Chapter 6 ~ Afterthoughts

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            The sun had begun to rise.  Kagome and the rest of the group started to wake up as their eyes sensed the dawning light wash over them.  InuYasha still had not returned. 'It has been almost a day since I have seen him, I hope he is okay.' Kagome thought worriedly to herself. 'It is not like him to be away from us for so long without a word.'

            They had been safe though, since Miroku, Sango, Kirara took turns in watching over everyone else.  Kagome had volunteered and even insisted that she help, however, her friends would have nothing of it, since her recovery was not complete.

            Kagome was the first to actually wake up, which was no surprise since she had the best nights sleep out of all of them.  She still felt like a ton of bricks had been hurled at her, but she was alive, and she had InuYasha to thank for that. 'I still can't believe that he would be such an idiot to risk his life to save me, after I risked and lost the bet on mine to save him.  I just want him to live and be happy.  I know that I am not the first person in his heart, but he is first in mine.'

            "InuYasha, you idiot! Where are you?  Off with Kikyo? Wounded from a battle somewhere?"  'Why haven't you come back yet?' The miko wanted to cry, but she wouldn't allow herself tears over someone as inconsiderate as her 'protector'.

            As quietly as she could, Kagome got out of her sleeping bag and started a fire on the one that had gone out over the darkness.  She used the matches that she brought with her.  'Matches sure beat rubbing sticks or rocks together, that's for sure – especially first thing in the morning.'  Kagome then started to heat water to make coffee, another item that her friends found to be very valuable from her time.  The aroma from the brew reached the senses of the rest of group that was sleeping and they started to get out of their makeshift sleeping arrangements.

            "Good morning everyone-" Kagome tried her hardest to show her best face and be as cheerful as she could so her friends wouldn't pick up on her concern for InuYasha and become more worried about her.  She caused them enough trouble as is due to her carelessness.

            "Good morning Kagome, do you feel better?  I could always personally attend to whatever pain that a --- Ouch!  Sango that hurt!"  Miroku was back on the ground and rubbing his head where he just received a sharp blow.  'You'd think I would learn after all the times I have been whacked by that woman…' "Can't you be gentler towards me, Sango?  Gentle like a. …" The monk smartened up at the last sentence and decided not to finish what would have been a finishing blow to his consciousness.

            "Gentle like a what, Houshi-sama? Acting this way first thing in the morning towards Kagome after what she has been through. Even I thought that you wouldn't stoop so low you pervert."  Sango turned her head from the lecherous monk and toward her friend who was amused at her outburst.

            Kagome just laughed, relieved that it was another normal morning, well, normal without InuYasha, so it really wasn't normal at all.  "Hey guys, did any of you see InuYasha last night?  I am a bit worried that I haven't felt his presence near here since he dashed off yesterday."

            "I am sure that he is still brooding in some tree within hearing distance for him from us.  He is just upset since he took what we said the wrong way.  You know that InuYasha has a temper and tends to overreact, especially when you are concerned."  Sango shot her an all knowing wink at the end of her reassurance. 

            Miroku saw that Kagome's expression still had not changed in spite of Sango's words, so he tried to cheer her up as well.  "You know InuYasha has his pride at stake.  I am sure that he is not mad at you. Kagome-sama, you need not worry. As a man, I will do all that I can to protect you."  The monk looked proud, Sango just rolled her eyes, and Kagome, at the sight of that, had to laugh.

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            "Ahhh- my head is killing me."  InuYasha woke up muttering.  When he got past his pain, he noticed that he was on a large soft bed, and breakfast was already made, warm and on standby for him inches away.  'Where in the hell am I?  Wait….this is all too familiar…' He took a quick pan of the room and saw that most of the interior in the architecture was adorned with jade. 

            "The Jade Palace. I thought that I'd never see this place again.  How in the hell did I end up here?"  The hanyou closed his eyes again, and instead of dreaming, tried to remember the events leading up to his current occupancy of his domain.  'Think InuYasha, think!'  He remembered leaving Kagome and his friends and going deep into the woods.  He remembered – "Sesshomaru! Wait, where's tetsusaiga???" The sword was at the bottom of his bed, sheathed.  'Feh, that bastard didn't steal my sword.  But how did I get here?'

            His golden eyes grew in size and disbelief as the memories started to return.  'I surrendered to Sesshomaru and he took me here in one of those damned spheres. Argh.'  The proud and defeated hanyou slammed his fist into the bedding quite a few times with a curse yelled every time his hand made contact.

            "Well, being here right now is better than being with people who don't appreciate anything that I do for them.  Hell, I can't even save someone's life without hearing grief about it." InuYasha sighed.  "If I am here, where is Sesshomaru?  How long have I been out for?" 'How much longer am I going to have to stay here for?'

            "Well, I might as well eat.  It's bound to be better than that stuff that Kagome makes, with the exception of the ramen.  I wonder when ramen gets invented, and will I live long enough to taste it again after Kagome is gone."  The inu-youkai tore into the food and ingested it as fast as he could.  Once he had his first taste, he knew that that food was something that he had been missing.  He may be part demon, but he still had and appetite.

            When he was finished he put the plate back down where he found it and fell back onto the bed.  Something kept nagging the back off his mind.  That something was Kagome.  Why did he have to be half human?  If he wasn't he wouldn't have to feel anything.  That was something that Sesshomaru had the advantage of.  He was betrayed by Kikyo, even though now he knew that whole situation was not their fault.  When he finally could have moved on after fifty years in a stasis, the one who had set him free was none other than another protector of the Shikon, and as fate would have it, the reincarnation of the one who put him there.

            "Maybe Kagome is in more danger being around me than just around Miroku or Sango.  I don't want to be a coward and run, but I don't want to see myself losing another girl that I love. Arrrrrgh--- Why do I have to go through all this shit, damnit! Damnit damnit damnit… She has seen me with Kikyo, even though I know her feelings for me, I hurt her, and I make her cry.  Why can't I seem to get anything right? As a man I have no excuse. I fight best when her welfare is at stake, but I can't always concentrate knowing that her life is in danger.  I guess caring about someone is a double-edged sword after all."  InuYasha stared at the ceiling.  Unlike Kagome's white ceiling, this ceiling had rafters and a worn out look to it.  

            "Kagome…what are you doing now?  I can't even say that we are looking at the same sky…"  The worn out hanyou drifted back to sleep dreaming of the miko that taught him how to trust, and let him love again, a greater love than ever before.  Alas, that same love was a double-edged sword, and he did not want her to take its attack.

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            "Sesshomaru-sama, where are you planning on going right now?  The cooks have prepared lunch already."

            "I am going out.  I will return before tomorrow, though I may be back before nightfall.  You can tell Rin that I am not here, and send her to play.  Perhaps you could teach her something useful while I am away.  I am sure that that human child is growing bored not being around her own kind to socialize with."

            "It is understood, Sesshomaru-sama.  This Jaken will take care of everything and see to it that she has learned a new skill."

            "Very well then, I will take my leave now."  Sesshomaru immediately orbed to the Jade Palace on his way to meet a certain hanyou.

            "Now if only this Jaken could think of a skill to teach that human…"

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            Sesshomaru entered the Jade Palace without any trouble.  He picked up the hanyou's scent and wondered if he even left his room since he was brought there.  The Great Lord of the Western Lands was unsure what to do with the hanyou after receiving that prophesy.  He decided he needed more time to think, and would have to find a way to keep him from leaving in the likely event that InuYasha would change his mind. 'What a fickle brother I have, after all.'

            Sesshomaru hid his scent and approached the master bedroom without a sound to be heard.  His younger brother was sleeping, peacefully it seemed. 'How can I subdue him?  I do not want to anger him, simply delay relations for a while. Ah yes.  I suppose putting him to sleep for a long while will work out just fine for the both of us.'

            "I am sorry brother, but this is for your own good." He whispered into the air, hoping his words would not wake the one that was sleeping.  Sesshomaru made a seal for sleep and pressed his pointer and index fingers onto the hanyou's forehead.  InuYasha's breathing slowed a little more and his head tilted to the side.

            "This should keep you out of the way while I ponder things for a while.  Judging by your scent, you also need some time to rest dear brother…"  The taiyoukai then left just as silently as he had come after setting up a concealment barrier for the half-breed's own protection.

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            "Kagome-chan, it's after noon, we shouldn't just sit here all day.  We have no idea when InuYasha comes back.  If he does come back, he can track our scents, so we do not have to worry about loosing him."  Sango did not want to stay in one place too long, and so she did her best to reassure her friend enough to get her to agree to move again.

            "I guess you are right Sango, though I really am starting to worry about what happened to him.  I just can't seem to forget that pained look in his eyes before he ran off.  I feel so guilty." Kagome sighed, exasperated looked down at the ground trying to stop the tears from coming out that have been welling up.

            "Perhaps we should look for more shards, Kagome?  I am sure when InuYasha finds us; if we have more shards, he will be very happy.  Besides, more importantly, it will give us something to do in the meantime, instead of waiting for his return."

            "You're right Miroku-sama.  There is no reason why we cannot go shard hunting by ourselves.  You know guys; I really want to become stronger.  I do not want to have to rely on you guys for protection forever, though; I am more than willing to admit that I am glad that I can count on you.  It means a lot to me to have great friends like all of you." As an afterthought she added, "Except for Miroku-sama, who needs to watch his behavior around the girls!" Miroku feigned being hurt by her comments, but the three humans laughed together nonetheless.

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Like, dislike?  Review and let me know!  For some reason even though I updated this a few days ago with the previous chapter and the reposts, FanFic.net did not show that it was updated.  Hopefully with the addition of this chapter, it will post the fic as updated.  I am also thinking of changing the title of the story to the same title as the one for the first chapter.  Any thoughts?  I also wanted to start another fanfic, but I haven't decided on the series yet.  I was thinking either Hana Yori Dango, Samurai Deeper Kyo or Kodocha (Kodomo no Omocha).  You can write your vote in your review and I will let you all know in a later chapter what the ruling is!