THE SECRET
Part 1
By: The Lady Amarisa Silvermoon
Disclaimers: Normal stuff. Don't own, don't sue, that kind of thing.
Enjoy!
Inuyasha streaked through the forest at breakneck speed, a blur to any who managed to catch the tiniest of glimpses of him. Kirara followed closely behind him carrying Miroku and Sango on her back. He was furious. Kagome should have returned two days ago, and the third day was nearly complete! He was going to tell her off when he saw her she could count on that! The nerve of her! She promised him she would return in two weeks and no later. She was lucky he even gave her that long! He could've gone to the future and dragged her back kicking and screaming if necessary, but no! He respected and trusted her decision and promise and he waited for her. Well, he was through waiting. If she did not come back by tonight, he would go and get her!
Kirara leapt above the treetops and flew over the land to travel better. Inuyasha chose to stay on the ground. He needed to get some energy spent or else he would rip Kagome to shreds when he finally saw her. Shippo would have to do some fancy illusions to keep him from screaming his lungs out at her if he didn't try to kill her in first place. Narrowing his eyes, he leapt a few times to reduce distance before he continued to run. Yes, she was in for an earful when he saw her but plans changed when they finally arrived and met an unexpected scene.
"What do you mean she doesn't want anyone near her?!"
Myouga flinched and cowered away from his Lord's wrath. "My-my Lady Kagome wishes not to be disturbed."
"She seemed especially determined to get away from you . . ." Shippo teased.
Inuyasha gave him such a glare that he yipped and ran behind Sango, sticking his tongue out from behind her legs.
"Inuyasha, be nice," Sango ordered strongly.
"Yeah!" chimed Shippo.
"That goes double for you!" Shippo looked up at her with a hurt expression. "Traitor . . ." he whimpered.
Sango picked up the little kitsune by the back of his shirt and plopped him down on Miroku's lap where the monk was sitting. Then she turned to Inuyasha. "If she wants to be alone for a while then leave her be. Usually it's for a good reason."
"And exactly what would that be?!"
"I don't know! I can't read minds!"
Inuyasha huffed and sat roughly on the ground, crossing his arms and legs instantly. "When she gets back tell her I want to speak with her."
Myouga cleared his throat and backed away.
"What now?!!"
"Well, m-my Lord, she is not in her usual spirits."
"And what exactly do you mean by that?"
"Well, she seemed, not like herself."
"You said that already . . ." he growled.
"Yes, well, she seemed . . . um . . . depressed in a way."
"Come to think about it," Shippo added from Miroku's lap. "She did seem really sad for some strange reason. And her bag was nearly exploding because it had so much stuff in it. But the good part is she said she's staying here with us from now on!!" he added happily.
Everyone in the party's gaze snapped to Shippo. Inuyasha could not believe what he was hearing, and Miroku and Sango seemed almost terrified.
"She's staying . . ." Inuyasha whispered in disbelief. "She said that? You aren't lying to me are you?!"
"No, my Lord. She said it herself. She has decided to stay with us in this era from now on. That is why her bag was so full. However, she would not explain why she had come to this decision. All she asked was where everyone was, especially you my Lord, and then stated that she did not think it would be a good idea if we were around her at this time. But she didn't say when we could talk to her, so we have no idea how long this will last."
"Maybe one of us should go talk to her to find out exactly what is bothering her," Shippo suggested.
Sango went to object but Miroku suddenly jumped to his feet, spilling Shippo onto the ground. "For the good of the mission, I will go!"
Sango smirked. "Fine, but if you get killed it's not our fault."
Miroku waved her off as he turned and started heading in the direction that Shippo and Myouga told them Kagome was in. "Ah, I won't get killed. You don't have to worry about me. Besides, I've had a way with her ever since I met her!" he smiled. "See you in a bit, and I expect a reward when I come back with her!" With that, he disappeared from Sango's sight.
Inuyasha stared at the retreating back of the monk and his eyes narrowed dangerously. If he remembered correctly, he was none too fond on Miroku's "way" with Kagome. In fact, if he used that tactic, with what Shippo and Myouga told them, the probability of Kagome actually killing him was very great. Normally Inuyasha would smirk at the monk's impending doom when it came to Kagome, or any other girl for that matter, but he didn't this time. Something was in the air that he disliked greatly and what made him even angrier was the fact that he couldn't quite place it. Although he knew this, it made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
Miroku smirked as he came upon Kagome sitting near a cliff, which just happened to have a very steep, very big drop that would no doubt lead to a very painful death. She had her back to him and her knees pulled up to her chin. He gulped silently and changed his amused smirk to that of a gentle smile as he stopped walking a few feet away from her.
"Hello, Kagome," he said gently. She did not answer, didn't even acknowledge the fact that he was there. He gulped and took a step closer. "Shippo and Myouga tell us that you don't want anyone near you. Why is that?"
"Whatever they told you, it's true," she answered quietly, in a tone that sent chills down Miroku's back, the bad kind. "Please, listen to them and go away. I will speak with you all when I am ready."
"Why aren't you ready now?" Miroku asked being bold and taking a few more steps closer to her. He was nearly right beside her, and she could feel him. He saw her shrink into herself, and noted that she had been sitting with her arms wrapped tight around her drawn-up knees.
"Please, just go away . . ." she asked, her eyes tight closed.
"Come on, Kagome," Miroku smiled as he put on his charm. "You can tell me, you can tell me anything you want. I'm here." He put his hand on her shoulder. Immediately she recoiled and jumped to her feet, a little ways away from Miroku with her back still to him.
"Please," her voice cracked. "Just please . . . I don't mean to be rude but go away. I can't be around any of you."
"Why not? What's wrong?" Miroku stupidly asked as reached to place his hand on her arm. "Come on, Kagome," he teased. "You can tell me. Tell me. I'll keep it our little secret. You don't have to worry about a thing . . ." He finally put his hand on her arm.
Immediately she spun around and slapped him harshly across the face, pulling out of his grasp as if he were some foul creature tainting her with poison just through his touch. "LEAVE ME ALONE!!" she sobbed and tore away from him, disappearing into the woods just as he got over his initial shock. He stared at the spot he last saw her at and touched his burning cheek.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!!"
Inuyasha's ears perked up and he jumped to his feet when he heard the cry. His head snapped in the direction it came from, Shippo and Sango copying his movements. "Kagome?"
They waited in tense silence for someone to appear into their clearing. They did not have long to wait. Miroku appeared with a shocked expression existent on his countenance. They stared at him expectantly.
"Well?!" snapped Shippo impatiently. "What happened?!"
"She . . . she slapped me."
"She slapped you?" the entire group chorused.
"Yeah." He looked up at them. "She slapped me."
"You idiot. You tried to have your way with her didn't you?" Sango inquired.
"Not . . . exactly."
"Well, what happened?!" asked Inuyasha, now getting extremely impatient.
"I . . . tried to get out of her what was wrong . . . and she just kept asking me to leave. I was gentle with her, if that's what you are wondering, but once I touched her everything just went wrong."
"What happened?" asked Sango.
"She . . . drew away from me as if I were . . . I don't know, as if I were evil incarnate or something. Then the second time I went to touch her she turned and slapped me, then ran away. I lost sight of her long before I got my bearings back again."
"Then I'll talk to her," Inuyasha stated as he started heading to where Miroku came from.
"NO!" Miroku shouted and ran up to block the way. "Don't! If you value every last shred of your dignity, don't. She will treat you as if you shouldn't be there, as if you shouldn't exist. And you're more vulnerable to her that I am. Just think of what she would do to you."
"Yet unlike you I'm stronger," countered Inuyasha. "Now let me through!"
"I can't do that. Trust me when I say to trust her decision. She said that she would talk to us when she was ready. I am giving her time because I certainly don't want slapped again or have something worse done to me. Please, I am begging you, Inuyasha, don't go after her. Let her be alone, as she wants to be, and don't bother her. Don't make the same mistake I did."
"I don't make the same mistakes you do."
"You will this time if you try to talk to her, believe me. I speak from personal experience. You will regret it if you try to find her."
"I'll regret it?" Inuyasha inquired crudely.
"Let me put it this way, has she ever slapped you?"
"Yes."
"Oh." That was not the response he expected. "Well, um, purposefully or on accident?"
"Pur —" he stopped. All the times Kagome had slapped him it was when he woke her, just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and he startled her. Otherwise that, she would only tell him to "SIT!" whenever he did anything wrong. "Accidentally," he finally answered.
"Alright, now imagine the strength behind that slap . . . now imagine if she had done it purposefully all those times." Inuyasha actually flinched for all to see. "Exactly. For once in your life, heed my warning, heed everyone else's warning. Now is not a good time to see her, and if she specifically meant to give the message to you, then there is probably a good reason why she doesn't want to see you."
"And just what exactly would that be?!"
"I don't know, but just remember how she treated me. She couldn't stand my presence. She was terrified when I touched her, when I talked to her."
"But you're missing something here, I'm not you."
"No, but the message was for you, not specifically for me. If you try and find her then her reactions towards you will probably be a lot more violent."
Inuyasha went to pass a snide remark and brush past the monk, but Shippo suddenly jumped onto Miroku's shoulder and stared seriously at Inuyasha.
"Inuyasha . . . now that I think of it, she nearly reacted the same way towards me. When I hugged her she drew away a little, I guess she tried to make it seem like nothing was wrong. But now that we're discussing this, I see that something really is wrong with her, but if we try to talk to her then we might just make everything worse. I am willing to have a slightly altered Kagome with us than no Kagome at all."
Inuyasha blinked and stared at Shippo.
"You're not the only one who wants to be near her," the little kitsune continued. "I want to be near her just as much as you do, just as much as we all do, but with how she treated Miroku, I'm not going to dare go against her request. I don't want her to lose her trust in me, and I doubt you want that too."
Inuyasha looked away. "That still doesn't help matters much. We don't know what's bothering her. We can't look for the shards when she's acting like this."
"Will you stop using the excuse to look for the shards as an easy way out to everything!!" Sango snapped and Inuyasha glared at her. "Just open your eyes already! Kagome is our friend! If you keep that idea in your head then it will seem like you were using her all this time and when everything's done you will drop her like you never even cared for her! Open your eyes you stupid half-demon! She is in some sort of trouble and all you say you care about is finding the jewel shards?!! That's a load of shit and you know it!!" Sango panted angrily before taking a deep breath and calming her nerves. "When she wants to come back she will, until then all we can do is wait. We should stay here in case she wants to find us, instead of disappearing on her as if her actions separated her from the group completely."
"She needs friends who understand, my Lord Inuyasha," Myouga spoke up after a long silence. "We may not know what she is going through at the moment, but when she feels it is time to return, we must show her that we are always here for her. We must be gentle with her and give her time."
"Yeah, well I gave her time. I gave her enough time to return to our time. I won't give her much more." With that said, Inuyasha turned away from the direction he was heading in originally and brushed past Sango out of the clearing. The rest of the group simply looked at each other with worry and Shippo jumped to Sango, who held him gently, motherly. He whimpered in her arms.
"Will Kagome ever return Sango . . . ?"
"I don't know . . ."
Inuyasha looked back at the party, his eyes losing their icy stare. He leapt into the air a few times until he chose a tree and sat on it, leaning against its trunk. He stared at the ground beneath him.
"Kagome . . . what's wrong? Why won't you let me see you . . . ?"
Inuyasha streaked through the forest at breakneck speed, a blur to any who managed to catch the tiniest of glimpses of him. Kirara followed closely behind him carrying Miroku and Sango on her back. He was furious. Kagome should have returned two days ago, and the third day was nearly complete! He was going to tell her off when he saw her she could count on that! The nerve of her! She promised him she would return in two weeks and no later. She was lucky he even gave her that long! He could've gone to the future and dragged her back kicking and screaming if necessary, but no! He respected and trusted her decision and promise and he waited for her. Well, he was through waiting. If she did not come back by tonight, he would go and get her!
Kirara leapt above the treetops and flew over the land to travel better. Inuyasha chose to stay on the ground. He needed to get some energy spent or else he would rip Kagome to shreds when he finally saw her. Shippo would have to do some fancy illusions to keep him from screaming his lungs out at her if he didn't try to kill her in first place. Narrowing his eyes, he leapt a few times to reduce distance before he continued to run. Yes, she was in for an earful when he saw her but plans changed when they finally arrived and met an unexpected scene.
"What do you mean she doesn't want anyone near her?!"
Myouga flinched and cowered away from his Lord's wrath. "My-my Lady Kagome wishes not to be disturbed."
"She seemed especially determined to get away from you . . ." Shippo teased.
Inuyasha gave him such a glare that he yipped and ran behind Sango, sticking his tongue out from behind her legs.
"Inuyasha, be nice," Sango ordered strongly.
"Yeah!" chimed Shippo.
"That goes double for you!" Shippo looked up at her with a hurt expression. "Traitor . . ." he whimpered.
Sango picked up the little kitsune by the back of his shirt and plopped him down on Miroku's lap where the monk was sitting. Then she turned to Inuyasha. "If she wants to be alone for a while then leave her be. Usually it's for a good reason."
"And exactly what would that be?!"
"I don't know! I can't read minds!"
Inuyasha huffed and sat roughly on the ground, crossing his arms and legs instantly. "When she gets back tell her I want to speak with her."
Myouga cleared his throat and backed away.
"What now?!!"
"Well, m-my Lord, she is not in her usual spirits."
"And what exactly do you mean by that?"
"Well, she seemed, not like herself."
"You said that already . . ." he growled.
"Yes, well, she seemed . . . um . . . depressed in a way."
"Come to think about it," Shippo added from Miroku's lap. "She did seem really sad for some strange reason. And her bag was nearly exploding because it had so much stuff in it. But the good part is she said she's staying here with us from now on!!" he added happily.
Everyone in the party's gaze snapped to Shippo. Inuyasha could not believe what he was hearing, and Miroku and Sango seemed almost terrified.
"She's staying . . ." Inuyasha whispered in disbelief. "She said that? You aren't lying to me are you?!"
"No, my Lord. She said it herself. She has decided to stay with us in this era from now on. That is why her bag was so full. However, she would not explain why she had come to this decision. All she asked was where everyone was, especially you my Lord, and then stated that she did not think it would be a good idea if we were around her at this time. But she didn't say when we could talk to her, so we have no idea how long this will last."
"Maybe one of us should go talk to her to find out exactly what is bothering her," Shippo suggested.
Sango went to object but Miroku suddenly jumped to his feet, spilling Shippo onto the ground. "For the good of the mission, I will go!"
Sango smirked. "Fine, but if you get killed it's not our fault."
Miroku waved her off as he turned and started heading in the direction that Shippo and Myouga told them Kagome was in. "Ah, I won't get killed. You don't have to worry about me. Besides, I've had a way with her ever since I met her!" he smiled. "See you in a bit, and I expect a reward when I come back with her!" With that, he disappeared from Sango's sight.
Inuyasha stared at the retreating back of the monk and his eyes narrowed dangerously. If he remembered correctly, he was none too fond on Miroku's "way" with Kagome. In fact, if he used that tactic, with what Shippo and Myouga told them, the probability of Kagome actually killing him was very great. Normally Inuyasha would smirk at the monk's impending doom when it came to Kagome, or any other girl for that matter, but he didn't this time. Something was in the air that he disliked greatly and what made him even angrier was the fact that he couldn't quite place it. Although he knew this, it made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
Miroku smirked as he came upon Kagome sitting near a cliff, which just happened to have a very steep, very big drop that would no doubt lead to a very painful death. She had her back to him and her knees pulled up to her chin. He gulped silently and changed his amused smirk to that of a gentle smile as he stopped walking a few feet away from her.
"Hello, Kagome," he said gently. She did not answer, didn't even acknowledge the fact that he was there. He gulped and took a step closer. "Shippo and Myouga tell us that you don't want anyone near you. Why is that?"
"Whatever they told you, it's true," she answered quietly, in a tone that sent chills down Miroku's back, the bad kind. "Please, listen to them and go away. I will speak with you all when I am ready."
"Why aren't you ready now?" Miroku asked being bold and taking a few more steps closer to her. He was nearly right beside her, and she could feel him. He saw her shrink into herself, and noted that she had been sitting with her arms wrapped tight around her drawn-up knees.
"Please, just go away . . ." she asked, her eyes tight closed.
"Come on, Kagome," Miroku smiled as he put on his charm. "You can tell me, you can tell me anything you want. I'm here." He put his hand on her shoulder. Immediately she recoiled and jumped to her feet, a little ways away from Miroku with her back still to him.
"Please," her voice cracked. "Just please . . . I don't mean to be rude but go away. I can't be around any of you."
"Why not? What's wrong?" Miroku stupidly asked as reached to place his hand on her arm. "Come on, Kagome," he teased. "You can tell me. Tell me. I'll keep it our little secret. You don't have to worry about a thing . . ." He finally put his hand on her arm.
Immediately she spun around and slapped him harshly across the face, pulling out of his grasp as if he were some foul creature tainting her with poison just through his touch. "LEAVE ME ALONE!!" she sobbed and tore away from him, disappearing into the woods just as he got over his initial shock. He stared at the spot he last saw her at and touched his burning cheek.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!!"
Inuyasha's ears perked up and he jumped to his feet when he heard the cry. His head snapped in the direction it came from, Shippo and Sango copying his movements. "Kagome?"
They waited in tense silence for someone to appear into their clearing. They did not have long to wait. Miroku appeared with a shocked expression existent on his countenance. They stared at him expectantly.
"Well?!" snapped Shippo impatiently. "What happened?!"
"She . . . she slapped me."
"She slapped you?" the entire group chorused.
"Yeah." He looked up at them. "She slapped me."
"You idiot. You tried to have your way with her didn't you?" Sango inquired.
"Not . . . exactly."
"Well, what happened?!" asked Inuyasha, now getting extremely impatient.
"I . . . tried to get out of her what was wrong . . . and she just kept asking me to leave. I was gentle with her, if that's what you are wondering, but once I touched her everything just went wrong."
"What happened?" asked Sango.
"She . . . drew away from me as if I were . . . I don't know, as if I were evil incarnate or something. Then the second time I went to touch her she turned and slapped me, then ran away. I lost sight of her long before I got my bearings back again."
"Then I'll talk to her," Inuyasha stated as he started heading to where Miroku came from.
"NO!" Miroku shouted and ran up to block the way. "Don't! If you value every last shred of your dignity, don't. She will treat you as if you shouldn't be there, as if you shouldn't exist. And you're more vulnerable to her that I am. Just think of what she would do to you."
"Yet unlike you I'm stronger," countered Inuyasha. "Now let me through!"
"I can't do that. Trust me when I say to trust her decision. She said that she would talk to us when she was ready. I am giving her time because I certainly don't want slapped again or have something worse done to me. Please, I am begging you, Inuyasha, don't go after her. Let her be alone, as she wants to be, and don't bother her. Don't make the same mistake I did."
"I don't make the same mistakes you do."
"You will this time if you try to talk to her, believe me. I speak from personal experience. You will regret it if you try to find her."
"I'll regret it?" Inuyasha inquired crudely.
"Let me put it this way, has she ever slapped you?"
"Yes."
"Oh." That was not the response he expected. "Well, um, purposefully or on accident?"
"Pur —" he stopped. All the times Kagome had slapped him it was when he woke her, just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and he startled her. Otherwise that, she would only tell him to "SIT!" whenever he did anything wrong. "Accidentally," he finally answered.
"Alright, now imagine the strength behind that slap . . . now imagine if she had done it purposefully all those times." Inuyasha actually flinched for all to see. "Exactly. For once in your life, heed my warning, heed everyone else's warning. Now is not a good time to see her, and if she specifically meant to give the message to you, then there is probably a good reason why she doesn't want to see you."
"And just what exactly would that be?!"
"I don't know, but just remember how she treated me. She couldn't stand my presence. She was terrified when I touched her, when I talked to her."
"But you're missing something here, I'm not you."
"No, but the message was for you, not specifically for me. If you try and find her then her reactions towards you will probably be a lot more violent."
Inuyasha went to pass a snide remark and brush past the monk, but Shippo suddenly jumped onto Miroku's shoulder and stared seriously at Inuyasha.
"Inuyasha . . . now that I think of it, she nearly reacted the same way towards me. When I hugged her she drew away a little, I guess she tried to make it seem like nothing was wrong. But now that we're discussing this, I see that something really is wrong with her, but if we try to talk to her then we might just make everything worse. I am willing to have a slightly altered Kagome with us than no Kagome at all."
Inuyasha blinked and stared at Shippo.
"You're not the only one who wants to be near her," the little kitsune continued. "I want to be near her just as much as you do, just as much as we all do, but with how she treated Miroku, I'm not going to dare go against her request. I don't want her to lose her trust in me, and I doubt you want that too."
Inuyasha looked away. "That still doesn't help matters much. We don't know what's bothering her. We can't look for the shards when she's acting like this."
"Will you stop using the excuse to look for the shards as an easy way out to everything!!" Sango snapped and Inuyasha glared at her. "Just open your eyes already! Kagome is our friend! If you keep that idea in your head then it will seem like you were using her all this time and when everything's done you will drop her like you never even cared for her! Open your eyes you stupid half-demon! She is in some sort of trouble and all you say you care about is finding the jewel shards?!! That's a load of shit and you know it!!" Sango panted angrily before taking a deep breath and calming her nerves. "When she wants to come back she will, until then all we can do is wait. We should stay here in case she wants to find us, instead of disappearing on her as if her actions separated her from the group completely."
"She needs friends who understand, my Lord Inuyasha," Myouga spoke up after a long silence. "We may not know what she is going through at the moment, but when she feels it is time to return, we must show her that we are always here for her. We must be gentle with her and give her time."
"Yeah, well I gave her time. I gave her enough time to return to our time. I won't give her much more." With that said, Inuyasha turned away from the direction he was heading in originally and brushed past Sango out of the clearing. The rest of the group simply looked at each other with worry and Shippo jumped to Sango, who held him gently, motherly. He whimpered in her arms.
"Will Kagome ever return Sango . . . ?"
"I don't know . . ."
Inuyasha looked back at the party, his eyes losing their icy stare. He leapt into the air a few times until he chose a tree and sat on it, leaning against its trunk. He stared at the ground beneath him.
"Kagome . . . what's wrong? Why won't you let me see you . . . ?"