Disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever owned Inuyasha
'Chapter.21: Past and present'
Summery:
When Inuyasha and Kagome have a fight Kagome rushes home, she returns and is kidnapped by Sesshomaru, but when Kagome starts to melt the ice around his heart will he find that sometimes something's are more important than mere power?
Ch. Summery:
Standing alone with Inuyasha in the seclusion of the forest,
Past emotions are indeed pulled to the surface,
And though she hadn't intended it,
Kikyo has a proposition for Inuyasha,
One she doesn't think he can refuse.
'Don't forget, believing yourself – tomorrows never die…'
Fatal Love:
Feudal era:
'Kagome's P.O.V:'
I sat at the window and wondered why it was I simply couldn't slip dreamlessly into oblivion.
The most obvious answer was also the longest.
I'd been kissed by Koga, gotten into another fight with Inuyasha,
Then I'd gotten kidnapped by Inuyasha's conniving, and by all appearances cold-hearted older brother, Sesshomaru.
And in just over a week my whole perspective on him had changed.
He'd always seemed so cold to me, but at times he could be surprisingly sweet.
And, though normally he was deadly serious, I'd found out that he could also be seriously funny.
He tended to be aloof and well, emotionless, at least when I was around.
But he's seemed anything but detached the other day, when I'd felt so sure he was going to kiss me.
I'd never really thought of Sesshomaru as attractive before,
In fact I'd never really though of him as anything other then Inuyasha's brother.
But now…
There were so many sides to Sesshomaru I'd never seen before,
Sides I'd never thought to look for,
And so many things I still didn't know about him.
The last few days with him had really gotten me thinking,
And now that he was gone that's exactly what I continued to do.
Think.
In just a few short days I'd begun to think less and less of him as a Yokai to be feared,
And more and more of him as a friend.
So if things went back to normal, when things went back to normal,
I'd never look at him the same way again.
"K-Kagome?" Asked a soft voice from behind me.
"Yes Ri…" I began, cutting off and rushing instantly to her side when I saw her tear-streaked face.
I bent down to her level and took one of her trembling hands in mine.
"What's wrong Rin?"
"Rin...had…a…bad dream!" Rin wailed,
throwing her arms around me as she sobbed.
Going with instinct I pulled her into my lap and rocked her until her crying died down and her breathing grew more even.
"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked her as I wiped the tears from her face.
"It was…the wolves, they were getting Rin." She said, struggling not to weep again.
The wolves?
Was that what had happened to her?
"It's okay Rin, the wolves wont hurt, they cant hurt you." I told her,
knowing it was true, and wondering what in the world I could do to help her.
"I wish Lord Sesshomaru was here." Rin said solemnly.
"Yeah, so do I." And at that moment I meant it.
I closed my eyes and thought back to what my mother had done when I'd had a nightmare when I was little, and nearly smiled.
"Do you know where the kitchen is Rin?" I asked her.
"Yes, why are you hungry Kagome?" Rin asked.
So they didn't have modern appliances in the feudal era, surely some concepts were the same, right?
"No, but how would you feel about some rice balls and green tea?"
Personally I'd always preferred the classic cookies and milk for my bedtime snack,
But hey, when in Rome…
"Really?" Rin exclaimed, delighted with the suggestion.
"Yep." I affirmed as we headed out of the room.
Something changed with time, but others, I though, only slightly smugly,
were timeless.
0o0o0o0o
'Kagura's P.O.V:'
"Where the hell could she be?" Naraku growled as he paced the room in a rage.
It was a rare thing for Naraku's plans not to work out as they were meant to,
And rarer still for him to get quite so furious at the prospect.
Normally he took unexpected obstacles in stride,
Or went so far as to be amused by them,
An uncanny ability possessed exclusively, I suspected, by the insane.
It should have been funny to see him so out of character,
And would have been, I knew, if I weren't the one forced to deal with the consequences.
"She couldn't have vanished off the face of the earth, where is she?" He demanded again,
stopping his edgy pace to turn and glare in my direction.
"I don't know, I already told you, I can't find her." I said and, though I knew it was cowardly, I looked away.
"Then you need to broaden the search, don't you?" He asked, his voice lower as he regained control.
"I'm doing the best I can." I said.
"That isn't good enough."
It never was.
"I need to acquire the remaining jewel shards, I don't have time to waste on this." He said, stepping forward until we were only feet apart.
He took another step forward.
I took a step back.
"You need to find her," He started as I backed into the wall, my eyes unconsciously widening with fear.
"and you need to find her now."
"And what if I don't?" I demanded, foolishly.
"Oh you will, and you'll do it because this is your last chance." He said.
And, with a speculative look in his eye and a 'cheerful' smile on his lips,
He closed a hand over my throat.
"Do you know where she is Kagura?
Are you keeping something from me?" He asked, as he gleefully tightened his grip,
Laughing when I began to choke and struggle for air.
"No." I managed finally.
And even as my lungs fought for air another part of me was silently begging him to finish it, to simply snap my neck and let me free from this living hell.
"You know what Kagura? I believe you." He said as he lifted me by the neck and threw me to the floor.
"And because I do I'm willing to disregard that last comment." He said as I lifted myself from the floor, swearing, as I always did, a slow, painful revenge.
"Now I suggest you continue searching for Kagome, immediately."
I may have only a small amount of control over my actions,
And scarce little over my will,
But I refuse to be browbeaten into quiet compliance.
"How?" I demanded, hoping to bring just a little more complication into his life.
But he only smiled.
You may not know where Kagome is,
But I'm sure there's someone who does.
0o0o0o0o
'Kikyo's P.O.V:'
"Inuyasha I…" I started as he leapt from the tree and landed in front of me.
"Kikyo." He said again.
"I'm surprised to see you here." I managed,
wondering if he could hear my heart pounding.
I reached out and took his hand, 'just for a moment' I promised myself as I watched his eyes shift to gaze at me, just like they used to.
It was as if the time in-between were nonexistent.
"Why's that?" He asked.
"I thought you'd be off searching for…"
"Kagome?" He asked.
He seemed to back to himself, to the here and now,
And I saw his eyes go warm and soft at the thought of her,
Then cool, just as quickly, when they focused on me again.
Then his hand slipped from mine, and his face became impassive.
"What do you want Kikyo?" He asked.
Apparently he'd put the past behind him.
I was silent for a moment, dealing with the pain.
"I have no need of this, I thought you'd make better use of it." I said curtly,
despising these feelings, and the weakness they brought as I held a shard of the jewel in clear view.
When I'd retrieved it from the flesh of a dying yokai I'd known that I would use it,
As well as most anything else to see him, be near him, for just a few moments.
And the knowledge shamed me.
When his hand, in an attempt to grab the shard, reached towards mine I took it,
Unable to let go.
With his hand in mine I searched his eyes for any sign of love, or even affection,
But found only the strain of worry and pain buried within them.
"You can't retrieve her, can you, without alerting Naraku as to her whereabouts?"
I asked, knowing she was where his thoughts lay, and struggling not to resent it.
"No." He affirmed, the pain in his eyes burning nearer to the surface.
"But I could." The undeniable offer was there, had been swirling in my mind for some time, and was as genuine as the anger and the hurt warring within me.
"You know as well as I do that Naraku keeps tabs on all of us." He said.
"Naraku sees only what I want him to see." I argued, leaning towards him.
"You'd do that for her?" He asked, his voice filled with doubt.
"I'd do that for you." I corrected furiously,
fusing my lips with his in a desperate cry for the love I'd lost so long ago.
With the shard glowing faintly in his fist the arms that had so often come up to embrace me in the past, now came up to push me away.
"We can't, things aren't the same anymore." He said.
Was I imagining the regret in his voice?
"I know there not, but we can still…"
"We can't." He repeated.
"It's because of her, isn't it?" I realized.
He didn't answer, he didn't have to."
It was always because of her.
And still…
"I meant what I said, I'd help her." I said, my voice cool and clipped from the icy edge of rejection.
"It wouldn't have worked." He replied.
"But I would have tried." I said, turning and walking away.
"I'm sorry Kikyo." He said.
And he meant it.
0o0o0o0o
Review responses:
Hoshiko Megami:
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0o0o0o0o
A/n:
That's it,
Hope you guys liked that chapter and I'm sorry it took so long to get out,
But I've had allot of crap going on.
And I'll be starting high school soon too.
Despite that I will make a genuine effort to update quicker, promise.
I hope you guys aren't to upset about the delay to review.
Speaking of that if you guys have any questions, concerns, ideas for, or, hopefully pleasant,
Comments about the story thus far, be sure to mention them in a review or send me an email and I'll write you back.
Next Time:Ch.22: Sweet Changes:
Sesshomaru returns to Kagome,
and romance ensues, leading to, what's this?
A first kiss?
Until next time.
Matta ne,
fairyenchantress