AAHH!!! I forgot to bring my spiffy word list to school with me. Aww well, I guess you can have the unspifified version for now.^_^; Sorry guys! lol Oh, and towards the end, chocolate pools, yummy.^-^
Ame Tenshi- Yeah, I realized that I wanted to write a little more Sango/Miroku fluff that I didn't get to, but maybe I'll make it a dream or a flashback or something.^_^ About the Shikon no Tama, I have a better solution *grins evily*, a more romantic one at least.^_~ And as far as Kirara and Shippou go, I know it seems strange to us that I haven't mentioned them yet, but she's too distraught to think of it, thankfully for this author! No, but that'll be addressed in this chapter. Have you wondered about Kouga and Sesshoumaru yet?^_~* Or who knows, maybe Inu Yasha lived because of the shard and everyone was killed off. Find out in the next episode... um... I guess partially this episode of MEMORIES OF THE PRESEEENNTTT!!! Muahahaha!
Merith- I looove yooouuu!!!!! *giggles and hugs tightly*
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any of the characters in it. If I did I'd be rich, but I'm not... and if I had lots of money I'd probably spend it on anime anyway so pleeaasseee, don't sue me.^_^ lol
Oh, and as always,
_= thoughts *_* = sound/ italicized "_" = speech
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Memories of the Present
Chapter 26: Who Says Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend?
"Come on, what're you waiting for? We've got a kitsune to see!" Kagome ran out the front door and down the familiar wooden steps onto the shrine grounds. That afternoon had been full of surprises, each one seemingly better than the last. Kagome had found out that Inu Yasha wasn't the only demon, or half demon, to survive the past, but that Shippou, Sesshoumaru, and Kirara were all alive as well. Even better, they were all close by and were definitely in range for a visit! After an awkward explanation of why no one came to visit sooner... again, excitement began to spread like a wild fire and Souta realized that he'd finally get to play with the kit Kagome was always talking about. Every heart was lifted a bit when they saw how excited the miko had become, and they knew that their day was only going to get better. It was natural to think that Kagome would take the whole situation pretty hard, and this was only one step to getting everything back to normal... or at least as normal as they could be anyway.
After convincing Souta that they'd bring Shippou back, Kagome scarfed the oden her mom had made for her (she knew it was her daughter's favorite), and raced out the door, almost daring the hanyou to try and catch up with her. Polishing off the rest of the food, plus a couple bowls of ramen for good measure, Inu Yasha began his pursuit of the overly excited girl and raced down the steps himself, hot on her trail. He knew that he didn't need to catch her, because she'd have to come back eventually, she had no idea where Shippou was after all, but he decided to track her down before she hurt herself. Besides, a game of cat and mouse usually proved to be fun, especially when playing with a stubborn, energetic girl.
With high hopes, the two rejoined about thirty seconds later, unfortunately not long enough for the game, and began their journey from the shrine steps into the real world, which, as Kagome soon realized, was a lot more complicated than she had ever known.
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"So where are we going?"
"Keh, just wait and see."
"Come on, tell me!"
Inu Yasha sighed and shook his head with a soft chuckle; "I'll tell you if you guess."
"Oka...heeyy... wait a minute!"
"Sorry, you've already agreed so wait or start guessing!" A wide grin spread over Inu Yasha's face and Kagome pouted, obviously beyond annoyed that he wasn't going to tell her.
The hanyou had decided to walk, or should I say bound, to the shrine the morning before, instead of driving, a decision that would prove most irritating soon enough. After half an hour of guesses, he had begun to wish she hadn't agreed to his little arrangement; this was more annoying than just telling her!
Five minutes later, Kagome had become bored of irritating the inu-hanyou; instead, she watched the people around her going about their daily lives. To their right was a woman with short brown hair and glasses, probably in her mid thirties, pushing a stroller with two babies in it. A little girl walked by her side and helped her mother balance the groceries and baby supplies that the stroller couldn't hold. The girl had the same hair as her mother did, but she had bright green eyes and looked extremely rambunctious, though was apparently well behaved when she had to be. Kagome had often wondered how many children she'd have; she liked to dream about one day when she'd settle down and live, well, sometimes it was here, and sometimes it was in the Sengoku Jedai, but it didn't matter really. All she wanted was a good husband and kids, but how many kids? Kagome's eyes wandered back to their side of the street, watching Inu Yasha as he walked beside her. She watched the way his hair blew behind him as they walked, and had to admit how much he did suit clothes from her time, as well as his.
This *is* his time Kagome. With a soft sigh, she held her head high (sorry for the rhyme), and refused to let her good mood go to waste. She was going to see Shippou! Okay, what had she been thinking about? Kids, right, okay, how many did she want? Well, of course, by then Shippou wouldn't be a kid anymore, if he still was, but he would always be little to her. Besides the kit, well, to be honest, she didn't really know, especially considering how many puppies are in a li... wait! No, no, stray from that thought! Crap, he's looking! Quickly, the girl's eyes jumped across the street and passed over the crowd, looking for something else to focus on.
Ignoring the smirk she could feel radiating off of the hanyou next to her, Kagome scanned the people until she came back to the woman and her daughter; there didn't seem to be many interesting people around today. Behind the family was a man in a business suit. She guessed that they were probably coming up to the main business section of the city, and by the number of suits here, yeah, she was probably right. Kagome watched as the man stopped, pulled a pager out of his briefcase, and a cell phone out of his pocket. He easily avoided the passing people while talking, even though he had his back to them, and her, and did it with such grace that he must've been dodging rushing people for years, a statement that was only confirmed by his white hair.
Many years.
Before she could look further, a soft grunt sent her falling backwards, her rear missing cold, harsh pavement by only a hand's width as Inu Yasha caught her. Kami it was good to have demon around. As he set her upright, a low growl was brought to her attention and, as she looked up, she nearly fainted, but instead, just took a step back.
"Sooo… Inu Yasha, is this the little vixen you've been talking about?" A man that looked frighteningly similar to an older Hojo stood before them. Unlike Hojo, his bright blue eyes shone with coldness, a stern cruelty that you may have expected from Naraku or Sesshoumaru, but still held a smile, though a grim one. The man's chestnut hair was cut short, very short, and he sported a dark blue suit with white, vertical stripes. Though he stared daggers at Inu Yasha, when his gaze fell upon the young girl, it seemed brimmed with curiosity and power, a look not unnoticed by the hanyou, who immediately growled and pushed her behind him protectively.
"Shut up and leave her the hell alone."
The man just smirked, face darkening slightly, and was about to say something when the real terror stepped out from behind him; "Higurashi?"
Crud, "Um... hi Hojo." Yep, it was now officially confirmed, Hojo's father was WAY creepier than his obsessive son. Much to her surprise, however, Inu Yasha didn't look the least bit fazed. She had expected him to yell at Hojo, beat him up, growl at him, something, but he didn't; instead he just... smirked?!
A small memory resurfaced in her mind; 'Instead, I watched you sleep and attempt to ignore that annoying Hojo guy.' Hmm... 'ignore that annoying Hojo guy', maybe this wouldn't be as embarrassing as she thought; maybe he understood that she wasn't interested?
"My, protective aren't we?" Inu Yasha's face immediately darkened as his attention was turned back to the man in front of them.
He stiffened, wrapped his arm around Kagome's waist, and began walking off, "Get over yourself." The hanyou turned smug began to walk off, dragging the miko behind him, but was soon halted again when the one we will now dub 'annoyance' pulled Kagome from his grasp.
"Hey, get your hands off of Higurashi. I remember you; you were incredibly rude when we talked a few weeks ago. I will not allow such a sweet girl to be in your company."
"You know this girl Hojo?"
"Yes Father; she goes to my school."
"Oh, well then," 'annoyance''s father, 'creepy', turned to Inu Yasha, smirking as always, his eyes lit with an odd sort of newly formed amusement, "taking girls from kids eh Inu Yasha? Aren't you a bit old for her?" His grin grew as the hanyou seethed before him. Damn, this guy pissed him off! First he tried to take his position, then was just a total ass in general, and now this?! Why couldn't this guy get a clue before Inu Yasha ripped him to shreds?!
Subduing the urge to kill them both, Inu Yasha forcefully pulled the miko from 'annoyance''s hands, and gently put his arm back around her waist. Then he turned to 'creepy', snorted, and the two walked off with a haughty, "I'll see you at work asshole," lovingly flowing from the hanyou to follow behind them.
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"Oh, here too! Oh, and this one, isn't it cute?!" He just *HAD* to tell her that she could go shopping didn't he?
A defeated hanyou sighed and hung his head, This is going to be a looong day.
After leaving 'annoyance' and 'creepy', he and Kagome had gone to Shippou's work to visit him. The kit, though no longer a kit really, worked at an art store not far from the shrine. Over the years he had accumulated several jobs, but since he still looked like a kid, or teen really, very few would hire him. Of course, the companies run by demons understood, but few of them had art stores and, after those crayons all those centuries ago, Shippou had found a new love of art that he still carried with him today. He chose to work at art stores, not because he needed the money, but because he could get discounts on the supplies there, and he needed *something* to do while Inu Yasha was gone during the day. In the massive amount of time he had to practice over the years, he learned and mastered many art styles, and sold his artwork under a fake name, changing it every fifty years or so for reality's sake. Being flexible, he got lots of business and a lot of money at the same time, and chose to spend most of it on his growing anime collection and video games. Yeah, Souta would love him.
Unfortunately, he was nowhere to be found. It seems that Shippou had not gone into work that day, and no one knew where he was, leaving a saddened girl and a worried hanyou. He had to think and think fast; he had to think of something they could do. He didn't want to see her discouraged again, but what? What do girls like to do? Of course, they go shopping! That's one thing that hadn't really changed much since before he was born!
He just *HAD* to say shopping didn't he?
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"Ohhh, let's go in here!"
"Um Kagome... I don't think I can carry anymore." (heh, a hanyou that can't carry anymore? I'm afraid.)
"What?" Inu Yasha stood behind her, bags in his arms...hands, legs, head, hell, he even had a little bag hanging from his cute fuzzy ear! Kagome giggled shyly, feeling slightly guilty about all of the money she was spending. "Um... sorry. I guess I got a little... carried away?"
The hanyou just let out a half-hearted "keh", and turned towards the exit, half to hide the slight smirk that seemed to making a happy new home on his face, and half to see if she'd get the hint and let them leave. Now, he was glad that she was feeling better, and he certainly did want to get her mind off of things for a while, but without a car to take them home, this was a bit much to carry.
Needless to say, the store was rather depressed when their best customer decided to leave, but with a promise to return, spirits were once again lifted and the day went on, not to mention the long trek back to a certain dog demon's apartment to check on Shippou. They had planned to take a taxi back after all, but on the way out, Kagome spotted another shop and bolted for it, running down the sidewalk to stand in front a small stand as she admired the beautiful merchandise.
Flowers, what is more beautiful than a girl with flowers? (or a bishie with flowers for us.^_~ *squeals*) Kagome hadn't even noticed Inu Yasha's disappearance until she turned to ask for some roses, stopping in mid-sentence as the bags lay piled next to her feet.
Where did he go? She paused for a moment, fear that it had all been a dream taking control over her mind, but she quickly shook her head and tossed the thoughts away; it's not like she could've paid for all of those clothes. She watched the people walk around and, deciding that he couldn't be found, was about to check the restaurants and food stands, when something decided to slip itself over her shoulder and into one of the bags she had picked up. It was the most beautiful arrangement of roses she had ever seen.
There were white roses, red roses, yellow roses, and pink ones, even some that were slightly mixed in color. Among them lay sheets of little white flowers, not unlike little balls on sticks, and she chided herself slightly for not knowing its name. Was it Babies' Breath? Anyway, those little flowers went with almost everything! A minute pressure on her shoulder alerted her to the perpetrator, and she giggled softly, scenting the beautiful bouquet, as strand of white fell across her chest and into her arms. A single hand reached up and scratched at an ear before she jumped back in shock. Ear? Oh no, they had forgotten to cover his ears!
She turned around quickly, and frantically began searching for a shop that may have had a hat or bandana, or something, anything. Kagome looked to Inu Yasha, face full of worry, then anger as he just sat there and smirked, "Kagome, don't worry. People are used to it. They just think it's some anime craze or that I'm eccentric or something." He shrugged and nonchalantly draped an arm over her shoulder to pick up the bags, "It's no big deal."
Well, saying that she felt foolish was an understatement, and to make it worse, in her rush to find the slight protection, she had dropped the flowers he had given her only moments before.
"Kagome, you idiot...," she mumbled softly, staring at the lump of color being squished into the sidewalk with each passing person. She reached to the flowers as if she was reaching for her heart, trying to pick it up before more could step on it, before the pieces became so brittle that they just faded away into nothingness. He had given her those. She knew that she shouldn't feel that bad; they were only flowers, but HE had given them to her, and she couldn't even hold onto them for three minutes without ruining them. She ruined everything didn't she?
Inu Yasha never took his eyes off of the girl as she lowered her already slumping shoulders and cradled the crumpled bundle in her arms. Why was she sad? The flowers weren't that important; did she not like them to begin with? He watched as her eyes began to swell with tears and she fiercely tried to blink them back, and she turned to look straight at him. Kagome's eyes were wide with worry and horror, tears began to leak down before the hanyou could do anything to stop them, and he saw her lip begin to tremble. She bit it softly to try and hide the fact, but it was no use. Before she could begin sniffling, he had wrapped his arms around her and embraced her once more, holding her and whispering soothing things into her ear. He ran his fingers through her dark mane, still awed at how soft it was to the touch. The hanyou buried his head against it gently and nuzzled the side of her face, receiving a soft gasp as Kagome stopped sniffling and stiffened before snuggling a little closer in his arms. He stopped her, pushing her back slightly, and looked deep within the chocolate pools that were her eyes.
Wiping a few stray tears, he held her face towards him with a claw and gently asked, "What's wrong?"
The tenderness in his voice started the tears all over again and she sobbed, throwing herself back into his arms until she could gain enough composure to talk once more. After a small hiccup, one he though was cute I might add, she sniffled and laughed coarsely, "Sorry 'bout the shirt."
Inu Yasha looked at his tear-soaked chest and shrugged. Turning to her, he asked again, "Kagome, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"
With another sniffle, she lay her head back upon his chest and sighed. "It's silly; I know I shouldn't be this upset but... the flowers are ruined." Kagome buried her head more deeply into him and he just stared in shock.
"That's it?"
"What?" She raised her head, confusion apparent across her features, "Wh... what do you mean 'that's it'?"
"Well..." Was it her imagination, or did he look a little nervous? "Would you like me to buy you more?"
The girl's eyes widened and a smile of pure joy grew where the frown once was, "Ohh..." Tears began to flow again and she wrapped her arms around him.
"Kagome, what's wrong? What did I do?"
She just laughed softly and nuzzled his neck; "No, it's not that." She pulled out of his arms and turned to him with a smile so bright that he was sure it could rival the sun. She then grabbed the flowers, gently cacooning them in the clothes they had just purchased, and wrapped his hand around her own. She smiled at him again and kissed his softly on the cheek, then turned to skip off, leaving a rather tongue-tied, shell-shocked tomato behind. Of course, whenever she decided to skip off in a daze, it never really seemed to last too long. She really should've watched where she was going.
"Ooof, sorry about that I... SESHOUMARU?!"
Uh oh.