Disclaimer: Nope! I don't own anything, not Inuyasha, not a million dollars, not my own giant library, nothing! Except a couple of poor ideas on this fic! ^_^
Author's Note: Okay, this is chapter 21! I finally passed 100 reviews! Special recognition to celadonserpent, who was my 100th reviewer! Yay! Review responses are at the end of this chapter! Keep on reading! And I just want to add that since school is about to start soon, I may not have as much time to write. So please be patient and wait for my updates, which will now be about once a week! Thank you! And I'm very sorry! K, r & r!
The Course of True Love Ne'er Did Run Smooth…
Chapter 21
A day later, back at Kaede's village, Inuyasha was sitting on his favorite branch in the Go-Shin-Boku tree thinking about…Kagome. (A/N: Who else? ^_^) The rough wood and bark of the tree branch had been polished as smooth as marble because of the numerous occasions and the lengthy periods of time that he spent sitting there. He sighed. Kagome was currently sitting in Kaede's hut, recounting her adventures to Sango, Miroku, Shippou, and the ancient woman herself. The dog demon had Feh!'d at the offer to join them, and he speedily headed out into the forest to reflect on his thoughts.
How had Kagome passed through the invisible barrier without help? Inuyasha wracked his brain, literally pounding in against the tree trunk at times, and tried as hard as he could to remember anything of his childhood that would help. Memories of the period of time when he still had a father, a mother, a loving, whole family, were thick with proverbial dust from lying undisturbed for so long, in the deepest, darkest recesses of his mind. Ah-ha! That was it! The voice of his father, the late ruler of the Western Lands, Inutaisho, suddenly echoed in his head.
His deep, quiet, yet dignified voice intoned solemnly, "Inuyasha, my dearest son. It is time for me to teach you about our home, and territories, so that you will be well-prepared to take over as Lord of the Western Lands when you grow older. Listen well to what I tell you now, that you may be able to remember and repeat this to yourself when there is need:
This castle has a shield around it, formed by very powerful youkai magic, which prevents our home from being attacked by intruders. Only those of my blood, and their chosen mates, may pass through the barrier freely. Inuyasha, I am sure that you will one day find your destined soul mate, and you will lead her through the invisible barriers and past these very doors, to make her the mistress of this house. However, only your wife can pass the shield unchecked, so since you will live to have many loyal friends in the future, I will tell you how to let them through. There is a spirit who resides inside the wall to guard our home. You must utter a specific incantation to let the spirit recognize the people whom you chose to allow into your home. Only this way can your friends enter the castle grounds. I will teach you the words, but be advised. You must take caution in choosing whom you let in. Once the spell is activated it cannot be reversed. Three kinds of people have the chance on coming in, son. There are those who seem like your friends. Then there are those who are your friends but have the potential to change into your enemies. But there are those who are truly your friends, worthy of your trust, willing to risk their lives for your life, who'll stand in unwavering fealty by your side.
Here is what you must do: Let them put a hand on the barrier, palm facing down. Place your hand over theirs, and recite this verse:
With blood of inu,
You must hark to me.
With power of youkai,
May thee see what I see.
Allow this being to pass unhurt,
Through thy walls that stay alert.
Thou shalt not hinder nor harm,
This person, not hair nor arm.
I'll vouch for him, by the light of the moon and the sun,
So admit him through now, spirit, and let us be done!"
(A/N: Sorry about the corny incantation, but hey, give me some credit here peeps! I made this entire thing up out of my head! ^_^)
The powerful voice faded away as Inuyasha jumped off the tree and landed on his hands and feet on the grass. Hmm… so was Kagome…his soul mate? He didn't know whether to believe it or not. Inside, his heart yearned to tell Kagome that he loved her, to hold her in his arms, to caress her raven-black hair, to kiss her on her cherry lips. But his mind screamed at him to forget it, to pretend he never knew, for he was also sorely afraid of being betrayed again. Unintentionally, but betrayed nevertheless. After being killed by his first love, who could blame the poor guy for being mistrustful of another, almost identical pretty miko appearing in his life?
Inuyasha was afraid. Afraid that if he admitted his love for Kagome, he would lose his strength and become weak. Afraid that if he and Kagome loved each other, another evil force would arrive to tear them apart. And most of all, afraid that if he summoned up the courage to approach her with his feelings, the beautiful, alive, teenager would refuse his love. Afraid she would shun him, scorn him, laugh at him, ridicule him, for assuming that she could ever love a worthless hanyou. Afraid that she bell-like voice would tinkle with laughter, and say, "Silly boy. How could I ever love you? Can't you see that I love Kouga? He's my true love."
"No!" he shouted aloud, without noticing, "Kagome is mine! She will be my mate, and no one, no wimpy wolf, can change that! I swear I'll rip him to pieces if he tries to take my Kagome away from me!" He growled possessively as he demonstrated what he would do to the cocky, handsome wolf-prince upon a poor young fir tree by punching its trunk again and again until its wood splintered, then fell apart. Inuyasha started to head full speed into the forest, to cool his anger, but he suddenly paused in mid-air and sniffed the air. The wind had shifted towards him now, and it blew a hot, acrid, woody stench straight past his nose. The hanyou jumped up into a nearby elm tree and looked towards the direction of the village.
In the distance, a thick column of gray smoke was drifting lazily into the blue, cloudless sky. Oh no! Kaede's village was on fire! That meant that…"Kagome!" his mind screamed! The dog demon raced off towards the village. With the strength given to him by anxiety for Kagome's well-being, his speed soon brought him to the edge of the forest. There, a large wave of intense heat almost knocked the dog demon off his feet.
Oh horror! Brilliant red flames flickered over the roof of Kaede's hut. It would have looked extremely dazzling and resplendent, if hadn't been so horrible. Smoke curled up around the edges of the door. Half of the village houses had blackened, charred walls; the fires there had already been put out by buckets of water by villagers. Inuyasha covered his nose and mouth with his sleeve, then ran towards Kaede's hut. As he neared it, he saw a row of people standing in front of the house, who were trying to diminish the flames. A line of people were shouting and grunting as they passed heavy buckets full of well water towards the house, with no success. As he watched, two dark figures emerged from the door, stumbling, coughing, and choking from the thick black smoke. It was Sango and Miroku! They ran up to Inuyasha, still panting and gasping for air.
"Inuyasha! Thank goodness you're here! The village houses caught on fire from sparks from one of the other fireplaces. Shippou and Kaede have gotten out safely, but Kagome's still in there!" Sango cried frantically while she clutched the monk's sleeve.
Miroku added quickly, "Kagome-sama is trapped underneath a piece of fallen timber. We tried to get her out, but it wouldn't budge!" Without waiting to hear another word, the hanyou ran to one of the water buckets, tore a strip of fire-rat cloth from his haori, soaked it in the bucket, and tied it securely around his face. Then, impervious to the warning cries of his friends, he ran through the blazing frame of Kaede's door. The last glimpse Sango and Miroku had of him before he vanished into the fiery inferno were a few strands of silver-white hair that waved behind him before those, too, whisked around the corner and disappeared.
Review Responses:
chickittychick ~ Thanks for the encouragement! Keep going with your story, too! When are Setsuna and Sesshoumaru going to finally get together?? ^_^
totally-wicked ~ I'm updating! I'm updating! Stop screaming at me willya? I have sensitive dog-demon ears, like Inuyasha! (jk) ^_~ I love fluff too! Thanks, but you deserve the credit for giving me the idea about the gate! And email me too!
CassieChan ~ I'm glad you liked it! I don't know that much about Rin either; you should thank my good friend, totally-wicked, for giving me so much info about Sesshoumaru, Rin, and the castle!
Miyami ~ Don't worry! I just love sweet touching moments alone between Kagome and Inuyasha! There's another fluffy moment coming up very soon! So stay tuned! J
Thunk ~ Yep! I love happy endings too! Especially between Inuyasha characters! I got the info about the forget-me-not meanings online!
whatsinaname ~ Heh, heh. I don't think that story will be started for a long time yet. I don't have that much spare time on my hands, now that school's started… And I wouldn't want to displease chickittychick, anyway!
Itadakimasu ~ Arigatou! I love your stories too! They're so funny, especially 'The Job' You have to write more! I saw Goldmember, too!
aBacus ~ Thanks! And I'm writing as fast as I can! ^_^
celadonserpent ~ Congrats for being my 100th reviewer! Thank you! Me luvs fluff!