An Inu Yasha Fan Fiction Saga
DISCLAIMER : I don't own Inu Yasha. All fan characters property of Aoi Kami Sarah
CHAPTER FIVE
Kagome had almost made up her mind to turn
back when she spied Inu Yasha coming around the northern side
of the pond. His hair was black, but she paid no heed to it. All
that mattered was that he wanted to see her. She sat down on a
stone bench and waited. He sat at the end of the bench and folded
his arms.
"Well?" he demanded.
"Well what?"
"Why'd ya drag me out here?"
Kagome clenched her fists. "I KNEW IT. What do they think
this is, a sit-com?"
Inu Yasha face-vaulted.
"Oh! I'm sorry! I meant situation comedy, not...!"
"I'm SO sure!" he grumbled into the ground.
"I MEAN IT! It's obvious that Sango was just trying to get
us to be alone together!"
He sat up and spat grass. "Che."
Kagome sat back down. "Well, she succeeded."
He was silent.
"I know you don't want to talk about it, but I can't deal
with this anymore. I need to get it out in the open. You had sex
with a youkai and the product was Houseki."
Inu Yasha's eye twitched spasmodically. "I didn't have a
fucking choice and that youkai IS Houseki."
Kagome turned to face him. His brows were pitched down, but there
was a deep sadness in his eyes.
"You didn't have a choice? You mean...?"
"I was ... raped. Yes. There, happy? Can we please never
talk about this again?"
"I'm so sorry."
"I don't need your fucking pity." He turned his head.
"What do you need?"
"....."
"....."
"I don't need anyone's pity," he repeated. "This
is my problem. This happened to me. And I understand why you look
away from me like you do."
Kagome swallowed hard. He had noticed that? She fought back tears.
"Inu Yasha. Come up here. I want you beside me."
He looked up at her. "You... you do?"
She nodded. He rose slowly, never taking his eyes off of her and
sat down beside her. She moved up close to him and rested her
head on his shoulder. "I'll always be here for you, Inu Yasha.
I just didn't understand." She chuckled. "I thought
for a while that you like youkai like that better than humans!"
"Bah! Don't be an idiot, I like you just fine as a human!"
Kagome held her breath. 'Did he just say...?' She was answered
when Inu Yasha put his arm around her and rested his head against
hers. Kagome sighed and closed her eyes.
*
"I have never seen a vision quite as lovely as you, Tsukiko-sama"
Houseki covered her mouth. "You say that to all the girls!"
"No I don't."
'Yes, you do,' she thought, 'but you can say it to me all you
want...'
As the hours slipped away, Houseki tired
to get Miroku to leave, but found it hard to bring herself to
tell him to go. Even more difficult to tell him the truth. He
held her hands and whispered sweet promises to her, just as she
had heard him do to a few other girls they had met along the way.
"Tsukiko-hime, would you please bear my child?"
Houseki giggled and bapped him fairly hard on the head with a
folded fan. "Oh you're so humorous, Houshi-sama!"
The sky started to lighten. Houseki fidgeted.
"Are you all right?" Miroku asked, her anxiety starting
to wear on him.
Thinking fast, Houseki came up with yet another good lie. "I
fear we shall be discovered. I must go!" She stood up and
he followed.
"Wait, please, fair Princess! I must see you again!"
Houseki gritted her teeth. "In about a month's time, I shall
find you." She turned to go but Miroku still held her hand.
"I will be waiting, Tsukiko-hime." His eyelids lowered
and he leaned in.
'What's happening to me!?' Houseki thought in panic. 'Does he
have my powers!?' She found herself leaning in as well. Their
lips touched briefly, sending an shock down Houseki's spine. "I
must go!!" she cried and ripped free of the monk. She slid
the door open and charged down the hallway just as her youkai
powers returned. She ducked into another room and panted.
"Are you ok, Houseki?!" Shippou asked in an alarmed
voice. Sango sat up and rubbed her eyes.
"Uh.. yeah. I fell asleep in another room and forgot where
I was for a moment." She quickly changed out of the robe
and back into her kimono shirt and shorts. She had just gotten
into her futon when Miroku opened the door.
"Good morning!" he cried, surprised. "What's everyone
doing up so early?"
"This place is weird," Shippou muttered and curled back
into a ball at Sango's side. She too shrugged and went back to
sleep. Houseki squeezed her eyes shut and curled up. Miroku shrugged,
sat against a wall and dozed off wondering where Kagome and Inu
Yasha were, but mostly thinking about his Princess.
Inu Yasha blinked as his head nodded forward again. He sighed. He didn't want to fall asleep, but it was nearly dawn and Kagome had fallen asleep against his shoulder hours ago. Inu Yasha smiled sweetly at her as she breathed deeply in sleep. He held her right shoulder with his right hand. The light grew brighter and his youkai power returned. Inu Yasha frowned as he watched his claws grow back.
*
In the following weeks, they fought lesser youkai and saved villagers
here and there, but did nothing to further either of their causes.
More than once, a pretty village girl who Miroku was talking to
would suddenly wander off and become amorous with the nearest
domesticated animal. Houseki would whistle, badly, and try not
to laugh as her little tricks left everyone confused.
Yet whenever Houseki had occasion to speak to the monk, the fire
that had been in his eyes was gone. She pined for that fire, and
wished that the next month would come sooner.
*
A month later the group found themselves close to the ocean. They
hadn't seen Sesshou-maru or Naraku in quite some time. Even though
their quest was unburdened by their interference, they hadn't
captured a single shard. Inu Yasha feared that Naraku was beating
them to them, but Kagome looked to her collection and tried her
best to assure him that they were very close to completing it.
"Then Naraku probably has the rest of them!" he shouted
and walked ahead.
Kagome sighed. Sango raised a brow.
"What's eating him? Didn't you guys make up?"
"I have no idea..." the Miko stopped and glared at Sango.
"How do you know we made up?"
She laughed nervously. "Wild guess?" They walked on.
"Is it because it's close to his... 'time of the month'?"
she asked.
"Maybe. I dunno. He's just anxious because nothing's been
happening!"
"Yeah, I guess he needs to get his aggression out on something,
huh?"
"No," Kagome shook her head. "It's not so much
that. He's nervous, just like I am. Because we haven't seen more
shards, or Naraku, and because we're so close to the end."
She broke off and stared at the ground. Sango nodded and walked
with her in silence.
Houseki overheard their conversation and kept her mouth shut.
She was lost in thought.
*
That evening, they made camp on the beach and roasted crabs and
fish that Inu Yasha and Sango caught over the fire. After eating,
Houseki excused herself.
She found a secluded dune and sat down. Before she lost her powers,
Houseki closed her eyes and beckoned Miroku to come to her. In
moments, her powers faded. Miroku rounded the bend and slid down
the side of dune.
"Tsukiko-hime!" he cheered. "It's you, my flower!"
Houseki opened her arms and smiled wide.
Sango watched Miroku go and frowned. She
pondered his strange behavior so deeply that she didn't hear Kagome
ask her if she was all right.
"Oh! I'm sorry... It's just.. Oh nothing."
All Kagome had to do was shoot Inu Yasha a look.
He rolled his eyes. "Shippou. You wanted to learn how to
fish, right?"
"Yeah!"
"Then come on."
They walked down the beach and Inu Yasha attempted to show the
kitsune how to dig for clams and avoid being stung by jellyfish.
"What is it, Sango-chan? You've seemed
troubled recently."
"Please don't laugh, but... I have... feelings for Miroku."
Kagome's eyes widened. "You....do?"
Sango nodded. "But he looks right through me, except to try
something sleazy, but that's not the same. That's not how I want
him to feel about me... I mean.. not YET."
"I understand."
"But ever since Houseki showed up, he's been... weird."
Kagome suddenly realized that Miroku and Houseki were missing.
She knew by the way Sango bit her lip that she had noticed the
same thing.
"Well, have you mentioned your feelings to him?"
"NO!" she cried. "Have you told Inu Yasha how you
feel about HIM!?"
Kagome turned red. "Not really. Sorry. I should practice
what I preach, ne?"
Sango said no more. She stared into the firelight and hugged Kirara
tightly to her.
Under the stars, Miroku and Houseki in her
ningen form kissed passionately. Miroku stroked her face and looked
into her eyes. "I think I'm falling in love with you, my
mysterious Princess."
Houseki hugged him tightly. "And I you, Sweet Monk."
She realized too late what she had called him, but he didn't seem
to pick up on it. They kissed again, but Miroku pulled away. 'Oh
no! He's realized who I am!' she thought. He held her face in
his shielded hand.
"Tai setsuna hito, I wonder, why have you never asked me
about my hand?"
"...." she blinked and smiled. "I assume it's a
scar or something. Whatever it is doesn't matter to me."
"I must admit to you, I'm a freak."
Houseki put her finger to his lips. "It doesn't matter to
me. I'm a freak, too."
"No you're not, Tsukiko. You're perfect!"
Houseki turned away rather than show the disappointment that shadowed
her face. "I see. You don't love me."
Miroku turned her shoulders back to face him and smiled. She couldn't
bring herself to tell him.
She wrapped her arms around him. "All right. Just hold me...
till the sun comes up."
aoikamisarah@earthlink.net
more to come
GLOSSARY : Ningen = human . Tai setsuna hito = my dear one.