Chapter 16
It had been another long, cold night in the darkness of the forest for InuYasha. Kagome had been missing around four days or something like that… he couldn't be sure, he'd lost track of the time after he'd passed out, when Kikyo had found him.
The only thing that kept him going, the only thing that was driving him forward at all was the thought of her, waiting for him, wherever she was.
He had exhausted all his options. The scents on the wind blurred and drifted together, and he had come back to the place she'd been taken many times; hoping that he could pick up on something he'd missed before, something that would give him a lead. But every time it was the same. The tracks lead to nowhere, and the scent of her had long faded. He felt absolutely useless.
What was he good for, if he couldn't even protect her? His woman, his future mate. How could he look her in the eye again after failing her so immensely? He had never felt so low. Even his inner demon was cursing at him, spitting his faults and his own stupidity.
The sun had risen, shining down through the canopy, painting a mosaic of early dawn light along the forest floor. He was perched on a branch, his eyes scanning the trees ahead when he smelled it. Drifting on the breeze, tickling across his senses, jasmine and cherry blossom… Kagome. And before he could even form a conscious thought, he was flying, leaping through the branches.
His heart was racing, adrenaline coursing through him and he could feel a wave of hope soaring, cresting inside him. He didn't smell any blood…
It felt like a hundred years had passed by the time he was close enough to where he could sense her, her aura calling out to him with its familiarity. He burst through the trees, landing in the clearing below in a crouch. His eyes immediately snapped up to settle over her, drinking up every inch of her as he rose to his feet; almost not believing she was real. Her back was to him, and he could see her stiffen under his gaze; the strange kimono she was wearing billowing in the slight breeze. She was standing a few feet away from the well, petrified almost as if in mid-step; her shoulders set rigidly beneath the weight of her backpack.
"Kagome?" her name passed his lips, disbelieving.
He took a step forward, wave after wave of mixed emotions flooding through him, consuming every thought. He didn't know if this was real… it seemed too simple, too easy. How could she just turn up, here of all places, after being gone without a trace? It didn't make any sense, and yet… here she was. Her long, blue-black hair hung heavy, flowing down to her waist in rippling waves and looked so incredibly soft. But her stance was all off; seeming almost frightened and that rung some alarm bells inside his head. That, and also the fact that she still hadn't turned to look at him, even though he'd called her name.
He couldn't resist the urge to draw closer to her then, leaving only a scant foot or so between them. He had to see her face, had to look into those rich, exquisite brown eyes again. He could hear his heartbeat thundering in his ears; his breath hitching in his throat.
"Hey," he kept his voice soft, gentle. A tone that he used with no one but her; as if he were speaking to a fawn that might scurry away into the underbrush at the slightest wrong move. "Kagome, can you hear me?" He settled his large hand onto her delicate shoulder, his touch light as a feather.
She didn't say anything. He could hear the fast-paced thrum of her heartbeat, could practically taste the tension in the air but for the life of him, he didn't know why. It wasn't how he pictured their reunion.
Was it because I didn't find her after all? Does she despise me now… after I couldn't do the only I'm even good for…? I can't blame her…
The darkness of those thoughts weighed him down, and he could feel the frown twisting at his lips, but his eyes were trained solely on her. From his angle he could see her lashes flutter wetly, glistening tracks trailing down, over her cheeks; her hair lifting with the wind. The breeze carried with it that overwhelming scent of cherry blossoms underlaid with the stagnant smell of graveyard dirt.
"What's wrong, Kagome? Please… say something…" He couldn't help it; couldn't stop the words from spilling past his lips, begging, pleading. He needed her. With every fiber of his being, he needed to hold her, to look deeply into her eyes and feel her heart beat in time with his own.
But Kagome couldn't answer him. Inside she was shattering like brittle glass at his words, folding like an origami crane beneath the weight of those shining golden eyes. More than anything, she wanted to turn and look into them; to feel the loving caress of his lips and his hands. But she couldn't bring herself to turn around. Just the feeling of his hand touched on her shoulder alone had her practically melting in relief. His comforting aura had settled over her in a thick blanket, snug and familiar and she was dangerously close to just saying screw it and giving in.
But he deserved an explanation… deserved something other than silence, at least.
It was all she could do just to take a deep breath, doing her best to center herself and calm the wild beating of her heart. She tried to think of what to say, but there were no words that could describe how she was feeling at that moment.
"Kagome… look at me… please." InuYasha pleased, and it was his voice that broke her. He sounded so vulnerable; it completely blindsided her and she found herself shifting, letting his hand fall away as she finally turned to face him fully.
All at once it was like the dam between them broke; crumbling and washing away under the sheer force of emotions that had hit them both. She didn't know who had moved first, but they were crashing against each other in an instant; his hands buried in her hair and she was cocooned against his broad chest. Feelings she had no power over consumed her, and she was crying in earnest now; quiet sobs shaking through her.
His arms felt like home. The only place she ever wanted to be, and she didn't know if she had the strength to do this… to leave without him.
"Kagome… I'm so sorry…forgive me." His voice broke, and she could feel him clutch her a little tighter, his breath hitching. He held her like a she was some almost forgotten dream like she might shatter any moment and disappear. And truthfully, she felt like she might actually burst beneath him with the tidal wave of emotions that were coursing through her.
"InuYasha…" she whispered, her lip trembling as she finally looked up into his eyes.
She was immediately sucked into their gravitational pull. They shone like pure fire, rife with a tumultuous sea of shame and sadness and confusion. His heart was laid bare to her, meanwhile her own was breaking. But as he looked down on her she saw something else there, too. It was there every time he looked at her now, every time they kissed or even goofed around together; she wondered…
Was it love?
She thought so. Nothing in her life had ever felt like this, and she didn't think anything ever would again. He was lava, smoldering and lit from the inside with deep and intense heat. He commanded attention wherever he went; He had the spirit of a true warrior.
She remembered when he'd told her that day… after they had made love in the light of the early morning and were sitting outside beneath Goshinboku… he had told her that he wanted her; He had promised himself and declared his intentions. He may as well have hung the moon in the sky for her. She had loved him from the first moment she'd seen him. She had known instantly… looking up at him pinned to that great tree by a single sacred arrow and twisting, gnarled vines, his face peaceful and his illustrious silver hair flowing in the breeze, as if lit from within. She had never seen a man who looked like that before. Besides the two little fuzzy ears atop his head, he was different… beautiful. Almost too beautiful, even as he slept. Otherworldly.
The memories washed over her and she wanted to tell him, then.
Tell him how badly she had missed him, how she had thought she was never going to see him again, how it had nearly broken her… and she wanted to tell him that she loved him.
But her lips refused to form the words. They stuck in her throat; she could practically feel herself choking on them. She could feel his large hands wrapped tenderly around her waist, settling there with ease. It was like she was made to fit against him this way; their embrace incredibly intimate, but also innocent, too.
She wanted to stay there forever; she would be perfectly content to just forget the world and do so, but she knew that it was just a fleeting fantasy… She had made up her mind, and there was no going back now.
She lifted her head from where it rested against his chest, her eyes drifting up to meet his hesitantly.
"I-I- I'm sorry…" She managed to croak out, her throat felt tight as she felt sharp tears sting at her eyes. But there was raw emotion behind the words, her voice heavy with it. "But I… I have to go." It took every last shred of her willpower just to force the passed her lips and wrench herself out of his embrace, her heart breaking with every move she made.
She couldn't look at him. Couldn't stay there in that meadow for another second, or she was going to throw away her convictions and fall into that same cycle again.
But she refused to keep going on the way she was. Forever the damsel in distress, the girl who was only useful because she could conveniently detect jewel shards. But that was all she was good for, and she hated it. Hated it with a burning passion, and she knew what had to be done. She couldn't keep being a burden; She wouldn't.
"But, Kagome, What're you-" He sputtered, his shock and hurt plainly written there in his features. But she cut him off with an abrupt shake of her head.
"I'm leaving, Inu… and… and don't you even think about coming for me, either!" She stumbled over the words, her cheeks burning and hot tears trailing wetly down, dripping onto her chest but she hardly noticed. With shaking fingers, she quickly leaned over to snatch up her bow that had fallen out of her grasp as they had embraced; hastily straightening the quiver and the bright yellow backpack over her shoulders. Her eyes flickered to the ground, unable to bring herself to meet his own as she could practically feel his pain palpable in the air; feel his arms reach for her, only to find her backing away. And it hurt all the more because she knew it was her fault. Completely, totally. She just hoped he could forgive her… because her heart, though it was breaking… it was telling her to go.
"I'm sorry…" She said in a broken whisper, her voice sounding small and laden with guilt even to her own ears as she abruptly turned and leapt headfirst into the well, swallowed by the flashing blue light.
She left an open-mouthed InuYasha gaping, staring at the spot that she had been standing in only seconds ago, wondering what in the hell had just happened.
When she landed on the other side, the glowing blue aura of the portal faded around her as she was crumpled in on herself in the dirt. Her knees were drawn up to her chest; her whole body shaking with the sobs that tore themselves from her throat.
Home… I'm home…
She couldn't believe it. Undeniable relief coursed through her, the feeling of knowing she was safe; knowing that Bankotsu was far, far away, it eased a part of her mind. But the pain of what she had just done was crushing her; weighing her into the ground and all she wanted to do was to go back. To run into his arms again and tell him that she was sorry and that she hadn't meant any of it.
But she couldn't.
She just had to hope that he would forgive her, in the end. She would come back to him, when she was ready. That's just the way it had to be.
She took the time to calm herself down, drying the tears along her cheeks and straightening the kimono that was wrapped loosely around her slim frame. She rose to her feet unsteadily, catching herself on the stone wall as she stumbled. It was cold and worn smooth beneath her fingers; charged with energy that tickled at her own power as she hoisted herself up and over the rim.
The morning light filtered in weakly from cracks in the wooden boards that made up the walls, the steps creaking as she delicately made her way up them with her torn, and blistered feet. The kimono dragged on the ground behind her, the edges stained with mud and all manner of filth and she knew that her feet were in a similar condition.
But she was practically in a daze as she walked the short distance from the wellhouse to the family home; her stumbling gait much like a zombie or something equally as creepy, even in the blatant sunshine that she was bathed in. A part of her felt like this could be a dream. The image in front of her wobbled and faded in and out; but she was stumbling through the door, gripping the frame with white knuckles as she lurched across the threshold.
She felt hollow. Empty of anything but her own self-loathing.
Useless. Weak. Burden.
Little nagging voices seemed to chant.
They were right. So right it hurt and for a second she thought she was going to puke right there on the nicely polished wooden floors her mother worked so hard to maintain. But she held herself together; barely managing to swallow her panic as she could hear hurried footsteps echoing, coming closer.
"Kagome?" Her mother's voice, laden with alarm and confusion was piercing through the bubble she'd made around herself, effectively popping it as Kagome whirled full force back into reality. She looked up, immediately meeting the rich brown eyes of her mother; eyes the same color as her own. She was kneeling beside her, her presence bringing with it the comfort that only a mother could.
Almost instantly she was snapping; collapsing into her mother's arms and letting the tears fall.
She didn't say anything. She just held her, let her cry while she stroked her hair like she used to do when Kagome was a young child; she was whispering small comforts, small soothing sounds that calmed her. She felt like she was five years old again.
Her mother didn't pry. Didn't ask about the strange kimono, or why her feet were caked with mud. She didn't comment on the hollow look in her eyes, either. She just led her up to her room without a word and drew her a hot bath, all the while humming softly, a cheery tune that Kagome recognized and had heard often. It was like a balm to her soul. There was no second to a mother's love. And Keomi was the best mother in the world.
"I'll bring breakfast up to you when you're finished dear, then you can take a nap." She said, her voice warm as she hovered in the doorway. Though her eyes held a soft look in them, though worry was evident there, too. "Okay?"
"Thank you, Mama," Kagome said hollowly, nodding with her eyes downcast.
"Of course, sweetie. Take all the time you need." She closed the door behind her, and Kagome found herself deflating the instant it shut.
With shaking fingers, she untied the messy obi and let it fall to the floor. The rest of the outfit soon followed, including her bra and panties she'd been wearing. She made sure to keep the pile separate from the other mess on her floor, kicking it into a corner. She was going to burn it later, she decided.
She rinsed her dirty feet tenderly, hissing in pain as the rough cloth rubbed over the cuts there. She carefully lowered herself into the tub; the steaming hot water making quick work of her stiff joints and sore muscle. She could smell the bath oil her mother added to the water, the familiar scent lifting off the steam that curled delicately through the balmy air; her favorite, jasmine.
She stayed in the tub until the water went cold, turned a mucky color from all the dirt, sweat and kami knew what that had been caked over her hair and body. Her skin was rubbed red and raw from the severity of her scrubbing, but she reveled in the feeling.
She wrapped a fuzzy towel around herself as she stepped out, feeling the chill at being exposed to the air. She couldn't be bothered to comb her hair or even wash her face, but she brushed her teeth vigorously until her gums bled because she didn't think she could ever erase the aftertaste of acrid sake from her tongue.
When she was done, she dressed in a baggy t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants and crawled straight into her bed, body sagging with relief as she sunk into the mattress.
She felt numb.
It wasn't long before her mother came back. She'd brought a tray of food with her; some rice and some soup, along with a cup of steaming hot tea and a glass of water. She set it down on Kagome's bedside table and sat lightly on the bed beside her.
Kagome could feel her own anxiety like a twisting ball settle in her stomach, her heart lurching because she didn't want to tell her mother what had almost happened to her. She couldn't bear to worry her mother any more than she already did, and she knew that if she told her there was no guarantee as to how she would react. Nothing good, Kagome was sure.
And then there was that niggling little voice in the back of her head, whispering again. The brief conversation she'd had with Tsukuyomi lingered in her mind, the way he'd comforted her, protected her… how he'd called her daughter. There was something inside of her that was urging, telling her that there was something she was missing. And as her mother sat there, her brown eyes narrowed in concern she wondered… did she know something that Kagome didn't?
Surely, it was stupid, but… it couldn't hurt to ask, could it?
"Mom…" her voice was worn and paper-thin, "can you tell me about Dad?"
She could see her mother's eyes widen in surprise, the subtle change in her body language as she folded her hands in her lap and straightened her back. "Of course, dear," a small smile twisted at her lips. "What did you want to know?"
"Just… what was he like?"
"Well, Toru was a good man. He was honest and easy-going, and he loved you and your brother very much. He was kind… and a very good father." Her mother's eyes got that misty look they did when she was about to cry, and Kagome knew that as she spoke, she was reliving the memories of him. But it was nothing Kagome hadn't heard before, and for some reason, it didn't satisfy any of the whispering thoughts that lurked there in her mind and she decided to just drop it. She didn't know what she had expected, anyway.
"Thanks, mom." She mustered up a half-hearted smile for her and sat up, reaching for the cup of tea.
"No problem, honey. Do you need anything?" She wiped at her eyes when she thought Kagome wasn't looking.
"No, I'm good." She shook her head, sighing at the feeling of the hot liquid pouring down her throat.
"Alright. Sleep as long as you need, sweetie. And when you're ready to talk, we'll talk, okay?" She patted her knee comfortingly through the blanket and rose to leave, shutting the door softly behind her. Kagome ate a little and when she was finished, she laid back into the dense pillows and stared up at the ceiling. She couldn't put into words how she was feeling. She felt like everything that could have gone wrong, did. And now here she was… left in a tangled mass of emotions that she couldn't even begin to tackle. Eventually, her eyes sagged shut, and she let herself drift off into a fitful, dreamless sleep.
InuYasha could only stand there, in the meadow that held the bone-eater's well, his hands clenched into fists at his sides and his brow furrowed in a mixture of confusion and hurt.
He had her back, finally, she was safe, and in his arms again but… something wasn't right. She had turned away from him, had said that she didn't want him coming for her…but that was absolute bullshit. She was safe and unharmed, and that fact alone was the only thing that kept him from racing after her in the first place.
But did she really expect him to just fuck off and leave her alone after she'd been kidnapped? If she did then she must not really know him at all. Stupid girl. Always trying to handle things on her own. He'd give her a day or so, but after that… he couldn't make any promises.
She was to be his mate. There was a significance to that that he couldn't ignore. He had failed when he hadn't been able to rescue her, but this… he would not fail her again. Regardless of what she said, she needed him, now more than ever. He would be her comfort; her protector, no matter what. She couldn't keep him away. Beads of subjugation be damned. He would gladly take a hundred sittings if it meant that he could be with her again. But first, he had to find out what the hell was going on.
Her scent clung strongly to the ground, leading off into the forest and he followed her trail all the way back to the village. There was another trail, it split off and came from the west, but it was old and faded; he'd follow that one later. The scent ran all the way up to Kaede's hut, and with his demon ears, he could hear sounds of life coming from inside.
He lifted the reed curtain and stepped across the threshold; Sango and Miroku were sitting around the fire pit, and Shippo was spread out with his crayons in the corner. They all turned to look at him, but he ignored them, his eyes narrowing immediately on the demon slayer who was staring at him wide-eyed; Kagome's scent practically clung to her.
"InuYasha?" She asked nervously.
"What did Kagome say to you?" He cut straight to the point. He didn't care for pleasantries, especially not when it came to serious matters such as this. And if Kagome was going to tell anyone what had happened to her over the four days she'd been held captive, it would've been Sango.
He watched her sputter, watched the frown tug at her lips as she studied the crackling embers for a moment, thinking.
"She didn't tell me anything, really." She said at last, her voice sounding small. "Just that the leader of the Band of Seven, Bankotsu, he was the one who took her, and…" She trailed off, worrying at her lip, looking unsure.
"And what, Sango?" He growled impatiently.
"She said that he was coming for you…"
"Keh," He snarled indignantly, "That's if I don't find the bastard first."
He stormed out of the house and back to the woods; every step he took he felt wearier. The fight was draining out of him with every footfall. The strain he'd put on his body was immense, the only rest he'd taken had come unwillingly when he'd literally passed out and he had no idea how long he'd been asleep. But the effects were starting to hit him now, full force. The adrenaline of the whole ordeal was faded, leaving only the exhaustion and the pain of her absence.
It stung sharply, his heart feeling like it was being squeezed abusively and all he wanted to do was fold himself around her body and bury his nose in her hair, like the last morning he had spent with her in the future… the memory seemed almost to good to be true. Like a dream. She was everything. Everything he never knew he needed until she'd shown him. He wanted to protect her, and be the one to wipe away her tears, always. But it was more than that, too.
He loved her.
More than the sun or the trees or the breath in his lungs; he loved her.
And damn it, he was going to tell her.
He barely had the energy to scale the massive trunk of his most favored tree, flopping down on a huge branch with a heavy sigh of relief. He tucked his hands into his sleeves and laid his head back against the bark, his eyes drifting shut. He had so many questions, so many answers he needed to hear from her own lips.
He didn't think things would turn out like this, but… he would fix it, somehow. He had to. He couldn't lose her.
It was his last conscious thought before he was spiraling down into the abyss, lured by the balmy mid-morning air and that sounds of the forest.
When Kagome opened her eyes again it was to the late afternoon sun filtering in through her window, her eyes coming into focus on the wood-paneled ceiling. Dust motes danced through the air; and for a long, blissful moment she didn't remember anything of her ordeal. She was just free, unburdened as she watched them mingle together. But then it all came flooding back.
Bankotsu. His vile hands… Tsukuyomi, his rescue of her and his confusing words. InuYasha, the way the hurt had flashed in those captivating golden eyes as she left him in the clearing after they'd finally been reunited. How much she hated herself.
All at once she could feel the weight of it all pressing down on her chest, stealing the breath from her lungs in an instant and all she wanted to do was cry.
No… what she really wanted was to be tucked snugly into InuYasha's arms, hearing the steady thrum on his heartbeat beneath her ear. Safe. Home. But here she was, in her painfully quiet bedroom, hundreds of years away. Alone.
She was beginning to think she'd made a grave mistake.
She sat up slowly, rubbing the last of sleep out of her eyes as she came into full awareness, looking around the shadowed room with a heavy sigh. She felt dull; empty except for howling loneliness and a familiar pain clenched like a fist around her heart. On stiff legs she rose from the bed, padding softly across the floor to her adjoined bathroom.
When she flicked on the harsh, artificial light, she couldn't help but catch her reflection in the large, frameless mirror and what she saw had her pausing; her mouth hanging open in disbelief.
Her hair, which had hung past her breast only yesterday, was now down to her waist; hanging in thick, rippling, obsidian waves. And her skin looked amazing. Glowy, smooth, and with an even complexion that she could hardly believe. Her skin was usually clear, free of any blemishes or dark marks, but it had never looked this perfect. And the hair was definitely new.
Her brows furrowed in confusion, laced with a bit of awed fear.
When she was seven, she'd been at school one particularly hot day and it was recess. She had been playing on the jungle gym when she'd fallen and cut her knee open on a loose nail that'd been poking out of the boards. She remembered screaming and running over to the teacher, bleeding profusely, sure that the doctor's were going to have to cut her leg off; It was deep, and she'd needed three stitches to close what had seemed like such a gaping wound to her back them. Mama had taken her for ice cream afterward and she soon forgot about the whole ordeal, but it had left an ugly scar.
With her heart pounding in a strange rhythm she lifted her leg up onto the counter; slowly lifting up the leg of her sweatpants with bated breath.
She couldn't stop the gasp that tore from her throat as she stared wide-eyed at the pale, smooth skin where the old scar had always been. Unsettling, to say the least. She stared dubiously at her knee for a moment longer before she lowered her leg back to the ground. It was crazy. But she had a feeling it was tied to Tsukuyomi's healing ability. She had felt that incredible power coursing through her, electrifying her cells as he knitted them back together. Its depth was unimaginable; as deep and compelling as the ocean. She didn't want to know what he was like in a fight.
She took care of her business and trudged back out into her darkened bedroom. She wasn't sure what to do with herself. She didn't think she was quite ready to face her family yet, but she couldn't stay in here forever; she needed to occupy her mind before she drove herself crazy.
She walked downstairs, hearing the sound of the tv in the den and immediately hit by the familiar, comforting smell of her mother's cooking. She paused in the hallway, lingering there for a long moment as she pulled herself together.
"Hey, sis! You wanna come check out this new game I got?" Sota popped his head out of the arched doorway, having probably heard her footsteps on the hardwood. He was smiling, but his eyes were crinkled with worry.
"Not right now Sota, thanks." She patted his head affectionately, giving him a wan smile as she passed by. He looked a bit crestfallen but nodded anyway, going back into the den where she could see her grandfather passed out in his chair, mouth gaped open comically as he snored. She continued on, following the scent of food and her mother's melodic humming.
Her back was to Kagome as she worked over the stove, not noticing as her daughter sat at the table, watching. There was no doubt in her mind that not so long ago her mother had been considered quite the beauty. Though she still looked good, the age in her features had begun to show more and more, especially since she'd cropped her hair. But in all the old photos she'd seen it had always been long and thick, hanging past her shoulders in rippling waves. They looked a lot alike, actually.
As she turned and caught sight of Kagome sitting there. Startled, she jumped slightly, breathing out a laugh as she held a hand to her chest to calm the racing of her heart.
"Oh, sweetie you scared me! Are you feeling any better? I expected you to sleep for longer than that." Her mother fussed, looking over her in that knowing way that all mothers seemed to do.
"I'm still a bit tired, but I'll sleep again later Mama." She said quietly, watching as her mother methodically formed onigiri with her hands. She was lost in the rapt movements for a moment before she remembered something.
"Mama, what day is it?"
"It's Tuesday honey, but I don't think you should go to school tomorrow. Maybe you should just take a day and…"
Her mothers voice slowly faded out as her own thoughts took center stage. She had last left for the Feudal era for a Friday after school, and had been taken the very next day… today would have been the fourth day of her captivity then, had Tsukuyomi had not rescued her last night. She had slept for two whole days in that place. And she thanked the Kami's for every minute because that was one less minute that she was forced to suffer Bankotsu's abuse.
She couldn't imagine what InuYasha had been going through… he was so hard on himself, sometimes he was his own worst enemy. She knew that he was giving himself hell right now, and it was completely her fault. She couldn't put into words how guilty she felt, and she wondered if she should just tell him the truth; but something was whispering in the back of her mind, an innate feeling that she couldn't begin to explain.
Stay the course.
Her instincts had never been wrong before. She would just wait… until she figured a few things out and then she would go back and apologize… and that was if he didn't come to her first. She'd doubted that he'd heed her warning in the first place, but it had the desired effect and he'd been frozen long enough for her to dive through the well. It was too painful to think about; and when she looked up, she saw her mother's worried expression. Her lips moved, but Kagome couldn't hear a thing. She could only stare back with her eyes wide with the emotions that churned there.
She tried her best to gather herself, but she couldn't shake the feeling of despair that had settled over her. Her eyes flickered to the table and back up into her mothers again as her voice slowly faded back in.
"…gome, are you alright?" Her eyes were rich brown; almond-shaped and kind, but more than anything there was concern reflected there.
"Y-yeah mom, I'm fine." She managed to stutter out, at last, shaking herself free of the dark thoughts as she mustered up what she was sure was a grim smile. "Don't worry about me."
Her mother looked sad then. "But I do. More than you know." Her voice was a whisper, and then she was turning away, back to the food on the stovetop.
"Could you be a dear and go get Sota and your Grandpa for dinner?" She said breezily, back to her normal self again just that quick. It was a bit unnerving, and Kagome knew better than to object; in fact, the thought didn't even cross her mind and she stood immediately, doing as she was told.
They all ate a semi-quiet dinner; Sota's energetic conversation enough to carry the whole table, and he filled the silence. No one asked about InuYasha, or why she'd left the feudal era, but she could feel it nonetheless; they wanted to know, but they daren't upset her, so they left her be. She munched quietly on her onigiri and the meat and vegetables her mother had prepared absently, not really listening to anything that was going on around her.
After dinner, Kagome had offered to do the dishes, but her mother had hurried her off, and she found herself in the den, sat next to Sota as he was explaining how to play his new video game. Grandpa had gone up to bed, and it was just the two of them. She couldn't remember the last time they'd spent a night together like this; just hanging out. It had to have been over a year at this point. And it was nice, she had to admit. He took her mind off things if only for a little while, and then Mama was calling them both up to bed like she was a kid again.
But she didn't argue. The truth was she was already feeling drowsy; she could barely keep her eyes open, and it wasn't even eight o'clock yet.
She followed her brother up the stairs, her mother came to kiss them both on the forehead, telling them to sleep well.
Kagome practically collapsed into her bed; sighing as her eyes drooped shut. She heaved a weary sigh and settled beneath the blankets, unable to resist the pull of sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
When her eyes came into focus again, she was standing in a meadow bathed in moonlight, the grass painted a deep blue in the darkness. The sky was alight with a great many stars and free of any clouds. When she looked down at herself, she could see that she was clothed in a fine, silken kimono patterned with a beautiful scene in various shades of swirling blue. She thought it was odd, but she was too entranced by the scenery to give it much thought. She could hear the sounds of the ocean, far off in the distance. Waves crashing against the unforgiving rock; she could practically smell the sea salt even from here.
She spun around, her hands brushing along the soft grass that grew past her knees, marveling at how real it all felt. It was a dream, she knew, but it felt strange. She'd never been so aware before. Fireflies lit up intermittently, dancing in the air around her, creating an ethereal scene straight out of a fairy tale.
One landed delicately on her finger, and she didn't resist the urge to lift it closer, a smile stretching across her face as she inspected the glowing little bug. But it was the sound of a deep, smooth voice that had her spinning around, her heart beating wildly in her chest as her eyes came to rest on the pale man with billowing dark hair who stood before her, his face composed and serene.
"Hello again, Musume…"
AN: Hello everyone! Sorry for the wait but I needed to get this one just right haha. I'm really excited about this next one, a lot of things will be explained in more depth. Oh, and don't worry! our favorite OTP will be reunited soon! ;) Also, are there any other ships in the InuYasha universe that you guys love? and of course, tell me what you thought of this chapter. As always thanks for reading!
