Chapter 46: The Sound of Thunder

Kagome was fast asleep in the guest room at Inuyasha's house… at least she was. It was about 1:00 in the morning when she was suddenly awakened by the sound of an enormous…

BOOM!

Kagome sat bolt-upright. Don't you hate that? You're in a deep sleep and then thunder goes and wakes you up? It sucks. She looked around the unfamiliar room, trying to remember what had happened—before realizing where she was. Letting out a shaky laugh, she lay back down and tried to go to sleep again…

But then…

Her bedroom door burst open and a little figure, dressed all in white, came running into the room and over to her bed. "Mommy!" Shiori cried as she grabbed Kagome's hand. Kagome sat up again, brushing the hair out of her eyes in the process and asked, "Shiori? What's wrong? Are you scared of the thunder?"

Shiori shook her head, but at that second another loud Boom sounded and she let out another scream of fright and climbed into bed with her. Kagome pulled back the blanket and she allowed Shiori to bury her head into her arms.

"Shiori," Kagome said, trying to sooth the scared girl. "It's ok… it's only noise."

"But it's so loud!" Shiori cried. Thunder sounded again and Shiori let out another yelp of fear. At that moment, Kagome heard something over all the noise…

"What the hell are you doing—" yelled a voice from the other end of the hall and Kagome had a sneaking suspension that Shippo was up with Inuyasha.

Kagome took Shiori by the hand and said, "Come on. I think that Shippo's up with your father. And you know how cranky he gets when he first wakes up."

She gently tugged Shiori out of the bedroom and across the hall to where the sounds of Shippo and Inuyasha's voice called out in. "What's wrong with you? Go back to bed!"

"But it was the thunder!"

"It's just noise! It's nothing to be afraid of!"

"But dad!"

"I see that it's not just me," Kagome said, coming into the room with Shiori. Inuyasha was flat on his back, Shippo on his stomach and looking back at them in surprise. "Hey, mommy," Shippo said in surprise. "Shiori? Did the thunder wake you up too?"

Shiori nodded, looking a little ashamed of herself for acting scared. "Sorry, mom," she whispered. "For waking you up."

Kagome only smiled gently, before she picked her up and carried her over to Inuyasha's bed. "It's ok. I was already awake. The thunder woke me up too."

Inuyasha lowered his head back onto the pillow and let out a sigh of annoyance. "Ok, the storm woke us all up. So how about we all go back to sleep now?"

"NO!" Shiori yelled.

"And what do you want us to do when we hear thunder again? Do you want us to run in here all night?" Shippo piped up.

Inuyasha groaned as he turned over under his blankets, which made Shippo fall off the bed. Kagome moved up until she was next to the lump that was Inuyasha's head and pulled back the covers. "I don't think that it'll kill you to lose a few minutes of sleep to comfort your kids."

Inuyasha gave her an annoyed look before letting the kids crawl up between them. "Will you stay too mommy?" Shiori cooed as she got comfortable.

"Yeah, mommy," Inuyasha repeated slyly. "If I have to stay up until they fall asleep then so do you."

Kagome raised her eyebrows and got into bed with the rest of them. Kagome was on the far left with Shippo snuggled into her, just as Shiori was doing with Inuyasha. Kagome looked around, getting a good view of Inuyasha's bedroom. It was the first time she had been in there. The walls were a creamy tan color and the king-sized bed had deep red sheets and a tan comforter. She looked through the curtains of a large window to see that the rain was getting harder as the lightning and thunder continued to roar outside.

"Remind me," Inuyasha said looking down at the two kids, "How I let you talk me into this?"

"Because we're cute?" Shippo suggested.

"Watch it kid," Inuyasha said threateningly as he lay back onto his pillow.

"Don't be so hard on them Inuyasha," Kagome said.

"Yeah, daddy," Shiori said. "After all—we're just a couple innocent little kids."

"Innocent?" Inuyasha repeated. "Yeah, you maybe, Shiori. But Shippo…"

"Watch it," Kagome warned.

"I'm just saying…"

The argument all went on for a few minutes until the children began to fall asleep again. "Mom?" Shippo asked as he rubbed his tired eyes. Can you tell me what grandpa used to say to you when you couldn't fall asleep?"

"You want to hear it? I thought you told me that you were getting to old for that," Kagome asked shrewdly.

"Yeah well…" Shippo said a little defensively. "I mean… for Shiori! She never heard it and it might calm her down."

"Ah, huh," Kagome said. She was thankful for the darkness because she was rolling her eyes. "How thoughtful of you Shippo."

"What did grandpa used to tell you?" Shiori asked. Kagome saw Inuyasha's ears twitch and she knew that he was also listening."

"Well… all kids get afraid of thunder… at least for a little while," Kagome answered softly. "Whenever there was a big storm like this one, or I had trouble getting to sleep, grandpa—my father—would take my hand and perform… I dunno. Some kind of magic spell to help me go back to sleep. And I used to do it to with Shippo. At least until he said that he got too old for it."

"Ooo," Shiori gasped. "A magic spell?"

"Well, that's what I used to call it," Kagome answered. She took hold of Shippo's hand, and then reached over him to grasp Shiori's. "He took my hand like this, and would recite:

Take a pinch of fairy dust,
And an angel's single feather,
Also a bit of love and compassion,
Then blend them all together.
Add a gentle word or two,
A caring wish or line,
A touch of stardust, a ray of sunshine…
It's a recipe, for a sweet dream truly fine.

As soon as she said those few words, the children's eyes began to droop. "That's really pretty," Shiori said almost dreamlike. Within a few more minutes, and repeating the spell a couple times, Shippo and Shiori had finally dropped off to sleep again.

Kagome began to run her hand through Shippo's hair in a motherly way for a little while. She was just beginning to wonder if she should go back to her room when she heard Inuyasha speak so quietly that it was almost a whisper.

"You are something else, Kagome."

She looked up, and she could see the tiny lights of his golden eyes staring at her in the darkness. For some reason, she felt like she had seen them staring at her in the darkness like this before; but she quickly pushed it out of her mind.

"I beg to differ," she whispered back softly before she took his hand and began tracing his palm with loving fingers. "I think you're the one who's something else…" she stopped tracing his hand and went up to his face and began to stroke his cheek.

He emitted a slight growl and closed his eyes as if enjoying it and asked, "And why would that be?"

"Because of what you feel about me…" she said very quietly, her gaze downcast.

"What I…" Inuyasha thought deeply… what he felt about her? That he… loved her? It, by far, was no lie.

"You… you'd have to be crazy… to… to love somebody… somebody like me."

"Why do you say that?" he said angrily, "Why? Just because I love you for who you are?"

"You…" she turned her head away, "You don't understand."

"No," he grabbed her face and made her look at him. "It's you who doesn't understand. If anyone should not be accepted… it would be him," his eyes were pleading, begging her to understand. "Your good for nothing ex-husband Hobo. What he did to you, the way he shunned you and Shippo—as if he was ashamed of you… you both deserve better than that. And he doesn't deserve someone like you. If I didn't know better, I could swear that there was no way that Shippo could be his son."

Kagome gave him a sad smile. "I wish it was true. You know something strange? Sometimes I feel that Shippo's… never mind."

"What? That he's what?" Inuyasha asked curiously.

"Promise not to laugh?"

"Can't. It'll wake these runts up and will have to help them go back to sleep all over again."

Kagome sighed before she looked him straight in the eye and replied, "Sometimes I feel that he's your son and not Hojo's. Sometimes… sometimes the way that Shippo acts—even looks—reminds me more of you than Hojo. Sometimes I can almost believe that he's your child. Maybe it's because we're together all the time but…"

"No, I know what you mean," Inuyasha said seriously, "I've noticed that with Shiori." He reached over and began to trace Kagome's lips, "I didn't notice it at first, but she acts more like you every day. I swear that she even has your smile."

Kagome smiled at that. To think that Shiori could be her real daughter was too good to be true. And to think that Inuyasha was the father of her own child was beyond her wildest dreams. But she knew better.

"Kagome, all I want to do is love and care for you; I want to…" Inuyasha said so quietly that Kagome almost couldn't hear him. "I want to be with you. I… I've never… felt this way before. Not so strongly. And to be honest, it scares me."

Kagome's hands trembled as she slowly raised them; finally, tangling her fingers in his wild, white hair.

"It scares me too," she whispered. "It's something my father once said to me. Falling in love… it's like you're walking a tightrope. You're up so high, walking by on nothing more than a thin rope, and if you do fall the net is supposed to catch you. I think that it's the same thing with everybody. Most—if not all people are afraid of falling in love. Not because of loving someone else… I think it's because they're afraid that the net won't be there to catch them when it happens."

Inuyasha jerked his head back and desperately searched her eyes for an answer, some answer; any inkling of a clue or a sign. "I never let anyone get close to me. Never. Not since Kikyo died. I said to myself back then that I could never love again. But the truth is—deep in my heart—you're the one I love. The only one my heart can love."

She raised her head, careful not to disturb their children, closed the distance between their lips slowly and pressed her lips softly against his.

He stopped kissing her to affectionately stroke the side of her face. Letting the sound of her thumping heart wash over him, he realized it reminded him of a dog's wagging tail, thumping from excitement and exhilaration.

As his mind wandered around the dog thought, he suddenly was filled with guilt, not for the first time that night. He pulled his head away and looked into her dark eyes; he could barely make out her face in the darkness.

"It's like magic, isn't it?" she asked randomly.

"How so?"

"Magic seems so… mystical, strange. And yet it holds so many possibilities, secrets, and hidden desires." She looked down at Shippo and Shiori who were both still dreaming deeply. "With magic, as with love… anything seems possible… doesn't it? Just like in the old fairytales. She then began to recite: (I don't own this little poem)

Cinderella walked on broken glass,

Sleeping beauty let a whole lifetime pass.

Belle fell in love with a hideous beast,

Pocahontas risked her life for a feast.

Jasmine could have had anyone but instead she chose a poor man,

Ariel walked all for love and life on land.

It was all about blood, sweat, and tears,

And that's why love is about facing your biggest fears.

He kissed her lips sweetly.

"This is true," he said simply.

"You ever feel that you've been waiting for someone? You've been waiting and searching your whole life for that one special someone?" she asked him.

"Yeah," Inuyasha replied plainly. "Maybe you're the one I'm waiting for… and maybe I'm the one that you're searching for."

Kagome nodded in agreement and lay back down. They intertwined their hands and in no time they were sound asleep, the rain drizzling outside. But the storm went unnoticed to the four people all dreaming peacefully inside the house.

Kagome woke up the next morning to the bright rays of sun that streamed in through the window. She slowly opened her eyes and the first thing that she noticed was that Shippo and Shiori were gone. The second thing that she noticed was that she still at Inuyasha's house and she was not alone in the bed. Inuyasha's arms were tightly wrapped around Kagome with her head resting on his chest. He was still sound asleep.

But as she began to move, his eyes snapped open. He looked down at her and realized the positions that they were both in. Blushing they both sat up and he said, "Morning."

"Good morning to you too," Kagome said as she pulled away and looked around the room, "Wait, where's Shippo? And Shiori?"

Inuyasha shrugged and got out of bed. The two of them poked their head out of the bedroom to find Shippo sitting on the couch watching early morning cartoons. Inuyasha looked at them and asked, "Shippo, Shiori why didn't you wake us up?"

They never took their eyes off the TV, and it was Shippo who replied, "You two looked comfy, we didn't want to bother you…"

Kagome blushed lightly and walked towards the kitchen, "What do you two want for breakfast before we head back home?"

Shippo jumped up from the couch and ran into the kitchen, "French toast!"

Shiori was only seconds behind him and cried out, "No pancakes!"

"All right, waffles it is," Kagome said, and began working on breakfast.

*After breakfast*

After breakfast, Inuyasha walked Kagome and Shippo out to her car.

Kagome smiled and hugged him, "I had a really nice time. Just like every date that we have. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay," Inuyasha hugged her back tightly and inhaled her scent deeply. "Ah… Kagome?" he asked a little nervously.

"Hmm?" was her reply.

"Ah… listen… do you want… what I mean is… I want to talk to you about something important. Do you want to…? I wanted to ask you if you wanted to go out next weekend? My mother says that she'll be more than happy to babysit."

"Of course! What time?"

"I'll pick you up around 8. Sound okay?" Inuyasha let out the breath he had unknowingly been holding.

"Yeah, I'll see you then!"

Kagome gave him another kiss before she and Shippo both got in the car and drove away. Inuyasha waited until he was sure that they were both out of sight and that Shiori was back in the house before he reached into his pocket and began to play around with something. He knew what he wanted—he just had to work up the courage to go through with it. He pulled out a small velvet box and opened it to show a large diamond ring.

Meanwhile, things were in motion to screw things up for the "happy couple". Hojo had a plan and it would mess everything up… if it worked…

(Sorry for not updating for a long time, but there was something wrong with Fanfiction for me. Every time I tried to update, it said problem error. Well it's finally fixed and I hope you review.)