Kagome stared absently out the
classroom window. She had gone to her own time, in spite of Inu-Yasha's
protests, wanting to get rid of him, but to no avail. He kept haunting her
thoughts.
She could see the daylight moon,
pale and faint against the sky.
It'll be the new moon tomorrow
night. Inu-Yasha's powers will be gone… I wonder what he will do. If I was
there, he'd still watch over me and Shippou-chan… he didn't even call losing
his powers a weakness. He just said to call it his secret.
The bells rang and she walked to
the Higurashi Shrine, her home. Her mother was talking amiably to somebody; she
expected to see a concerned Houjou with some small get-well gift for her
'ailments'. Both stood when they heard her enter, and instead of Houjou, Kagome
found Inu-Yasha there.
"Inu……yasha……"
"Nothing's going on, so I came
here. When the day after tomorrow comes, I'll leave."
Kagome's mother smiled. "He seems
like a nice boy, despite the obvious – your grandfather and Sota were quite
enthusiastic about having him around. Hair's a little long though, but it's not
like he's a boarder, and he'll be SURE to behave in THIS house… aren't I
right?"
That earned Inu-Yasha a
disbelieving look from Kagome, along with the inevitable word.
"SIT!"
The next day –
"Kagome-chan! Going straight home
again?"
"Let us come with you! I want to
buy some charms from the shrine anyway!"
Kagome sweatdropped, but the
girls ignored it and continued to the Higurashi Shrine. She lagged slightly behind,
imagining all too well an irate Inu-Yasha yelling at them and her own words
coming back to haunt her. She could even see the annoyance and disdain mixed in
his expression.
"Ne, Kagome-chan?" One of the
girls pointed to the shrine courtyard. "Who's that guy sweeping? He's cute."
She looked. They were pointing to a guy with a bamboo hat
(to cover his doglike furred ears) over his long white hair (even though it was
beginning to streak with black), sweeping with his back turned to them. "He's
just passing through town… I… um… forgot his name. Yeah, I can't remember his
name."
But she waved anyway as the other
two girls called "Ne, onii-san, konnichiwa!"
Inu-Yasha spun around to find the
two girls – also dressed in the 'weird clothes' Kagome wore – and Kagome giving
him a Significant Look. The "I-can-say-sit-if-you-don't-behave" Look. And he
had enough sense to look down at the courtyard floor, for his demonic eyes
would probably frighten them and he'd have back pains lasting weeks.
"Kon.. nichiwa…"
Memories of being with Kikyou
resurfaced, and he was able to smile, though slightly. The girls giggled and
clucked about his shyness, then went back to their conversation.
Kikyou, we led similar lives…
I was never accepted in the world of humans or that of demons. And you, you had
those mystical powers only to protect and purify the Shikon Jewel…
"So, onii-san, what do you
think?"
Inu-Yasha blinked in surprise.
"About what?"
"What kind of girls do you like?"
Kagome had that
just-before-a-"sit" expression again, so his confused look remained.
"Really, onii-san, tell us!"
There was going to be no way to
get them to stop.
"I like… a girl who is able to
see the good that other people can't see in a person. That can see the positive
side… knows what the other person is feeling or must be going through. I like
girls like that." If only they knew how true that was…
He looked at Kagome then, to see
her expression, but she had turned so that he could not see her face. The other
girls had gone back to their conversation, giggling now and then, and both he
and Kagome were quiet.
"It's getting late, I think you
two should be going home," Kagome muttered after a few moments, and the girls
left.
Dinner was oden, which seemed
heavenly to Inu-Yasha (who wouldn't have minded eating some of that 'ramen'
stuff Kagome brought with her occasionally). Usually the evening meal was
whatever he could steal, ever since Sesshoumaru took his lands and position
when he was younger.
"I'm a full demon and the firstborn
son! I'm only taking what is rightfully mine!"
Those statements had spurred the
search for the Shikon Jewel. The power of it could turn him into a full demon.
"…yet you want to use some of
your power to protect Lady Kagome. Do you think that will happen, if you become
a demon? What will stop you from destroying her and Shippou?"
"Um…excuse me…" Inu-Yasha
gingerly set his bowl down, got up, and walked out to the shrine courtyard.
Twilight had fallen, coloring his now-black hair with a mixture of colors and
casting shadows upon the old tree that stood near the shrine. The old tree –
and Kagome – were the only things in this time that were familiar to him.
"Oi, Inu-Yasha." The voice of
Kagome's grandfather shook him out of the self-indulgent reverie. "The bath is
ready. You're the guest, so you can use it first."
"The bath… hm. Thanks, old man –
I mean…"
"Don't worry about it."
"Go ahead and leave! I can
fight the way I want when you're gone!"
Inu-Yasha sank into the water,
shoulders slumped. His time was dangerous, with so few comforts available like
the ones in Kagome's true time, here. Perhaps it was better if she were never
to come back – if she was never to be with him again. Kagome would be safe that
way.
I don't
want to see another woman die….
Like the pleasant shock of the
hot water, another thought hit him full force. The spell that turned the love
between himself and Kikyou into equally strong hatred… when he had finally seen
through the spell, he refused to admit the truth. He did not want any pity,
especially from Kagome. But…
Kikyou died the same day she
trapped me. She went peacefully into death, the Shikon Jewel burned with her –
had she wanted to follow me into death? Was Kagome right? Had she preferred
death rather than live without me for fifty years, even though I was such a
selfish, violent jerk that didn't know any better…?
A selfish, violent jerk, indeed.
Inu-Yasha knew his heart was
human. He just did not want to show it; after all, in his world, one mistake
and a human or a demon could kill you. The only ones who truly knew how his
heart could be were Kikyou… and Kagome.
But the next day, Inu-Yasha
regained his demon powers, and Kagome found him at the other side of the well,
in the Sengoku-jidai. "Back to hunting for shards of the Shikon Jewel, you
worthless idiots! And you, kitsune, no shape-shifting tricks!"
Shippou looked at him. "Who died
and made YOU emperor, Inu-Yasha?"
"Shut up!"
Kagome gave an exasperated sigh,
but when she caught Inu-Yasha's eyes, she could see a hint of what was behind
that façade.
And so their journey continued.