New Author's Notes: In honor of the one year anniversary of the 'Confessions Trilogy', I'm performing a massive editing session on all three stories. As you know by now, I've already finished editing the first, and am now posting this one, and will eventually be getting to the third as well, time permitting. I'm immensely proud of all three of these stories, and am contemplating turning this into a yearly tradition so that they can always be improving. The only thing that hasn't changed are the original author's notes, which I didn't have the heart to part with. I hope you enjoy!
Though not described in detail, this story does deal with rape, so be forewarned if that sort of topic bothers you.
Original Author's Notes: Sorry, sorry, sorry! I'm really sorry for taking so long to update…I usually never have this long of a gap in between chapters. My life has just been absolutely crazy lately, with singing and swimming and Christmas shopping. You all know how that goes, right?
Anyway, I can't believe how many of you are reviewing this story! Thank you all so much, it means a lot to me. I love writing, especially when I know I'm writing something others can enjoy, so I promise to try and be more consistent with updates now that I have the entire Christmas break to write without worrying about school.
This next chapter starts to deal with the trial of Kagome's rapist, as well as getting back to the newlyweds, Sango and Miroku. And I have a question for all of you: how old is Shippou when the series begins? The reason I ask is because since this story takes place three years later, it would only seem logical that he should be getting bigger, but I need a reference point to start from to describe the changes occurring. Let me know! Thanks again for reviewing! Enjoy!
Title: The Realistic Happily Ever After
Author: dolphingirl0113
Chapter: Three
Rating: PG-13 (rated for violence, language, and implied sexual situations)
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.
The sun was well on its way to being at its highest point in the sky before its light was able to penetrate the blinds covering the window of Kagome's bedroom, and even then it was a gentle, pinkish hue, which meant the sleeping couple on the bed was able to wake up at their leisure.
Spooned against one another comfortably, Inuyasha had his arm draped over Kagome's waist casually, holding her against his stomach, and she lay on her side facing the wall, her hands balled into tiny fists at her chest. As the hanyou shifted slightly in his sleep, combined with the light now coming through the window, Kagome felt her eyes finally start to open, and she smiled dreamily as she recalled the memories of her wonderful previous night.
Rolling over so that she was facing her lover, she studied Inuyasha's face for several silent minutes, noting, with pleasure, that he was once more in his hanyou form with his silver hair and dog ears. He looked so beautiful at that moment, and she felt an immense sense of peace at the thought that this was the man, the wonderful, noble, generous man that she was going to marry.
Inuyasha's face scrunched up slightly and he shifted again slightly, pulling her closer to him instinctively as his eyes opened to reveal their stunning amber color. He saw Kagome looking at him, and grinned sleepily back. "Good…morning," he said with an obvious yawn, and Kagome just giggled, running a hand along his cheek tenderly.
"Good morning…sort of…"
They hadn't managed to get home until after three in the morning, since the limousine first had to drop off Kagome's friends and their dates, and when they had finally returned to the shrine, Kagome had found her mother and grandfather fast asleep in the living room, clearly having waited up for her. Normally she would have felt guilty about keeping them up so late, but at that moment she had been so tired she honestly didn't care about anything besides crawling into bed.
Somehow, without the aid of lights, since she hadn't wanted to wake up anyone else in the house, Kagome had managed to find some loose sweatpants and a t-shirt for Inuyasha to wear to bed, since all he had as options otherwise were his kimono, which Mrs. Higurashi had put in the wash earlier that day, or his tuxedo, which was simply out of the question, and together they had collapsed on Kagome's bed and fallen instantly asleep.
Now it was 11:30 am…almost noon…and they were just starting to wake up.
As she slowly returned from her world of dreaming and sleep, Kagome could hear her mother moving about below in the kitchen, the clatter of dishes telling her they had already missed breakfast by a long shot…but she really didn't care at that point. All that mattered to her was that she was waking up in the arms of the man she loved, which was a gift she had been denied since that day in the woods after Miroku and Sango's wedding since Kagome had been trying to avoid embarrassing her family. But last night had been an exception, since they'd both been too tired to worry about it.
Stretching her arms up over her head, she sighed happily and smiled. "Mm…once we're married, this is how I'll get to wake up every day for the rest of my life." She met Inuyasha's amber gaze, which was fast becoming alert, like it always was when he was awake. "I can't wait."
The hanyou smiled tenderly at the woman in his arms and touched her cheek with his thumb. "You said, after that day, that we needed to wait until after the wedding…" He trailed off into silence.
"I know."
"Well, we…" he blushed. "We don't have to wait that long, Kagome." He was pushing, though not in an overly intimidating way. It was more like a child begging for some candy, but Kagome still shook her head vehemently in response.
"Yes we do, Inuyasha, because it just wouldn't be right to do…that…" She blushed as well, "Under my own roof with my mother and grandfather around. They both trust me to not do anything dishonorable before the wedding, and, well, I've already betrayed that trust once. I won't do it again."
Inuyasha looked away. "Do you…regret that day in the woods?"
She pulled his gaze back to her by putting her hand on his cheek, and gave him a loving smile. "Not at all. I was ready at that moment, and I have no regrets. It was the most wonderful experience I've ever known. But…I just think that now we should hold off until the wedding."
As she finished speaking, she watched as Inuyasha's serious face cracked into a suddenly playful grin, and he gathered her into his arms, tickling her abdomen gently, causing Kagome to writhe and giggle. "But Kagome, it's so hard to wait," he whined pathetically. "My demon side demands that I control my mate."
"Then you'll just have to tell your alter ego to back off," she replied simply as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close for a kiss, but before their lips could meet Inuyasha's sharp hanyou ears detected the sound of footsteps accompanied by the voice of Kagome's mother, and he quickly jumped out of the bed and assumed his usual position on the ground, legs crossed and arms folded in his lap.
At first Kagome gave him a puzzled stare, trying to understand what she'd done to warrant that kind of a reaction, but quickly understood when her door opened to reveal her mother. "Good morning mama," she announced happily, trying to hide her blush at the thought of what the older woman had almost walked in on.
Mrs. Higurashi just shook her head and smiled. "It's not really morning any more. You two sleepy heads have wasted almost half the day!" She grinned even more. "But I suppose you earned it after playing so hard last night. I came to tell you that there's someone on the phone for you, Kagome."
Kagome just rolled her eyes. "Ugh, I told Eri not to call me before noon today," she commented with an exasperated laugh, falling back lazily onto her pillows and waving her arm casually in the air. "Tell her I'll call her back later."
Mrs. Higurashi's face turned serious, and her tone dropped slightly. "It's not Eri, sweetheart."
All playfulness instantly vanished, and Kagome sat up in bed with a frown. "Then who is it?"
"Ms. White…your lawyer."
Kagome's face darkened and Inuyasha raised an eyebrow from where he sat leaning against the bed frame. What was so bad about a lawyer? Or, better yet…what the hell was a lawyer?
"Tell her I'll be right there," Kagome replied, her voice suddenly all business, her eyes having lost their former playful sparkle as well. Inuyasha didn't like what he was seeing at all, and moved to put an arm around Kagome's waist comfortingly.
"Inuyasha?" The hanyou froze and turned to look at Kagome's mother, who was regarding him with a playful smile once more. That made him nervous. "Next time, my dear, try not to make such a thud on the carpet when you jump off my daughter's bed, alright? The noise was positively dreadful."
His face turned instantly crimson, and he found himself sputtering for words, but thankfully she closed the door behind her before he had to actually form a reply. He shook his head and sighed. How did that woman always know so much?
Turning his attention back to the woman beside him, he noticed that Kagome had pulled away and was currently slipping a heavy grey sweatshirt over her thin pajama shirt, and he was reminded of what he had been so concerned about before when he noticed the scowl again on her face. "Kagome…what's wrong?"
"What?" She looked up at him with one arm halfway into a sleeve, and shook her head. "Oh, it's nothing," she replied hastily, which only made the lie more obvious.
Growling instinctively, he stood up and pulled her towards him gruffly. "Don't lie to me, Kagome," he warned in a low tone, causing Kagome to stare at the ground like a scolded child.
"Look, it's just my lawyer calling about Ted Wilkins' trial, that's all."
The hanyou raised an eyebrow curiously. "And what are a lawyer and a trial?"
Despite it all Kagome found herself laughing at his clueless expression. It looked cute. "In my time," she explained, "When you do something wrong you go to trial, where evidence is presented and then a group of people called a jury decides whether you are guilty or innocent of the crime. Then, if you are found guilty you are sentenced to time in a place called jail. A lawyer is a person who presents the evidence either for or against the person accused of committing the crime who is, in this case, my rapist Ted Wilkins. Do you understand?"
In all honesty, Inuyasha didn't have a clue what she was talking about, but because he didn't want to come across as stupid he found himself nodding anyway. After all, he figured he'd eventually have it all straight. He growled as a thought occurred to him. "So that means you have to see this Ted Wilkins again?" Kagome nodded, and his growl deepened as he recalled the last time they had met.
She just shook her head and gave him a hug. "I have to go talk to Ms. White, Inuyasha, but I'll be right back," she explained as she pulled away and walked out the door. He sensed that she wanted him to stay behind, but followed her anyway, curious to find out what would be discussed, and watched as Kagome picked up the strange contraption called a phone that was sitting on a small table at the base of the stairs.
"Ms. White? This is Kagome." She folded her arms and leaned against the doorway leading into the kitchen, stretching the cord from the phone as she did so, balancing it between her ear and her shoulder as she spoke. She frowned, and Inuyasha thought he could hear something like a voice on the other end of the conversation. "Yes, I understand. When would you like to meet?"
Pause.
"Yes, that's just fine."
Pause.
"No, I don't think that should be a problem. But, um, could I bring my family with me? And my fiancé?"
Pause.
Kagome frowned again, but then sighed and nodded as though she were speaking to this lawyer in person. "Okay…of course, just so long as they are nearby I suppose that's good enough for me."
She paused again, but this time as she waited in silence Inuyasha watched her beautiful face pale dramatically, and he could smell her sudden fear. She swallowed hard, and he saw her lick her lips nervously. "Um…I don't think I want to do that."
Pause.
"But can't you just figure out another way?" Kagome sounded almost frantic. "Can't you just meet with his lawyer or something? I don't think I'm ready to see him like that."
She went silent again with a sigh, and Inuyasha heard the sound of the woman's voice again coming from the other end of the conversation. She was speaking very quickly, but Kagome seemed to be catching everything that was being said without a problem because she responded easily. "Alright, fine…if you truly think that's the only way…but, can my fiancé at least come in with me?"
Pause.
"Okay…thanks Ms. White. I'll see you on Thursday. Bye." Kagome hung up the phone with her shoulders slumped forward before leaning back against the wall with a loud sigh, putting her fingers against the bridge of her nose, her face still too pale.
Inuyasha walked up to her, wanting to comfort her somehow and find out what had been said, but she didn't even seem to notice his presence, as though she were lost in her own little world as she pondered what she had been told. "Kagome?"
She jumped slightly, and looked up at him with a startled expression, but instantly replaced her frown with a smile to ease his worries, though he could see that it lacked its usual luster. "I…I think I want to go back and see Miroku and Sango and the others," she announced suddenly. "Besides, I need to figure out a way to get Sango over here, since she is going to be my maid of honor."
Eyeing her suspiciously, Inuyasha knew Kagome had just been told something about that bastard Ted Wilkins, because every time that happened she announced suddenly that she wanted to return to the Feudal Era for a while. It had sort of become her escape from reality, since Naraku was no longer a problem, and for once the hanyou decided to just keep his mouth shut and not push the issue. She looked like a balloon that was ready to burst.
"Okay," he finally replied after they gazed at one another for a few minutes of silence, shrugging his shoulders as though he didn't care…as though he didn't know what was really going on. "I'll go change."
"Change?" Kagome blinked, as though coming out of a trance, but then noticed that he was still wearing the sweatpants and shirt and nodded. "Right. That's fine. I need to talk to my mom about something really quick anyway, so when you're ready just come back downstairs and we'll go."
Even though he didn't appreciate being talked to as though he were four years old, again Inuyasha chose to bite back his sarcastic reply, instead simply nodding and disappearing up the stairs while Kagome went into the kitchen.
Mrs. Higurashi was stirring a brownie mix in a bowl when Kagome came in, chocolate on her face. She almost looked comical. "Mama, Ms. White says I have to meet with Ted Wilkins and his lawyer…before the trial…in person."
Mrs. Higurashi stopped what she was doing, letting the large wooden spoon fall over into the batter as she tried to figure out what was going through her daughter's mind. Wiping her hands off on her apron, she pushed a few stray wisps of hair back behind her ears and then walked over to Kagome and pulled her into a large hug. "I'm so sorry, honey…I know how hard this all is for you."
Burying her head into her mother's chest, Kagome allowed herself to cling to the older woman like she used to when she was a child. "I just don't want to see him again, mama…" Her voice was naught but a whimper as she spoke. "I mean, I'm finally happy with Inuyasha, and he's helped me not be afraid any more, but…honestly…"
"You're still afraid of him?"
"Yes…" A tear ran down Kagome's cheek, but she didn't seem to notice.
Mrs. Higurashi nodded and absentmindedly stroked her daughter's hair thoughtfully, holding her close and unconsciously rocking back and forth. "I know. And you have nothing to be ashamed of Kagome."
Her voice was soothing, like soft velvet, and it caused Kagome's body to relax. "What he did to you was horrible, and I just want you to understand that you are neither weak nor abnormal to be afraid of him for it." She pulled away and met her daughter's eyes. "Just remember that he can't hurt you any more. After all, you have Inuyasha…and something tells me he won't ever let anything hurt you again." She chuckled. "Frankly, he might never let you be alone for more then two seconds for the rest of your life."
At that Kagome couldn't help but smile as she thought about the handsome man currently changing in her bedroom. It was true…he would always be there to protect her. And Ms. White had said she could take him with her for the meeting, so maybe things wouldn't be so bad after all.
"I can get through this," She finally declared as she pulled completely away from her mother and put a genuine grin on her face, taking a deep breath to calm her tense body.
Mrs. Higurahsi responded by nodding and touching her daughter's cheek fondly. "I know you can, sweetheart." She watched Kagome leave the kitchen and sighed. "I just wish you didn't have to."
The other side of the well greeted Kagome with its usual fresh breeze, and she sighed, noting how good it felt to be back in the Feudal Era again and away from all her problems. Now that Naraku was gone, it truly was a wonderful place to go and relax without fear of something awful happening, and even though she knew she probably shouldn't, Kagome had begun to view her second home as a place of refuge.
As usual, the first sound she heard was Shippou hollering in joy as he first saw Inuyasha approach with her in his arms. Hardly waiting for her to get down on her own feet, the kitsune threw himself around her neck. "Kagome, I've missed you so much!" He whined, burying his head in the crook of her shoulder.
Smiling with a certain amount of motherly love, Kagome noted that the boy was getting steadily bigger…and heavier. It wouldn't be long before he couldn't jump up at her like that without knocking her flat on the ground.
"I missed you too, Shippou," she replied gently, rubbing the top of his head fondly before setting him down and reaching into her worn yellow backpack. "I brought something for you."
At that the kitsune returned to acting as young as ever as he jumped up and down excitedly, clapping his hands together. His eyes lit up when he saw Kagome remove the bag of freshly baked cookies, and greedily snatched them from her, moving to sit near Kaede's hut to eat his treasure.
Inuyasha rolled his eyes at the childish behavior and looked around impatiently. "Kaede, where are you?"
He still referred to the old miko in a less then formal way, and Kagome grimaced at his tone, smacking him on the arm. "You should show more respect for your elders, Inuyasha," she scolded.
The hanyou merely frowned and crossed his arms in reply. "Keh, I'll call the useless old hag whatever I want."
"Inuyasha!" She gasped in horror. "Take that back!"
"No!"
Kagome felt her temper begin to rise as she recognized the challenge in his eyes. How could he call such a wonderful woman a useless old hag? To her, Kaede had become something akin to the grandmother she had never known, and hearing her insulted caused her to bristle. "Inuyasha…take it back," he hissed through clenched teeth.
He rolled his eyes. "Why should I?"
"Because I said so."
You think that will make me take it back?" He smirked widely and sauntered over to stare directly into her eyes. "She's a useless old hag."
Narrowing her eyes, Kagome frowned. "Sit!" He kissed the dirt before he knew what had happened, swearing as he did so, but Kagome just turned away in response.
A familiar male voice chuckled from nearby. "I see that being mates hasn't managed to change your behavior any." Kagome felt all her anger instantly vanish as she looked up to see Miroku, dressed in his typical purple robes, standing before her, wearing his usual careless grin.
"Miroku!" She ran up without hesitation and threw her arms around his neck excitedly, pulling him close. God, but it was good to see him again!
Unfortunately, the moment didn't last long as Kagome suddenly felt his hand roaming casually down her back. Rolling her eyes, she gently, but firmly, caught the offensive limb between her fingers and squeezed meaningfully.
The monk just chuckled. "For old time's sake?" He asked innocently, to which Kagome merely rolled her eyes again before releasing his hand, wagging her finger in his face.
"You should know better, Miroku," She scolded. "After all, you're a married man now."
He shrugged. "Sango knows that I love her, and besides, I cannot help my nature. I am what I am."
"And what's your excuse now? You can no longer claim that your womanizing behavior is due to the fact that you will be sucked into a void at any moment."
The monk winked kindly. "Perhaps I merely find you attractive, Kagome…after all, no man in his right mind could deny that you are beautiful."
"I heard that, monk!" The pair turned, Kagome with a guilty blush, Miroku with an innocent stare, to find Sango approaching with a semi-genuine scowl, her hands on her hips. "You'll be paying for that later."
Before Miroku could reply, Kagome rushed past him, nearly knocking him to the ground, as she threw her arms around her sister-friend, the two young women embracing fondly for several minutes. Giggling, Sango pulled away and winked. "I don't think Inuyasha appreciates what my husband was doing either."
"What?" Kagome acquired a puzzled look, but turned abruptly when she heard a startled cry of pain.
"Ouch!" The monk crumpled to the ground, clutching the top of his head, and behind him the two girls could see a rather peeved looking Inuyasha, his hand still in the air from where it had struck Miroku.
"Consider that a warning, monk," the hanyou warned. "Don't ever touch my mate again."
"Inuyasha!" Kagome was torn between laughing at the scene and sending her fiancé face-first into the ground once more for being so rude. In the end, she settled for kneeling next to Miroku to check his pulse and feel the fast-growing lump on his head. That would be sore for a few days.
Behind her, Sango was laughing. "Don't worry about it, Kagome, he deserved it. Inuyasha just did what I had every intention of doing once we got back to the hut. After all, just because we're married doesn't mean I don't care about his behavior any more. In fact, because we're married I care even more now then I did before, since I take our vows very seriously, as does Miroku. Is that not so, husband?"
A grunt came from the purple-clad man on the ground in response.
Shrugging her shoulders and deciding it wasn't a big deal since the wife wasn't worried, Kagome rose to her feet, brushing some dirt from her knees, and felt Inuyasha instantly put an arm around her waist possessively…just like always. Her anger had faded and so, instead of smacking him for what he'd done, she instead turned to kiss him, but recoiled instantly as she got a good look at his face. Laughter bubbled up from deep within her chest, and it was all she could do to keep from falling over.
The hanyou frowned. "What?" Kagome just kept laughing, which only managed to irritate him more. "What the hell's so funny, woman?"
"You…your face," was all she managed to say. Soon Sango and Shippou were laughing too, and even Miroku, with his wounded head, was managing a few chuckles of his own.
Growling, Inuyasha stomped off in the direction of the stream to see what was so amusing to everyone else, and nearly jumped back in horror when he saw his reflection in the flowing water. His entire face was coated with mud from the fall thanks to Kagome's 'sit' command, and now only his amber eyes looked normal.
Good god, he thought with embarrassed fury, he looked like one of those things Kagome's mother made in the modern era. He looked like a damn brownie with two big golden sprinkles!
The sound of splashing water reverberated throughout the woods, along with Inuyasha's cursing, and Kagome was drawn to it out of both concern and amusement. He could be so cute when he was angry.
She found her fiancé in the middle of the stream hastily splashing cold water on his face and violently scrubbing the mud away, only stopping once his cheeks and forehead had gone numb and red.
Unable to stop her giggle at the sight, Inuyasha looked up and frowned. "Don't you dare laugh at me any more, wench," he snapped grumpily, pointing an accusatory finger at her. "If you hadn't used that damn command, this wouldn't have happened."
"If you had simply apologized for what you called Kaede, or better yet, not called her an old hag in the first place, I wouldn't have sat you," Kagome replied cheekily, a triumphant smile on her face. She still felt like she had done nothing wrong, and refused to feel guilty about any of Inuyasha's current situation.
But the hanyou didn't seem to like her response, because, with a grunt, he suddenly sat down right in the water, his lip protruding in a pout, his legs in a crisscross position and his arms folded between his legs in that usual position which told her he was depressed about something. "We're mates," he whined, staring at the water. "We're…we're not supposed to fight any more. So why do you still sit me?"
Dear lord, the man could be more temperamental then a woman sometimes…and as naïve as a child. He honestly thought that wearing his mark would mean she never got angry with him again?
Rolling her eyes, Kagome bent over and removed her socks and shoes, carefully wading out to the hanyou, the water coming halfway up her shins. She winced at the biting cold, causing a shiver to run up her entire body, but fought away the urge to walk back onto dry land, instead kneeling so that the water came to the middle of her thighs.
"Inuyasha, if you honestly believed that if I agreed to be your mate we would never fight again, then you've got another thing coming. And, just so you know, if you don't change some of your manners, you'll be kissing the ground a lot more in the future." She didn't mean it as a threat, however, and to accent her point, Kagome smiled warmly as he looked up to meet her eyes.
For a moment they just stared, the tension slowly fading, before Inuyasha suddenly grinned mischievously and grabbed Kagome around the waist, pulling her down into his lap (and the cold water) and tickling her mercilessly. He knew every weak spot on her body, and before long she was laughing uproariously, desperately trying to fight him off and wishing she had never shown him where she was ticklish.
"Inuyasha!" She gasped several times, tears coming to her eyes. "Inuyasha…please stop!"
But he continued to assault her poor shivering body, though she hardly noticed the cold thanks to his nearness, before finally, mercifully, ceasing after several minutes. Dramatically, he lowered his head so that his nose was touching hers, his amber eyes gazing into her own seriously. His voice was a husky whisper when he spoke. "Do you surrender?"
Kagome felt her own face acquire a mock-serious expression. "Never…however, as a girl I reserve the right to scream at any time."
Inuyasha grinned. "Well then, we'll just have to do something about that. I can't have you alerting the entire world to the fact that I have you in my possession…under my control…"
Shuddering in anticipation, Kagome forgot all about being playful when she felt his lips crush against hers in a searing, passionate kiss which sparked that familiar fire deep within her belly, causing an ache to grow deep within her heart. He ran his hands over her arms, and then, slowly, trailed them down and up again under her shirt, touching the soft, smooth skin of her belly.
Kagome sighed against his lips, and Inuyasha couldn't help but smile back in reply, feeling his own passion grow.
But the moment was ruined when she suddenly shivered, and the hanyou realized, somewhat guiltily, that she was almost completely submerged at that point in the cold water, and her human body wasn't as resilient to the temperature as he was.
Reluctantly pulling back from the kiss, chuckling as he felt her lips try to hold on a little longer, Inuyasha gave Kagome a guilty smile and pulled her into his arms as he stood up, her ebony hair falling in wet tendrils over her shoulders, dripping onto his chest as he carried her, slowly, back to Kaede's hut, sharing a few more kisses along the way to warm her up.
Kagome appreciated the effort, and had to admit that it was working as she leaned further into his embrace, caressing the nape of his neck with her left hand, her right resting on his chest.
"So tell me," she finally mumbled, "Was that the human or demon Inuyasha who did that back there in the stream?" Her voice was playful, and the hanyou gave her a mischievous smirk, his eyes gleaming.
"Both," he replied, "Though I have to be honest when I say that the demon Inuyasha didn't want to stop."
"Well," Kagome blushed, "to be honest right back, I don't think the purely human Kagome wanted to stop either."
"But…you were cold…" He seemed surprised, and she giggled at his innocent, and extremely obvious, statement.
"I didn't care at that moment, because you make me feel so warm." Her blush deepened at the bold comment, but she still snuggled even closer to his body to accent her point, and Inuyasha smiled again.
"You make me feel warm too, Kagome."
He held her tightly against his body, enjoying the fact that, because they were wet, he could feel every contour and line of her body as though she weren't wearing anything at all, and they both remained silent for the rest of the trek back to the hut, the moment ruined only when Shippou shrieked in indignation upon seeing Kagome and Inuyasha sopping wet.
