Next chapter. I'm BEGGING you, read, enjoy and REVIEW!!
Doesn't everyone love getting reviews? Good or bad I know I do...
Big thank you to those that do! I know who you are!
On with the story...
Vanished InuYasha
It had been weeks since Kagome and InuYasha had finally returned from their trip. The half demon seemed to be becomming more and more confident about comming out in the open with Kagome. The villagers would watch in astonishment and bewilderment as the half demon and their next miko in line patrolled the village together, walked with one another. When ever Kagome came out to do some chores or simply strolls in the fields, that half demon was always with her. What surprised the villagers the most, was that Kagome herself didn't seem to mind one bit. Half the time, it was Kagome inviting InuYasha to join her, and he pretty much always accepted.
Little Sakura had stumbled across the two sitting together one afternoon. She had been shy of the half demon, apologising to Kagome and turning away. InuYasha had dimply said he would go if she wanted to speak with Kagome, but the miko herself had insisted they both stay. Both had reluctantly agreed. InuYasha didn't really have a way with kids, Shippo was living, breathing proof of that. Sakura was also still wary of InuYasha, taking into account to what she'd heard the other villagers saying about him. She had been pleasantly surprised however, at what she discovered.
The villagers had said that a half demon, or any demon for that matter, was unfeeling and uncaring. They didn't have emotions, they only cared for themselves and desired to kill all humans. InuYasha, Sakura had realised, was nothing like that. Sure he was a bit rude and arrogant at times to Kagome but he was far from unfeeling. The young girl had found it quite easy to talk to him, asking him numerous questions and other things. Sakura enjoyed talking to him, beginning to understand why lady Kagome enjoyed it so much.
As for the half demon, he felt a bit awkward talking with the young girl. She was a bit nosey, naive and very expressive with him, but on the whole she was okay for newly born village whelp. He could do without her constant questions for sure, but he it was a pleasant change compared to the usual insults and galres he got from everyone else.
After Sakura had gone back to the village, Kagome turned to her almost constant companion.
" I think she likes you InuYasha, you had a positive effect on her. "
" Keh! What do I care..."
Sango and Miroku took note on Kagome's current relationship with InuYasha. At first, they too had been wary of him. Miroku was a Monk, and Sango a demon slayer, it seemed unethical to them to interact with the half demon. Kagome had insisted they speak with him though, give him a chance. For Kagome's sake, they had done just that. They too, like Sakura, had been surprised.
He was blunt, arrogant and distant with them, but Sango and Miroku had found him okay company wise. Kagome had been with them aswell, so that helped a little. At first, they weren't sure what to make of InuYasha. Over the course of the next few weeks however, they had begun to see something they hadn't noticed in InuYasha before. It was rare, but he would occasionaly show deep emotions and acts of kindness, mainly towards Kagome, but sometimes with them aswell. Slowly, they had started to trust him, seeing whisps of a kind soul he tried to keep shut from the world.
They started to value him as a friend.
Sango had been out in the fields one day with Kikyo. She had been carrying a heavy basket load of supplies, and Kikyo had had her own fair share of things to carry. The elder miko and demon slayer had heard a scoff from above them and the next thing they knew InuYasha was standing before them, offering to carry the baskets for them in one of his most convincing ' I don't really care ' kind of tones. Sango wasn't fooled though, and she allowed herself to smile warmly at the half demon, taking him by surprise. He took her basket and carried it back along the path with her. Kikyo, notebly, had been reluctant to accept his help.
The villagers themselves were starting to become more accustomed to InuYasha's presense. He would still gain weary looks and glances from some of them, but after hearing of how he had helped Kagome slay the demon the had plagued Nezumi village they had begun to accept him more, and the whispers, taunts and glares had become far less frequent. Even the headman himself seemed to have changed his primary view on InuYasha.
Kikyo was the only one that had not changed. She didn't trust demons. Period. It wasn't just Kagome's incident with Koga over a year ago, it was due to her own past experiences too.
The elder priestess had watched the way InuYasha and Kagome grew closer and closer to eachother every day, and it worried Kikyo. Kagome seemed to have really forgotten what had happened to her before. What an untrustworthy demon had nearly done to her. How could Kagome have forgotten that?
Still, despite what she thought, her sister and the half demon did seem to care for one another. She'd watch how the half demon would help Kagome out with her chores and occasional miko duties, never leaving her side, protecting her. They worked as a team, getting through the days obstacles together. Kikyo would catch InuYasha staring at her sister, almost...longingly. He would blush when him and Kagome made contact, smile when she smiled or laughed, like he enjoyed seeing her happy.
A stray demon had nearly attacked Kagome without her notice one day, and Kikyo had just been about to step in and kill it. InuYasha had beaten her to it though. With one single swipe of his claws, the demon that had been stalking Kagome was dead, leaving the younger miko safe from harm. InuYasha, Kikyo had noticed, had developed a fierce protectiveness of her younger sister. Kagome herself had a unique affect on him. She calmed him, tamed his rash and fierce demonor.
Kikyo did not miss the way he would stare at Kagome, or the way her sister would stare at him. InuYasha would turn as red as his haori, swiftly wurning his head away from her, frowning and stubbornly insisting it was Kagome who had been looking at him. Kagome would usually shrug it off, but occasionally an arguement would erupt between the two. Their arguements were never full of hatred or resentment though, they never lasted long.
As Kikyo watched them grow closer and closer every day, the question became unavoidable...
Was InuYasha...falling in love with Kagome?
Was Kagome...falling in love with him?
Falling in love again?...
Kikyo felt a sudden pang in her heart. She stepped back, wondering where it had come from.
Kikyo had spoken with InuYasha once before...
Flashback
" Half demon? I wish to speak with you..."
InuYasha grunted but jumped down from his perch in his tree, landing rather ungracefully infront of her.
" What the hell do you want miko? "
Kikyo jumped back, startled by the intenseness of his gaze. His eyes transfixed her, enchanting her, luring her to look deeper. They were golden pools, but not quite the protective barrier she had first seen when she had first laid her eyes on him. They were a little more open, allowing some rare and long hidden emotions to escape.
Was this the affect her sister had on this half demon?
Kikyo tried her best, but found she couldn't help it. It was as if his golden iris's were peering right into her soul...
She...blushed.
" Are you just gonna stare at me like that or do you have something to say!? " Came the voice of the impatient half demon.
Kikyo regained her suitor quickly and focued back on her original intention. She preyed he could not hear how fast her heart had been beating just then...
" How do you see my sister? "
" What kinda lame question is that!? " InuYasha asked, taken back.
" It's not a request demon, tell me, how do you see my sister!? "
" How am I supposed to know bitch!? She...well she...we're friends..."
" I've realised that much half demon, but how do you see her really? "
InuYasha turned away, red tinting his cheeks as he muttered to himself.
" I don't have to explain myself to you! It doesn't concern you how I feel! "
" Half demon..."
" Keh! It's none of your bloody business Miko..."
Kikyo could tell he was stubborn from just two minutes of talking to him. Never mind, the red tint on his cheeks said enough...
Kikyo narrowed her eyes at his back, as he was currently turned away from her, his arms tucked away in the sleeves of his haori.
" You had better not hurt my sister, half demon..."
With that, Kikyo walked away, leaving a very confused half demon in her wake.
End flashback
InuYasha sat outside Keiko's hut, running over the same memory that Kikyo had been thinking of.
" What the hell did that bitch mean? I would never even dream of hurting Kagome..."
Kikyo had also asked how he felt about Kagome. How he saw her...
It didn't matter to him much at the time, but now he couldn't think of anything else?
How did he see Kagome?
She was his friend, he knew that much. That was it...right?
Deep down, InuYasha had an almost answer to that. His heart had accepted it, but his mind was to stubborn.
InuYasha knew, in the three or so months he had now known Kagome, he saw her as...more than just a friend...
He always felt happy with Kagome, he always felt calm and wanted. He felt cared for...
He didn't see her as just a friend, he saw her as more...but what did that mean? What did he see her as?
He replayed over some of the time he had spent with Kagome.
He liked seeing her smile...he felt happy when she was happy...if she was sad, he felt sad, and only ever wanted to make her happy again...if she was in any kind of danger, his heart would fill with worry and concern, his inner demon growing a fierce need to protect Kagome, to keep her safe...
It would always feel nice, when he carried Kagome in his arms...his inner demon would purr with contentment...
InuYasha hit his head with his fist, caught completely off guard by that sudden thought.
" Where did that come from!? "
He cursed himself for even thinking about Kagome like that.
Then again...
InuYasha shook his head. He wasn't a perevert! Unlike that lecherous friend of Kagome's...Miroku, the so-called 'Monk'...
He had been so furious when he had dared to ask Kagome to bear him a son!
He had been ready to slice and dice that Monk...
InuYasha growled and looked up at the darkening sky. His emotions were always much stronger on this particular night, his senses always much weaker...
" InuYasha? "
Said half demon leapt up into the light covering of trees, hising himself from Keiko and Shippo.
" Where did you think he's gone Keiko? He was here a minute ago..."
" I do not know Shippo, but let us go inside and wait for his return, it is far to chilly out here..."
Shippo hastily agreed.
InuYasha sighed in relief.
Good...they hadn't seem him.
He didn't want anyone to see him like this.
He glanced back in the direction of the village. He had been avoiding Kagome because of this all day...
She was the last person he wanted to see him like this.
With Kagome...
Kagome wondered around the village, looking out for InuYasha. Where was he? She hadn't seen him all day...
" Kagome? "
Kagome turned to meet the brown eyes of her older sister.
" Yes Kikyo? "
" May I...have a word? "
Kagome nodded, following her sister into their hut.
Kikyo faced Kagome, a solemn look on her face.
" Kikyo?..."
" Kagome...please know that I only say this because I care for you, because I am your older sister first, not the miko you will take over from...but..."
Kagome waited.
" I must express my concern, for your relationship with the half demon, InuYasha..."
" What do you mean? "
" Kagome...have you truly forgotten what happened so long ago?..."
Kagome felt a sudden brief wash of pain across her right shoulder. It startled her, but the pain went as quick as it had come. Kagome felt a deep sadness fill her as memories of her and a certain Wolf demon passed through her head...
She lowered her eyes from Kikyo's accusing gaze.
" Of course I haven't forgotten, I can never forget...but what does this have to do with me and InuYasha? "
" Are you so blind Kagome? "
" What are you talking about Kikyo!? "
" I have been watching you and InuYasha for some time now, and I have realised something...I've seen the way you look at eachother, how he stares so longingly at you, and how you stare right back...he protects you, and you accept his protection without a second thought...
" You are always with eachother, almost inseparable...it astonishes me so that you can even trust another demon ever again...but, my worst fears have become confirmed..."
Kagome stood in silent fear as Kikyo spoke her next words.
" Kagome... you love InuYasha...don't you? "
Kagome stood still as a statue, unable to move. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest, she couldn't speak.
" You are in love with him, and he is love with you also..."
Kagome clasped her right shoulder tightly. She shook her head slowly mouthing Kikyo's words.
" I...what do you...no! NO! That's not true! I don't love InuYasha! I could never love again after..."
" Kagome I know this when I see it, and I see it in your eyes every time you look at him..."
Kagome backed out of the hut, still clutching her shoulder absentmindedly.
It wasn't true, Kikyo was wrong! She didn't love InuYasha! She cared for him deeply yes, but...love? She couldn't!
She..she didn't love InuYasha...
...did she?
She always felt safe with him, protected and cared for. Just his presense could drive away any sad thoughts she had, all her worries went away when she was with him...it was like she was at peace, there was no one else in the world, just her and InuYasha...
He had saved her a few times, kept her away from danger, her heart would leap when she saw the concern he had for her well being in his eyes...her own heart would always pang with deep worry and concern whenever he had been hurt...
She had felt a strong longing to be by his side in her chest, and her heart fluttered madly whenever he looked at her with those golden pools...like he was staring straight into her soul, peering into its deepest depths...
Love?...It...it couldn't be...
" No! "
Kagome shook her head furiously, running out of the village as fast as her legs would carry her, determined to get as far away from the village as possible. She ignored the calls of her worried sister, running straight into the forest.
She didn't love InuYasha! She couldn't love him!
She just couldn't...not again...she couldn't have fallen in love again...
...but the deep pang and longing in her heart told her otherwise.