Time Trip: The Trouble with Words

Inuyasha played the part of an obedient dog, tailing his mother on their little walk through the main garden for quite a while. He waged a war on himself, silently, as he chewed violently on bits of very sticky dried fruit. He did not want his thoughts to be broadcast out loud, even in part.

"It's already dead you know." Yukio offered sarcastically. "The fruit is not going to run away."

"My mouth might if I let it, so I'm not going to. I want to know what the hell all that was about. Kagome is human, but her scent changed a little and she turned into a bird-thing." He stuck his teeth together with more fruit.

"I could ask her for you, there is plenty of fruit in that bag, and I have my good fan with me." Lady Yukio produced a brilliant peacock feather fan with cover panels carved from bone. It reminded Inuyasha of a few times he misbehaved when he was very young, and Sango's boomerang.

"It'll work." He agreed, before shutting his trap forcefully onto another defenseless bit of dried fruit.

Lady Yukio wasn't exactly sure where to find the young lady ad her father, but Inuyasha pointed the way. It wasn't long before Lady Yukio heard the music as well. The sound of a mandolin and violin playing a medley of Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven was as uplifting as it was new to her.

Jonathan was perched, in human form, on an outcropping beside a small decorative waterfall near the division between the main garden and Lady Shinju's private area, lounging with one leg dangling off the edge. His foot tapped out the rhythm on the rock as he played a mandolin. Kagome sat on a round boulder on the other side of the water. She had a violin tucked neatly under her chin, concentrating on not messing up as she followed her father's lead. She hadn't picked up her violin in nearly a year, but the many hours of practice she had put in over the seven years she had played came back to her quickly.

"Steady now, feel up to the "Flight of the Bumble Bee" or shall we keep it light for now?" Jonathan called down.

"I can handle it." Inuyasha recognized Kagome's defiant tone instantly.

"Cut in on the third measure, to get the feel of the tempo." Jonathan suddenly started into the lightning-fast masterpiece that could tie even experienced musician's fingers in knots. Kagome tried valiantly to keep up, but they had to cut down the tempo for a moment and work back up to the proper speed before she could keep up. Yukio and Inuyasha sat down on a stone bench nearby and waited for a break in the action to speak up.

"What a lovely performance." Yukio called when they paused to rest.

"Oh? I didn't see you down there." Jonathan hopped down and crossed over a small bridge to bow gracefully. "I'm Jonathan Higarashi, glad to meet you again, and pleased that you enjoyed the practice."

"I was wondering about a few things. You see, my son said that Kagome was human, and well, being a human I know that you certainly are not."

"Ah, yes, that is a complicated thing indeed. I am a phoenix, and Kagome, my dear eldest child, is as well. He mother is as human as they come, as is her younger brother, poor boy didn't inherit the spark. It is not the most interesting story, and I'm no great bard, but with my daughters help on some points it would be no great work." Jonathan turned to his daughter, and began the long oration.

Inuyasha ate fruit, bit his tongue, and concentrated on staying as quiet as he could while the twisted story unfolded. He sat, still as stone, ear forward, back strait, hands clutching a tree root for strength. When it was over his mother told his side of the fiasco. She tactfully avoided the subject matter of their conversations. To his credit, Inuyasha hadn't made a sound.

Unfortunately, his instincts were being very loud. It was quite simple, really, and very stupid. He had admitted shamelessly to his parents that he planned to take Kagome as his mate. His father had spoken to her father and everything was on the up and up. His instincts believed that meant she was his, not that he hadn't felt that way before, but this just made it all much more proper and established. So his instincts ran themselves ragged with their own brand of logic.

Woman is mine. Woman was missing, but now she is found. She has changed. The change is good. Parents approve of us. She is my mate. Female mate should listen to male mate. My mate did not. Mate got in trouble for not listening. Mate needs to be taught a lesson. Mate needs a mark. I was lonely. Mate needs to be with me. Not ready for pups. Mate is not in heat. There will be no pups. Mate should have been lonely also.

Inuyasha was furious with himself for this line of thinking, and didn't like where it was going. His human instincts weren't much better.

I love her. I worried about her. She was worried about me. Our parents agree about us. I missed her. She missed me. I need to hold her. I'm too shy to hold her. I can't talk to her. I'm too shy to say what I need to. I can't control my speech. I could stay quiet if I used all my willpower. I could hold her. I need to hold her. I need to be with her. She is my happiness.

Drat it all, he felt dirty thinking like that about Kagome. Miroku needed to be slapped, it must be his falt Inuyasha picked up such ideas. That one scroll he had shown Inuyasha scarred him for life. Bodies just weren't ment to bend that way…

"And that's how I understand it happened."

"So you are keeping you're trap shut by any means necessary?" Jonathan asked, turning to the stone-still hanyou. "Shy indeed, I suppose you'll be wanting some time alone with my daughter. You've been traveling with her for months without touching her innocence so I am quite sure I can trust you on that point. Even wild beasts can have honor, and you are certainly a cut above the average demon. As for myself, I'd like a good glide around to get a better idea of the lay of the land. We can deal with the time discrepancy after this dinner your father is having made."

Inuyasha panicked. He couldn't be left alone with Kagome. Not with his tongue so loose, but there went his mother, smiling in the annoying way females did when they got their way without anyone knowing they did anything. Jonathan was already in the air, glittering wings carrying him higher. Finally, there was Kagome, sitting at the water's edge, looking beautiful in the strange white and lavender dress. Various obscenities crossed his mind, and he thanked Kami for dried fruit. He inched over to her slowly, like a beaten, starving puppy crawling back to his dish.

"I'm sorry, Inuyasha. I thought you didn't come through the portal with me. I should have insisted on making sure you were alright, and now you're sick."

"No, I should have caught you. I have to protect you, Kagome. I said I would at my father's grave, and I won't break a promise like that." Inuyasha bit his Haori sleeve to shut up, he ran out of fruit during the explanation. She smiled at him, and reached over to touch his shoulder.

"It isn't your fault." She was so comforting, so honest, so loving with him. She always had been, even when he was a jerk. He felt his ears droop sadly.

"I missed you." Kami help me! I don't want to say any more, but I can't run from her. I can't be alone again so soon. "I… I… I'm hungry." Inuyasha could not believe he managed to twist that one around. Yes, hungry, but hungry for what? He hoped she took it on face value.

"You are always hungry, Inuyasha." She giggled. Inuyasha bit into his haori again. She had no idea what she had just said, never mind that it might have been true.

This conversation was quickly getting out of hand.

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O.o Inuyasha is in trouble. Meddling parents can be a big problem. A good kind of problem, but still a problem. There won't be any Kagara in this fic. (What is this, an epic? No more epics! Father to Son and A Lesson in Diplomacy are enough thank you!) Also: If you like the Father/Son parts with Sesshoumaru and Nishi you might like Father to Son, a Star Wars piece of mine. Wait! Don't let that turn you off! You don't need to be a starwarsian to understand it! It stands alone rather well, you don't even need to see all the movies, just the one where Luke finds out about his dear old dad. The Empire Strikes Back, for those who need titles.

Mini disclaimer: The word starwarsian comes from friendsintheforce.com where I was once a dedicated member and regular poster under the alias: Kimi Dragon. It is not mine and I pay homage to the almighty Starwarsian herself who came up with the now beloved term.