circlets on his staff, making them chime as they gently clicked against the metal. "It's such a lovely shrine. I've passed it many times, but this is the first time that I've visited."
Kagome forced on a smile. "Well, I'm glad that you decided to visit."
His eyes widened sightly as he stared at her, before they narrowed and his grip on his staff tightened ever-so-slightly. "So am I."
Kagome's smile faltered slightly. There was something vibrating against her own powers. It was like a hissing noise that only she could hear. She flexed her powers a bit more and concentrated them on the man before her.
He wasn't the source.
The soft wind made the circlets clink once again, which gave her an idea. She refocused her powers on his staff, and the odd hissing noise grew louder. She could feel a power that was pushing back against her own. She gasped slightly, and the small sound alerted her brother.
"Anyway, thank you for visiting. My sister and I have chores that we need to do around the shrine." Sota lifted up the bucket full of arrows that she hadn't realized that he had carried over.
"Of course, of course. Thank you for your time." The man stared at her for another agonizingly long moment, before he turned and began to walk back towards the entrance of the shrine. As soon as he was gone, Sota turned to look at her with one eyebrow raised in worry.
"What was that all about?"
Kagome frowned. "I don't know, but there was something wrong with him. His staff it…"
"It what?" Sota dropped the bucket beside a shed and they started to walk to the house, their chores long forgotten.
"It hissed at me…" Kagome's frown deepened. "There was something magical, something demonic, about his staff. I could sense it." She grabbed her brother's upper arm, and her fingers dug into his muscle a bit hard. She pinned him with a serious look. "If you ever see that man again, or anyone like him, do not talk to them." Her grip tightened a little bit more and his eyes widened. "You call me or Shippo right away. Do you understand?" Fire burned in her eyes as her words broke over him. Worry bubbled up in her stomach. She had never really had to worry about her family getting hurt before. Sure, she worried about her friends in the Feudal Era. They had been up against demons all the time. But, they could take care of themselves. Sota and Nao weren't like them. They weren't used to demonic attacks. They weren't used to any kind of attacks. While Kagome was sure that the man had been human, his hissing staff was definitely abnormal and screamed of danger.
It was like it was begging for blood.
Sota numbly nodded. "Okay, I will sis." She let go of his arm and his once timid smile grew as he puffed out his chest. "You know, I'm not as defenseless as you think I am."
Kagome smirked and lightly punched him on the arm. "Yea, yea. Keep up those training sessions with Shippo and maybe I'll believe you."
Kagome laughed at his bug-eyed look as he tried to announce that he was already strong. Her chime-like laughter just continued to ring out as she walked into the house.
Shippo hung up the phone, a small smile on his face. He had just finished talking to Kagome. It was the first time that she had talked to him since his big reveal, and to say that he was relieved would be an understatement. He strode over to the couch and flopped down beside his mate. She giggled as he quickly snuggled up against her. His clawed hand rested on her ever-growing stomach as his lips quickly sought out the juncture of her neck.
Satori's laughter was like honey.
"What did Kagome want?"
Shippo nuzzled against her mark, a soft purr-like noise rumbling up through his throat. She placed her small hand on his vibrating chest and leaned her head against his. "She wanted to set up some training sessions for Sota…" His voice was muffled by her hair.
"That's a start."
His fingers traced lazy circles on her belly. With her other hand she reached down to pull her shirt up over her swollen stomach so that she could feel his delicate touch better. He smirked into her hair as he moved his hand onto her soft skin. There was a slight push against his palm as the kit kicked.
"I want to see her again."
Satori's fingers dug slightly into his muscled chest. "I know… She's just adjusting. Give her a little time."
He nodded. He continued to draw lazy circles on her stomach as he took in deep, comforting breaths of her scent. He fucking loved her. "I know, you're right."
She turned slightly to kiss his forehead, before she once again rested her head against his. Happiness surrounded them. To Shippo, it felt like the entire world was glowing. Kagome was back in his life. He had a breathtaking mate who was pregnant with their very first kit. The kit's gentle movements inside of her stomach simply amazed him. He didn't know how life could get any better.
He sat up slightly and placed his hands on each side of her face. Her cheeks flushed adorably as her beautiful emerald eyes met his. He leaned in and kissed her deeply. Her soft lips parted for him, and he greedily explored her mouth with his tongue. He leaned back, his chest puffing out ever-so-slightly as pride swelled within him at his mate's breathless state.
"I love you, Satori." His words came out deep and breathy.
"I know…" She whispered, before she closed the gap between them and pressed her lips once more against his.
On Wednesday, Kagome made her way to the cafe. She was unreasonably nervous to see Daichi again. When she walked in, she found him already waiting for her as usual. He smiled and waved at her. She waved back and quickly made her way over. The waitress came over to take her order as soon as she sat down. With her coffee ordered, they sat and just looked at each other.
In all honesty, it was kind of awkward. It was like neither knew exactly how to begin the conversation that they both knew that they needed to have.
The waitress came to set her coffee down in front of her, and Kagome quickly wrapped her arms around the steaming mug. The smell of the fresh coffee brought her comfort. Daichi's smile grew when he saw her relax.
"So…" He began.
"So…" She lifted the mug to hide her smirk. The way he looked at her… She couldn't describe it. There was something smoldering in his eyes.
He looked around to check if anyone was close enough to overhear their conversation. "So, we have a lot to talk about."
She nodded as her stomach somersaulted.
"Yea, we do."
His eyes seemed to search hers, and his grip tightened around his mug. Her eyes were drawn to his ring, the telltale sign of what he truly was. When she looked back at him, for the briefest of moments, she saw his black cat ears. She had only caught a glimpse of his true self that one time, and she found herself wishing that he could be unmasked here. She liked the way that he really looked in his true hanyou form, much more than the human guise that he currently wore.
"Where should we start?" Her voice came out like a whisper. For no logical reason at all, she felt completely breathless.
"How about from the beginning? I remember, that very first time that we came here together. You were about to say something. You slipped up. You held something back. How about we start with the truth?"
Kagome blushed, surprised that he remembered her little slip-up from weeks ago when she had nearly said the words 'Feudal Era'. "You just need to promise me one thing…"
"What?" He leaned forward slightly, his curiosity spiked. Kagome just knew, that if he was in his hanyou form, his ears would be at full-attention as they pointed straight at her.
She took a deep breath and steadied him with the most serious look that she could conjure. "That you'll believe me."
His eyes widened slightly. "Of course I'll believe you."
His matter-of-fact tone made her smile. He was so sure of himself. He was so sure that he would believe what she was about to tell him. Kagome smiled knowingly. She knew, even if he wanted to believe her, that what she was about to say would still come as a complete shock. She steadied herself and took a few deep breaths. It was time to come clean. It was time for her, for the very first time, to tell someone other than her family about the Feudal Era. She had never told any of her friends. She had never told anyone the stories of her adventures besides her family. Her hands trembled slightly, so she tightened her grip around her mug.
She looked around them one more time to double check that no one was listening. "I'm going to tell you a story… And as unbelievable and impossible as it sounds, I need you to know that everything I'm about to tell you is the truth." He nodded, his eagerness clearly visible in the goofy smile plastered on his face. "One day, a girl who lived at a shrine went into the well-house to help her brother." She took a sip of her coffee as she mentally prepared herself for the long story she was about to tell. She decided to tell her story as if she was reading it in a book. That way, if anyone was listening, they would just think that she was telling him about some absurd novel that she had read. She really didn't need anyone to think that she had gone crazy. The corners of his lips pulled up encouragingly, so she continued. "She heard a scratching noise from inside the well, so she took a few steps closer to it and suddenly these disgusting arms reached up and pulled her into the well. The creature tried to kill her, it tried to take something called the 'Sacred Jewel' from her. But, she put her hands on it and they glowed pink, pushing the creature away. When she landed on the bottom of the well she looked up, only to see the sky instead of the well-house's ceiling." She paused for a minute to let that sink in. His face was slightly pinched up as he soaked in the little bit that she had told him. "The girl later found out that she had traveled 500 years in the past, to the Feudal Era."
They sat there for nearly three hours as she told her story. He only interjected a few times to ask questions to clarify a few events. He, amazingly, took it all in stride. She told him everything. Everything, except the most important part. Her mark was aching the entire time, but it was bearable. She, of course, told him about Inuyasha… But, she kind of left out her entire romance with Inuyasha. She wasn't even sure why…
Well, that's a lie… She knew why she left out the infuriating hanyou. She knew why she didn't tell Daichi about the way her heart had hurt when Inuyasha had run off to Kikyo. She didn't tell him about how it felt to kiss Inuyasha right before she made the final wish on the jewel. She didn't tell him about how much she loved him, about how her love never faded for the three years that she had been stuck in the present. She didn't tell him about becoming Inuyasha's mate when she went back to the Feudal Era. She left it all out because… Well…
She was starting to like him and she couldn't fool herself about it any longer.
When she had finished, Daichi sat there staring at her, wide-eyed. Eventually, he managed to trip over a few words. "You… You knew the Hero of Japan?"
It took Kagome a few awkward moments to realize that he was talking about Sesshomaru. She giggled softly. "You mean Sesshomaru?"
Her nearly balked at her using his name so informally. "Um, yea." He muttered.
"Back then, I never would have guessed that he would gain the title Hero of Japan. He nearly killed his own brother once." Kagome laughed a bit more. "Well, I guess Inuyasha cut off his arm first."
"It's… Amazing." He muttered. He reached over and lightly placed his hand on top of hers. Her skin tingled at his touch. He looked endearingly nervous. "You're the priestess in the legends. You're amazing…" His eyes locked onto hers, and for a moment she couldn't breath. Her mark hurt, but all she could think about was Daichi.
The waitress came to collect their empty mugs, and her quick intrusion broke the trance that she was in. She blushed, all of a sudden feeling heated and flushed. "There's a legend about me?"
He nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, about your group. It's about your final confrontation with Naraku. Even though… They sure missed a lot of details." He winked at her and, with a quick movement, seamlessly entwined their fingers. Kagome's heart sped up, and her blush deepened.
"You really believe me…" She couldn't help the thread of amazement that worked its way into her voice. It felt like a giant weight had been lifted off of her chest, yet another still hung around her neck.
"Of course I believe you, I…" His mouth slammed shut, as if he just caught himself about to say something that he shouldn't. He blushed and slowly withdrew his hand from hers. She rose an eyebrow questionably, but he didn't finish his sentence. Her hand ached where he had touched it. It longed for his touch. Her mark scorched her neck and she quickly pulled her hand away and shoved both of them underneath the table. "I, um, better start heading back to work. I'm pretty late as it is." He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Walk out with me?"
Kagome nodded and they both stood up. As they walked out of the cafe, their hands gently brushed against each other's, which sent warm tingles up the length of her arm. They took a few steps outside of the door and just stood there for a few moments, neither truly wanting to leave the other's company. Kagome was about to say goodbye, when he gently grasped her hand and turned to look at her.
"Kagome… Thank you for telling me all of that."
She smiled warmly at him. He looked nervous, but she couldn't figure out why.
He squeezed her hand a bit tighter. "I'm really glad that you trusted me enough to tell me all of that. I'm so happy that you accept me for what I am… Kagome, I… I like you." His eyes met hers and that smoldering look, that she had seen in them earlier, had returned with a vibrant ferocity that took her breath away. He squeezed her hand once more before he let it go. It fell numbly to her side while his words rocketed around in her brain. "See you later, Kagome." He took a step away, and a smirk graced his face as he stared at her shocked expression.
He was already walking away when she was finally able to force words past her now parched mouth. "See you later, Daichi."
Later that night she would lie awake in bed for a long time as her guilt continued to grow as she thought about him and the part of her story that she had withheld. Until, finally, she fell into a nightmare ridden sleep.
She found him at the Goshinboku. He sat high up in the branches. When he heard her approach he jumped down and landed with a soft thud in front of her. She tried to meet his eyes, but they were hidden by his bangs.
"Why are you out here?" She questioned softly.
His ears twisted towards her and she knew that she had his attention. "Needed some time…" He muttered.
She frowned slightly. "Come on, Inuyasha. You've been avoiding me ever since…" He flinched and she didn't have the heart to finish her sentence. "Why didn't you tell me that Sango was pregnant?"
He shifted slightly; a telltale sign that something was bothering him. "I thought that she would want to tell you."
Kagome huffed. The loud puff of air made his ears flick backwards momentarily. "I know that's not the real reason." She reached out and gently grasped onto one of his clawed hands. Finally, he lifted his head so that she could see his eyes.
When she could finally see his amber gaze, all she could see was torment. He tried to hide it from her, but it was plain as day. Inuyasha was in pain.
She flew into his arms and pulled herself as close to him as she could. He hesitated, but a few moments later he gently encircled her within his strong embrace. His face nuzzled into the crook of her neck, right above her mark, and she nearly sighed in delight. It had been forever since he had last done that. His grip tightened on her, as if he was terrified that he was about to loose her. She held him back as tightly as she could. She nuzzled her face into his chest and deeply breathed in his scent.
"Inuyasha…" She nearly moaned his name. Oh, how she had missed his touch.
He stiffened. "I'm… I'm sorry, Kagome." His grip tightened once more and then he let go of her. He took a few steps back, which left her feeling confused and cold in the winter wind.
"You don't have anything to be sorry about…"
He spun so that his back faced her and his shoulders hunched. The sky rumbled overhead and Kagome looked up only to be greeted with storm clouds beginning to gather.
"I can't give you pups, Kagome…" His broken voice made her eyes go wide as she turned back to look at him. His fists were curled tightly at his sides, his knuckles white, and small tendrils of blood began to drip from his palms.
Kagome winced. "Inuyasha, that doesn't matter."
His ears flicked back towards her, before they turned forward again. "It does matter." His voice was gravely and deep. The seriousness that laced his tone petrified her.
All of a sudden, she realized that she could loose him.
She ran forward and wrapped her arms around him once more. Her face pressed into his back and tears threatened to spill from her eyes as she held him with everything that she had. The sky rumbled, and the loud noise made her flinch. Inuyasha only stiffened beneath her touch.
The sky crackled and a few drops of rain began to fall. "Just because we can't have pups, doesn't mean that we don't have a family. You, me, Shippo… Even Sango, Miroku, and their little ones… We are all one big family."
His muscles flexed and her hold on him tightened. It was like her words were going straight through him, like he refused to believe anything that she said.
He shrugged her off. The rain turned from a slow drip into a steady pour and she wrapped her arms around herself. He began to walk away from her and headed towards the well. She followed him in silence as she fervently hoped that her words were getting through to him. Yes, she desperately wanted to have his pups… But, if that wasn't an option, it didn't change anything between them. She still wanted to be with him. She loved him, she was his mate, and she never wanted to spend a day without him.
When they neared the well they stopped. He stood mere feet from its stone edge. Vines had crawled up its surface. It looked like something from a fairy tale. He took a step forward and dragged one claw against the well's rim. "You would have been better off if you never met me. You would have been happier if this damn well never dragged you back here."
A chill ran up Kagome's spine, but it wasn't from the cold and rain. Instead, it was due to the distinct lack of emotion in his voice. She had never heard him sound like that. A bolt of lightening flashed in the sky and she jumped.
"Inuyasha, what are you talking about?"
He whirled around to face her, his eyes were blank and his voice was filled with pain. "You should have never come back here. It was a mistake."
His words stabbed her like a knife. Yet, her anger dwarfed her pain as it swirled up to storm inside of her. The flood of frustration she felt easily matched the storm that was raging all around them. Thunder clapped before a brilliant bolt of lightening shot down from the sky.
This time, Kagome didn't flinch.
"It was not a mistake!" She screamed. "I love you, I wanted to be here with you! I chose to live in the Feudal Era. I chose to come back! I chose you!" Her words seemed to be lost on him. He only bowed his head slightly so that his silver bangs would hide his emotionless eyes.
"You made the wrong choice."
"No, I didn't!" Her throat felt raw from the force of her scream. The storm combated her voice as it vied for dominance. But, it didn't matter, he would be able to hear her no matter how loud the storm got. She ran up to him and grabbed onto the sleeve of his fire-rat. She ducked her head down so that she could peer up into his amber eyes. His whole face was scrunched up in pain. "Inuyasha, I love you. You are my world. I never want to be without you. Don't you get that?" Her voice broke on the last word and her tears spilt over and ran down her cheeks.
Inuyasha stiffened, before he lifted the arm that she wasn't holding onto and wiped away her tears with the pad of his thumb. "Don't you get it? I'm no good for you…" His voice caught, as if he was choking on his own words. "I can't make you happy, Kagome. We…" His tears began to fall harder now and he yanked her into his embrace in order to hide his face in her hair. "We shouldn't be together."
Kagome felt like her breath had been knocked out of her. She felt like her world had just crumbled around her feet. Panic welled up inside of her as her salty tears continued to coat her cheeks. "You're wrong. You do make me happy. We should be together. We should always be together." She was sobbing now, and it was hard to get the words out.
She felt a pulse of power in front of her, so she opened her eyes. The well was glowing that soft familiar light of time-travel. She sucked in a deep breath and Inuyasha pulled away from her. He turned to look over his shoulder, and his eyes widened ever-so-slightly. Kagome say it when he changed. His entire demeanor shifted. He got that look that he only got in battle. His eyes narrowed with determination as he came to a decision.
Kagome didn't like that look.
She didn't like the way that he suddenly turned to roughly hold onto each of her upper arms. She didn't like the way that his eyes scoured her entire being, as if he was trying to memorize every little bit of her. She didn't like the way that he took a deep breath, as if to ingrain her scent. She didn't like the way that even more tears gathered in his eyes and coated his eyelashes as they threatened to fall. He hated to let anyone see him cry, even her… Yet, right now, he wasn't even attempting to hide his face. She didn't like the way that he carefully moved her, so that the back of her legs were pressed against the wet stone of the well's wall. Fear painfully gripped her heart and made it hammer in her chest.
"Inu… Inuyasha?" She nervously questioned.
"Go back, Kagome. Find…" He gulped, and his tears spilt over. His gaze never wavered from her; it was as if he couldn't tear his eyes off of her. "Find someone who makes you happy. Find someone who can give you what I can't."
"I don't want anyone else! I only want you… I love you…"
He leaned forward and crushed his lips against her own. She was terrified. She knew that he had made up his mind. She knew what he was about to do. Her mind was scattered as panic scrambled all of her senses. The well's power pulsed behind her. Why had it decided to open now of all times?
He pulled back from her slowly. His grip on her was firm, and she knew that she only had moments left. She needed to stop him… But, her mind wouldn't work. All she could see was the pain etched upon his face. All she could feel was her own heartbreak from his words. She stared into his eyes as she tried to soak him in. "Please, don't Inuyasha…" She begged.
His eyes stormed with emotions for a moment. She could hardly take it all in. She had never seen so many emotions flutter across his face at once. Then, his eyes went blank. "Goodbye, Kagome." His grip tightened on her, and then he pushed.
Everything felt like it was happening in slow motion.
She fell backwards into the well. The rain poured down upon her and the last thing she saw was a stormy sky. The familiar pull of the well's magic began to suck her in, and only mere seconds before it fully dragged her down did she hear his voice again.
"I love you too…"
Kagome awoke with a start. She shot upright in bed; a cold sweat covered her body and soaked her sheets. She sucked in greedy breaths of air as she willed her tears to stop. She hated remembering that night. Her hand clutched at the material over her heart, and she could feel it thumping erratically within her chest. It took several minutes before she was able to move. She wiped away the remnants of her tears. She was sure that her eyes were red and puffy. With a shaky breath, she flipped her wet blankets off of herself and placed her trembling feet onto the cold floor. Her knee ached and the stiffness in her muscles seemed to be heightened from the sudden onslaught of cold that seeped into her bones. All she wanted to do was wrap her blankets back around herself, but they were drenched in her sweat.
With a frustrated sigh she stood up. She could hear the breeze outside gently shaking the branches of the Goshinboku. She looked over curiously at her window. Her eyebrows scrunched together. For some reason, she felt drawn to it. Slowly, she made her way over to it. She pulled on the worn wood to slide open the window, and was immediately hit by a blast of cold night air. She leaned onto the window sill as her eyes searched the night.
Was he there? Was he watching her?
She smiled, feeling a bit silly as she decided to try what she had a few nights ago. She knew that it was probably pointless, that nothing would happen when she said the words, yet she was completely sure that she had to try. She bit her lip slightly before she worked up the nerve as the cold sent a shiver down her spine.
"Sit boy."
THUD.
Kagome's jaw dropped open in shock. She leaned out the window as far as she could and there, pressed into the dirt, was a body. Her heart sped away in her chest as a mixture of fear and panic swamped her.
He wouldn't get away from her this time.
"Sit boy." She stated again, a little bit louder, and was immediately met with a soft 'oomph' noise.
She felt like she might faint.
"Sit boy!" She nearly yelled before she spun away from the window and ran out of her bedroom, down the stairs, through the living, and out of the front entrance as fast as she could. She didn't grab a jacket. She didn't put on socks, or even shoes. She simply ran as her heart pounded.
It was him…
It was Inuyasha!
"Sit boy!" She exclaimed again as she sprang from the house onto the frosty ground outside. She ran, and it was so cold that her breaths turned into little clouds as she made her way to him. Within moments, she had reached him. He was sprawled out in a distinctly Inuyasha sized hole. His silver hair glimmered in the moonlight. His ears twitched on top of his head as they angled towards her.
She couldn't stop her heavy breathing.
"Inuyasha?" She managed to squeak out between deep breaths.
He moaned slightly before he managed to peel his head off of the ground and lift it just enough to look up at her. His amber eyes made her feel like she might faint. His trademarked smirk graced his lips only seconds before she was treated to his all-too familiar voice.
"Kagome."
~ Author's Note ~
Wow, so another big chapter. I wasn't planning that, but I didn't want to break it up either.
Daichi now has most of her real story… And Inuyasha has now face planted in front of her…
What do you think will happen next?
~ FeudalAi