HEY! OMG sooo many nice reviews!!! Sorry it took so long to get this
chapter out, but man this is time consuming. I have a new sudden
appreciation for all fan-fic authors.
Especially ones who have to try to keep their grade up in all honors classes while at it.
Sorry, but I;m pressed for time and it was either update tomm. Or reply to all the reviews and I had a feeling u'd rather have the chap.
This is a pretty long chap to make up for the time lapse.
To solve any confusion I might have caused, Sess is NOT Kagome's teacher. You know how a lot of college professors basically have their grad students and TA's teach their freshman classes. That's what happened there.
38 REVIEW I LOVE U ALL! SORRI COULDN'T RESPOND!!! I'll respond next time.
Ugh disclaimers suck n e way
Disclaimer~ I don't own Inu-chan or the rest of the gang u annoyin lawyer xP
Shadows of the Past
Sesshoumaru strode to the front door with all of his normal reserve, nothing in his manner hinting at the embarrassing scene that his father and brother had walked in on.
"Kagome, This is my father, Fugio InuTaisho, and my half brother, Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru coolly introduced, spitting out the name Inuyasha as if it was a foul poison that had managed to worm its way into his mouth.
Turning to face his family, he continued "Father, this is Higurashi Kagome."
"NANI? H-h-h he's your BROTHER!" Kagome managed to choke out, when she had finally overcome part of her shock.
"HALF-brother," corrected Sesshoumaru, his outwardly calm demeanor marred for an instant with irritation.
"Yoroshiku ne, Kagome" Inutaisho greeted politely, noticing the awkward silence that was beginning to develop.
Kagome's expressive eyes were still wide with shock, and her mind unable to form coherent thoughts.
'Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod' her useless mind rambled while Kagome attempted to process what was happening.
Quickly flashing Kagome a worried glance, Sesshoumaru noticed that her reaction was much worse than it should have been in such a situation.
She may have been embarrassed and flustered, but there was no accounting for the pure shock and horror that was etched deeply into her eyes, or her prolonged silence, as if she weren't all there.
Normally, she would have bounced right back into her usual cheerful self, but something was obviously seriously bothering, and he had a feeling it had to do with the arrival of his family.
"Kagome," he said in his impassive voice, turning to fix her with his golden gaze softening slightly when it met her unfocused, almost panic- stricken eyes.
"We seem to be running low on paint. Would you run to the hardware store and buy a few more cans?" he asked, clearly giving her an opportunity to run and collect her thoughts, as she so desperately needed to do.
Snapping out of her memory-induced daze, Kagome quickly flashed Sesshoumaru a thankful smile and ran out the door, pushing past a confused Inutaisho and son and barely remembering to grab her bag on the way out.
He couldn't help, but notice that she made sure to avoid touching his brother.
Kagome flew down the stairs of the apartment building and into her car before she could even blink. The only coherent, if you could call it that, thought in her mind was to get as far away from that apartment as she could, and as quickly as she could.
She had driven all the way to the hardware store before her conscious mind regained control, and she had left behind her fight-or-flight mode.
She slumped in the drivers seat of her car, her head resting against the cool, black leather of the steering wheel, as her midnight hair pooled around her creating a shield between her and the rest of the world.
Her shoulder sagged under the emotional barrage she had just suffered, and simply lay there for a moment, staring out at the passing people content with their lives. Sighing, she pushed back her hair, and leaned back into the seat, thinking over what she had just seen.
'It doesn't make any sense. How can they be brothers? They don't even look alike,' she thought mentally comparing the two.
Sesshoumaru's elegant, sophisticated beauty was nothing like Inuyasha's boyish good looks.
The two were as different as day and night, literally, with Sesshoumaru's unusual pure white hair that almost seemed to almost glow and Inuyasha's unruly ebony locks that refused to stay in any tie and hung loosely down his back.
Sesshoumaru was reserved, the epitome of calm, cold maturity where Inuyasha was outspoken and brash.
Their eyes were the one feature that set them most apart, with Sesshoumaru's heated golden gaze completely unlike Inuyasha's roughish deep purple ones.
'They don't even have the same family name,' complained Kagome until she remembered that Sesshoumaru used his mother's maiden name. Groaning mentally, she chided herself for forgetting, especially since he had given her an oddly lonely and hard look after that clearly stated that the subject was not to be questioned further, end. of. discussion.
'I thought that I was finally moving on with a new life.
'I thought that I was finally over him. But here I am hiding like a coward, running away from the past that's come back to bite me in the butt. Running away again . . . .
'My life was finally getting back on track. I thought that I left him behind. But all he has to do is show up and I feel broken all over again.
'I don't want to feel this broken again. Like everything inside of me. Everything that makes me Kagome is shattered and broken into a million pieces.
'It still hurts. It still hurts so much.'
* * * * * * * * * Flash Back * * * * * * * * * *
A bright-faced Kagome ran along the pavement to the park holding her schoolbooks close as she raced through the park towards Inuyasha's tree. He always seemed to be sitting there whether sulking or just thinking. She pushed some of the hair that the damp air was making stick to her forehead out of her face.
However, the sight that met her eyes when she got there was enough to shred her heart to tatters.
Inuyasha was standing under the tree standing FAR too close to a dark- haired girl for comfort. A girl that wasn't Kagome.
Stepping closer, but still not making her presence known, she watched as Inuyasha wrapped his arms around the girl and pulled her into a tight embrace. The girl silently tilted her face up to look into Inuyasha's eyes and the identity of the girl was confirmed.
It was Kikyou.
Part of her had known who it was as soon as she had seen them, the sixth sense that also told her when something disastrous was going to happen.
But another part of her had held out hope, and it was that sick part of her that made her stay, standing silently and watching as her love held another, the pain in her chest making it difficult for her to breath.
Wordlessly she watched as the two longingly gazed into each other eyes, the love evident in every movement and every breath.
Their bodies seeming to fit perfectly together, completely content to just stand there holding each other. This was not some tryst to be forgiven and forgotten.
It was love . . .
And then she saw Kikyou rise slightly and press her lips lightly against Inuyasha's and his eyes softly flutter closed as he leaned into her warm lips.
Feeling something wet trickle down her face, Kagome raised one trembling hand to her face and realized that she was crying. Not able to hold out any longer a single sob escaped her lips alerting the couple.
Inuyasha's head snapped up and he met her eyes.
'Why doesn't he look away!?!?!' her mind screamed, but her heart already knew the answer. His face was filled with sorrow and pity, but not shame. Not love for her.
Not wanting to face this pain any longer, she ran. Blindly stumbling away from the lovers, tears coursing down her face, she ran. Not caring to where as long as she did not have to face them any longer.
As if on cue, the skies split open and the rain whose threat had hung in the humid air all day poured down upon the sorrowful girl, as if in pity, washing the tears from her face only to have new ones form.
Shortly after, she heard footsteps following her, not turning to the pitying face of her first love, she quickened her pace only to slip on the now damp ground in her haste and tear-blinded eyes.
Bracing for the jarring hit, she closed her eyes awaiting the painful meeting with the dirt path.
Only to have it never come, as a pair of strong, familiar arms caught her from behind. She felt herself instinctively melt into the comforting embrace she knew so well only to stiffen as she remembered what she had just seen.
Looking up into Inuyasha's pitying eyes, she felt the pain overwhelm her as she wrenched herself from his grasp.
"Why?" she asked, the one word flooded with all of her emotions and her betrayal as her haunting eyes locked with his.
When he did not reply, merely staring into her eyes with that horrible pity and apology. She thought even hate would be better than the pity she saw in them.
Finally, unable to stand the aching pressure within her any longer,
She snapped.
* * * * * * * * * * End Flash Back * * * * * * * * * *
Sesshoumaru coldly glanced at his father and his miserable excuse for a brother after Kagome left the room, tensing as Kagome left the apartment.
He was fuming inwardly that his family had caught him in such a compromising situation with Kagome.
Especially, when he had actually been enjoying himself.
He gave a mental sigh, letting none of his frustrations mar his icy demeanor.
When had she changed him so much, he would never have even considered such behavior before he met her, and certainly would not have publicly acted so warmly or at least warmly for him, towards her when his family interrupted.
Eyeing the emotions that ran across his father and brothers faces with amusement and curiosity, in Inuyasha's case, he wondered why Kagome had reacted the way that she did.
She had seemed horrified and pained after the initial shock had worn away. He had seen the way she had stared at his brother, as if he was a trusted childhood teddy bear that had just stabbed her in the back, literally.
Sesshoumaru knew her well enough to know that she needed time on her own to think things out, and sent her out to collect herself, knowing full well that there were still 6 cans of paint in his bedroom.
His brother's reaction was even more difficult to understand.
The shock was simple enough to understand, he had not seen Sesshoumaru in many years, nor seen the changes that Kagome had wrought to icy walls that surrounded his heart.
His behavior had been extremely out of character, and would seem even more so to his ignorant brother.
The possessive anger that quickly replaced that shock was far more interesting and perplexing.
To his knowledge, Kagome had never known his brother. Though they did not discuss every aspect of their pasts, Sesshoumaru felt that he did know the girl well enough to know if she had met his bastard brother.
But if they had never met that possessive spark in Inuyasha's eyes that clearly screamed, "MINE!" would be completely unexplainable.
The regretful sorrow that he saw soon after and the confusion that had quickly followed baffled him even more.
He knew that he would have to question Kagome about her relation with his brother, but the pained sorrowful look in her eyes warned him away from the topic.
At least until they were alone.
That sadness did not belong in her bright eyes, and he was illogically determined to keep it from touching her life ever again. She was a creature of light never to be diminished by the shadows of sorrow and pain.
Not if he had anything to do about it.
A/N:: There finally done! Hope you like it READ AND REVIEW!!!!
Especially ones who have to try to keep their grade up in all honors classes while at it.
Sorry, but I;m pressed for time and it was either update tomm. Or reply to all the reviews and I had a feeling u'd rather have the chap.
This is a pretty long chap to make up for the time lapse.
To solve any confusion I might have caused, Sess is NOT Kagome's teacher. You know how a lot of college professors basically have their grad students and TA's teach their freshman classes. That's what happened there.
38 REVIEW I LOVE U ALL! SORRI COULDN'T RESPOND!!! I'll respond next time.
Ugh disclaimers suck n e way
Disclaimer~ I don't own Inu-chan or the rest of the gang u annoyin lawyer xP
Shadows of the Past
Sesshoumaru strode to the front door with all of his normal reserve, nothing in his manner hinting at the embarrassing scene that his father and brother had walked in on.
"Kagome, This is my father, Fugio InuTaisho, and my half brother, Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru coolly introduced, spitting out the name Inuyasha as if it was a foul poison that had managed to worm its way into his mouth.
Turning to face his family, he continued "Father, this is Higurashi Kagome."
"NANI? H-h-h he's your BROTHER!" Kagome managed to choke out, when she had finally overcome part of her shock.
"HALF-brother," corrected Sesshoumaru, his outwardly calm demeanor marred for an instant with irritation.
"Yoroshiku ne, Kagome" Inutaisho greeted politely, noticing the awkward silence that was beginning to develop.
Kagome's expressive eyes were still wide with shock, and her mind unable to form coherent thoughts.
'Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod' her useless mind rambled while Kagome attempted to process what was happening.
Quickly flashing Kagome a worried glance, Sesshoumaru noticed that her reaction was much worse than it should have been in such a situation.
She may have been embarrassed and flustered, but there was no accounting for the pure shock and horror that was etched deeply into her eyes, or her prolonged silence, as if she weren't all there.
Normally, she would have bounced right back into her usual cheerful self, but something was obviously seriously bothering, and he had a feeling it had to do with the arrival of his family.
"Kagome," he said in his impassive voice, turning to fix her with his golden gaze softening slightly when it met her unfocused, almost panic- stricken eyes.
"We seem to be running low on paint. Would you run to the hardware store and buy a few more cans?" he asked, clearly giving her an opportunity to run and collect her thoughts, as she so desperately needed to do.
Snapping out of her memory-induced daze, Kagome quickly flashed Sesshoumaru a thankful smile and ran out the door, pushing past a confused Inutaisho and son and barely remembering to grab her bag on the way out.
He couldn't help, but notice that she made sure to avoid touching his brother.
Kagome flew down the stairs of the apartment building and into her car before she could even blink. The only coherent, if you could call it that, thought in her mind was to get as far away from that apartment as she could, and as quickly as she could.
She had driven all the way to the hardware store before her conscious mind regained control, and she had left behind her fight-or-flight mode.
She slumped in the drivers seat of her car, her head resting against the cool, black leather of the steering wheel, as her midnight hair pooled around her creating a shield between her and the rest of the world.
Her shoulder sagged under the emotional barrage she had just suffered, and simply lay there for a moment, staring out at the passing people content with their lives. Sighing, she pushed back her hair, and leaned back into the seat, thinking over what she had just seen.
'It doesn't make any sense. How can they be brothers? They don't even look alike,' she thought mentally comparing the two.
Sesshoumaru's elegant, sophisticated beauty was nothing like Inuyasha's boyish good looks.
The two were as different as day and night, literally, with Sesshoumaru's unusual pure white hair that almost seemed to almost glow and Inuyasha's unruly ebony locks that refused to stay in any tie and hung loosely down his back.
Sesshoumaru was reserved, the epitome of calm, cold maturity where Inuyasha was outspoken and brash.
Their eyes were the one feature that set them most apart, with Sesshoumaru's heated golden gaze completely unlike Inuyasha's roughish deep purple ones.
'They don't even have the same family name,' complained Kagome until she remembered that Sesshoumaru used his mother's maiden name. Groaning mentally, she chided herself for forgetting, especially since he had given her an oddly lonely and hard look after that clearly stated that the subject was not to be questioned further, end. of. discussion.
'I thought that I was finally moving on with a new life.
'I thought that I was finally over him. But here I am hiding like a coward, running away from the past that's come back to bite me in the butt. Running away again . . . .
'My life was finally getting back on track. I thought that I left him behind. But all he has to do is show up and I feel broken all over again.
'I don't want to feel this broken again. Like everything inside of me. Everything that makes me Kagome is shattered and broken into a million pieces.
'It still hurts. It still hurts so much.'
* * * * * * * * * Flash Back * * * * * * * * * *
A bright-faced Kagome ran along the pavement to the park holding her schoolbooks close as she raced through the park towards Inuyasha's tree. He always seemed to be sitting there whether sulking or just thinking. She pushed some of the hair that the damp air was making stick to her forehead out of her face.
However, the sight that met her eyes when she got there was enough to shred her heart to tatters.
Inuyasha was standing under the tree standing FAR too close to a dark- haired girl for comfort. A girl that wasn't Kagome.
Stepping closer, but still not making her presence known, she watched as Inuyasha wrapped his arms around the girl and pulled her into a tight embrace. The girl silently tilted her face up to look into Inuyasha's eyes and the identity of the girl was confirmed.
It was Kikyou.
Part of her had known who it was as soon as she had seen them, the sixth sense that also told her when something disastrous was going to happen.
But another part of her had held out hope, and it was that sick part of her that made her stay, standing silently and watching as her love held another, the pain in her chest making it difficult for her to breath.
Wordlessly she watched as the two longingly gazed into each other eyes, the love evident in every movement and every breath.
Their bodies seeming to fit perfectly together, completely content to just stand there holding each other. This was not some tryst to be forgiven and forgotten.
It was love . . .
And then she saw Kikyou rise slightly and press her lips lightly against Inuyasha's and his eyes softly flutter closed as he leaned into her warm lips.
Feeling something wet trickle down her face, Kagome raised one trembling hand to her face and realized that she was crying. Not able to hold out any longer a single sob escaped her lips alerting the couple.
Inuyasha's head snapped up and he met her eyes.
'Why doesn't he look away!?!?!' her mind screamed, but her heart already knew the answer. His face was filled with sorrow and pity, but not shame. Not love for her.
Not wanting to face this pain any longer, she ran. Blindly stumbling away from the lovers, tears coursing down her face, she ran. Not caring to where as long as she did not have to face them any longer.
As if on cue, the skies split open and the rain whose threat had hung in the humid air all day poured down upon the sorrowful girl, as if in pity, washing the tears from her face only to have new ones form.
Shortly after, she heard footsteps following her, not turning to the pitying face of her first love, she quickened her pace only to slip on the now damp ground in her haste and tear-blinded eyes.
Bracing for the jarring hit, she closed her eyes awaiting the painful meeting with the dirt path.
Only to have it never come, as a pair of strong, familiar arms caught her from behind. She felt herself instinctively melt into the comforting embrace she knew so well only to stiffen as she remembered what she had just seen.
Looking up into Inuyasha's pitying eyes, she felt the pain overwhelm her as she wrenched herself from his grasp.
"Why?" she asked, the one word flooded with all of her emotions and her betrayal as her haunting eyes locked with his.
When he did not reply, merely staring into her eyes with that horrible pity and apology. She thought even hate would be better than the pity she saw in them.
Finally, unable to stand the aching pressure within her any longer,
She snapped.
* * * * * * * * * * End Flash Back * * * * * * * * * *
Sesshoumaru coldly glanced at his father and his miserable excuse for a brother after Kagome left the room, tensing as Kagome left the apartment.
He was fuming inwardly that his family had caught him in such a compromising situation with Kagome.
Especially, when he had actually been enjoying himself.
He gave a mental sigh, letting none of his frustrations mar his icy demeanor.
When had she changed him so much, he would never have even considered such behavior before he met her, and certainly would not have publicly acted so warmly or at least warmly for him, towards her when his family interrupted.
Eyeing the emotions that ran across his father and brothers faces with amusement and curiosity, in Inuyasha's case, he wondered why Kagome had reacted the way that she did.
She had seemed horrified and pained after the initial shock had worn away. He had seen the way she had stared at his brother, as if he was a trusted childhood teddy bear that had just stabbed her in the back, literally.
Sesshoumaru knew her well enough to know that she needed time on her own to think things out, and sent her out to collect herself, knowing full well that there were still 6 cans of paint in his bedroom.
His brother's reaction was even more difficult to understand.
The shock was simple enough to understand, he had not seen Sesshoumaru in many years, nor seen the changes that Kagome had wrought to icy walls that surrounded his heart.
His behavior had been extremely out of character, and would seem even more so to his ignorant brother.
The possessive anger that quickly replaced that shock was far more interesting and perplexing.
To his knowledge, Kagome had never known his brother. Though they did not discuss every aspect of their pasts, Sesshoumaru felt that he did know the girl well enough to know if she had met his bastard brother.
But if they had never met that possessive spark in Inuyasha's eyes that clearly screamed, "MINE!" would be completely unexplainable.
The regretful sorrow that he saw soon after and the confusion that had quickly followed baffled him even more.
He knew that he would have to question Kagome about her relation with his brother, but the pained sorrowful look in her eyes warned him away from the topic.
At least until they were alone.
That sadness did not belong in her bright eyes, and he was illogically determined to keep it from touching her life ever again. She was a creature of light never to be diminished by the shadows of sorrow and pain.
Not if he had anything to do about it.
A/N:: There finally done! Hope you like it READ AND REVIEW!!!!