Disclaimer - It's not mine, it never was.
A/N - Here we go people. Hope you enjoy.
What's In a Letter?
Kagome was happy to be back in her own time. She had spent the last month in the Warring States and when she set eyes on her house the first place she headed after telling her family hello was the bathroom. There was nothing wrong with bathing in the hot springs, but she did enjoy it when she could sit in a bath tub full of hot water and soak. At least then she didn't have to worry about getting peeped on by anyone looking for a free show. She sunk down into the water and let in envelope her tired weary and sore body. Her thoughts drifted back to the Warring States and a smile came to her face. Inuyasha. She was so happy that the search for the shards was over. Now, they could move on with their lives and continue on where they had left off. She fingered the scar on her neck and smiled again, wondering if she should tell her mother about the change in the status of her relationship with the hanyou. I'll tell her later. She had been so happy to be home that she had left her big yellow bag in the well when she had come out. Figuring that it had survived this long, a few more hours in the elements wouldn't hurt it. I'll go get it when I get done with my bath……maybe. For now, she just relaxed into the soothing flow of water and let her loving thoughts drift back to her lover, five hundred years in the past.
*** The next day***
While Kagome was with her family, retelling the tale of their final battle to her little brother, a slap rang through the forest in the Warring States. One young lady by the name of Sango was knocking on a young, corrupted monk named Miroku. They were on their way back to Sango's home village, and Sango's father had asked the monk to accompany them. Miroku, never one to pass up a chance to be near the female exterminator, accepted the offer. They were getting closer and closer to Sango's old home, since it was only about a day and a half travel away from Kaede's village.
Sango had been walking with her brother when she felt something rub her bottom, not taking time to think about her reaction, she quickly spun around and left a hand print on the side of Miroku's grinning face. When her hand connected, a resounding 'pop' rang through the trees. Sango's father quickly turned around and hid a smirk when he saw the hand print on the monk's face. He watched as Sango yelled at the boy and stomped off, leaving Kohaku to deal with the monk. When his daughter got closer to him, he only nodded as though he had not seen anything and continued to walk at a steady pace. Sango's mother, on the other hand, shook her head and scolded her daughter.
"Sango, really, what have you been learning during your travels?" she asked. "A lady does not strike a man who follows the spiritual world!!"
"He's not a follower of anything except his own hentai thoughts!" she growled. "Besides, would a real man grope another woman to whom he has no connection with what so ever?!" Sango's mother seemed taken back at the change of her daughter's disposition.
"Sango!" she said. "I will not have you speaking like that about a monk!!"
"Mother," she said exasperatingly, " no disrespect intended, but if you like him so much, you go stand by him because I've had enough of his roaming hands!!" The young girl stomped away from her parents and continued up the path at a much faster pace. Her mother was aghast.
"What have these people done to my daughter?" she wailed. "All these travels have turned her into a disrespectful, unhonorable girl." Sango's father only smiled and patted his wife's shoulder reassuringly.
"They have done nothing, my love." he said. "Sango is merely standing up for what she believes in. Would you have liked it if someone put their hands on you, uninvited?" Sango's mom seemed taken back.
"She should not be so disrespectful to a member of the cloth." she said, referring to Miroku's deep purple robes. "It will anger the ancestors." Her father smiled and shook his head.
"Our ancestors will be glad that we have brought up a strong woman who is unafraid to put her life on the line for the ones she loves." he said gently. "If I remember correctly, you weren't exactly a proper young woman when we married, either." The older woman blushed and put her head down, knowing that her husband spoke the truth.
"I still do not like it." she said with finality.
"It will be fine." he said. "I do believe that the young monk has feelings for our daughter. However, he is taking the wrong approach to wining her heart." With this statement, the woman's eyes lit up like the sun. She had always wanted Sango to marry well. And the monk was a good man who paid attention to her daughter. 'Although it seems as though Sango is not appreciative of the attention.' she thought. She looked back at the monk, who now stood with little Kohaku and smiled. Yes, Miroku and Sango were a wonderful couple. They each had the strengths and weaknesses that interlocked to form a solid barrier. Even from her short time knowing the young man, she had taken a liking to him. She smiled and continued on walking next to her husband, content to have a talk with her daughter when they were at home and settled.
Meanwhile, Miroku was being accosted by Kohaku.
"You big baka," he said. "Can't you leave my sister alone? How many times does she have to hit you to get it through your thick head?" Miroku looked down at the little boy and frowned. It was obvious that the little boy did not particularly care for him.
"I tend to have to have certain points re-iterated to me a few times." he said with a grin.
"Whatever." Kohaku said. "Just keep your hands off of my sister. I just got her back, and no one's taking her away for a long time. Especially not some perverted monk who can't keep his hands still!" Miroku looked at the boy and blinked a few times in surprise. This boy meant business.
"I'm not going to do anything to your sister, Kohaku." he said. "Especially nothing she doesn't want me to do."
"You're not going to do anything, period." he said to the monk. "You're going to stay away from her." Miroku just grinned and bowed to the boy.
"If you say so, young one." he grinned. "If you say so." Kohaku frowned and nodded, continuing to keep pace with the delinquent monk.
"I say so." he said with certain finality. Miroku only smiled and continued to walk with the little boy.
**** Later own that day, in the modern era***
Kagome had walked out of her house and to the Bone Eater's well to retrieve her bag. The whole way there, her thoughts centered on Inuyasha. She loved that hanyou more than was possibly considered healthy. She had told her mother about the change in their friendship. Kagome had broached the subject gently, but being a mother, the older woman knew what was coming. Surprisingly, her mom had no objections to it. She only requested that Kagome and Inuyasha come visit them often from the Warring States. Kagome had cried and hugged her mother. She was happy that her mom accepted Inuyasha for what he was. Her grandpa, on the other hand, hadn't been as receptive to the idea. He shook his head and frowned when Kagome told him. He hadn't liked the idea, but there was nothing he could do to stop her. The only thing he had said was that demons were not humans. Kagome had smiled and hugged her grandpa, thanking him for being so understanding of her feelings. Of course, Souta was ecstatic. He had bounced around the shrine for hours afterwards, yelling how Inuyasha was going to be part of his family.
Kagome grinned and walked down to the well house, scanning the darkened corners for her bag. She smiled when the light reflected off of the bag and she walked over to pick it up. Her foot hit a rock and she kicked it out of the way. When it landed, she heard a fluttering of paper. She looked down and saw the offending rock, but it had something tied to it. She picked it up and looked at it with mounting curiosity. She couldn't see what it was, so she put it in her pocket and picked up her bag, intending to read it when she got back inside and into better light. She heaved the bag up and left out of the well house, a sudden feeling of dread over coming her as she turned and shut the door that led to the passageway that put her five hundred years into the past.
**Back in the Warring States**
Kouga was pacing the floor in agitation. He did not know if Kagome had found the note yet, and it was driving him crazy. He looked over to where Keiko was sitting with one of the younger pups. He grinned as she told the little girl pup how she could tell one plant from the next. Keiko was the healer of the pack, and her knowledge of helpful plants had helped him and the pack numerous times. The little pup was watching intently as Keiko mixed two plants up and showed the little girl how to apply it. "Kagome would make a wonderful mother.' he thought. 'She has the patience to teach them what they need to know. And I am beginning to believe that her love is limitless.' He stood up and walked away from the two females. His thoughts were firmly centered on Kagome.
"This is going to drive me nuts before I find out what she's going to do." he said bitterly. He took off towards Kaede's village quickly, hoping to find the old woman. He needed to talk with her about something very important.
Meanwhile, in another part of the forest.
Inuyasha was waiting in a clearing for Kikyou. He had given Kaede the slip earlier that day. He had made his way into the tree tops to sit and think about his current situation. He did not know what to do. Kagome had went back to her time, but Kikyou was still here and waiting for him. His sense of loyalty to Kikyou had brought some complications when he had wished the innocents back. He thought that the once dead miko could give up on him once she was alive. However, that had not seemed to be the case. When he had met her in the forest right after the wish had been granted, she had declared her love for him. And he had froze.
He had marked Kagome only days before as his mate, but Kikyou had not seemed to care. She had basically seduced the white haired hanyou that night, and it had thrown some complications into his relationship with Kagome. His lingering feelings for Kikyou had kicked into overdrive, and before he realized it, something was suddenly different, and he was too far gone to really do anything about it.
"Kami, I screwed up!" he said. About that time, he heard soft footsteps coming to the clearing. It was Kikyou. He had decided to tell Kikyou to leave him alone, and what had happened was just a mistake. He still loved Kagome, and did not want to loose her. However, when Kikyou stepped into the clearing, another smell assaulted his nose. The sweet, heady scent surrounded him and his mind went into a sudden jangle as his demon sided sensed the reason behind the smell. 'Shit!!' he cursed mentally. 'She's in heat!!' He shook his head and dropped down to the grassy forest floor. Kikyou gasped in surprise and smiled at the hanyou.
"Inuyasha," she said softly. "I'm glad you came back." She smiled happily at the hanyou, and Inuyasha's head seemed to slip into a deep abyss. He looked at the girl and grinned. A sudden feeling of warmness enveloped his heart. She was his.
"I told you I wasn't going to leave you again." he said. In his mind, he knew he should not be saying this, but something was compelling him to the miko, and it was not the scent. She nodded and walked up to the hanyou, encircling him with her arms.
"No, my love." she whispered, stroking his soft silvery white man of silky hair, "No you're not going to leave me again." Inuyasha breathed again and the scent of Kikyou enveloped his sensed. He tried to fight the cloak of subtly that had taken over, but it was no use. Kikyou was holding him, and he was suddenly content to keep her there. All thoughts of another girl name Kagome flew from his mind.
"I'm not leaving." he said quietly. Kikyou smiled and pushed herself up against him.
"What about Kagome?" she asked with a frown. Inuyasha only growled in response and pulled her closer.
"Who?" he asked. Kikyou smiled evilly, knowing that she had the hanyou now. And Kagome could do nothing about it. What was once hers, was hers again.
**Modern era***
Kagome had just got back from the grocery store with her mother. She had spent the day with her family, catching up on what had happened while she was gone. She brought the groceries in and her mother told her not to worry, Souta would help her put them up. She thanked her mom and went back to her room to unpack her big yellow backpack. As she climbed the stairs, she smiled. She had only been out of the Warring States for two days, and she wanted to go back already. 'I miss Inuyasha.' she though dejectedly. She still had not figured out why he would not come with her when she left. Even though her grandpa would ward the entire house, it had never really bothered him before. Even Souta would give up on the video games after a while. Something was not panning out, but she was not about to worry about it.
She opened the door to her room and heaved the back pack onto her bed. She unsnapped the top and began to pull things out of the depths. It didn't take her long to clean it out, and she threw it back into the closet. She would not need it again any time soon. She picked up the pile of dirty clothes and threw them in a hamper nearby. 'I'm going to be washing for a while.' she thought with a frown. She walked back over to her room and picked up another suit of clothes she'd had on earlier. She picked the skirt up and felt something in the pocket. She frowned and remembered that she had found a letter in the well, tied to a rock earlier that morning. She pulled it out and untied it. Around the rock was not only the letter, but a piece of red cloth.
"What in the world is this?" she asked Buyo. The cat only meowed and stretched out on her bed. Kagome smiled and untied to letter from the rock. She sat back on her bed and began to read it. The first thing she noticed was that it was in Shippou's little kiddy scrawl.
"Shippou?" she asked uncertainly. "What's going on here?" She opened the letter and began to read it in earnest.
Kagome,
I wanted to send you this before my family and I left to go back home. I just want you to know right now that nothing is wrong with anybody. So, don't go jumping into the well and fighting to get back for no reason. Everyone is fine.
There is one reason why I'm sending you this, though. Kagome, I don't know how to say this, but there is something you need to know about Inuyasha. He's not exactly being truthful to you since the wish was granted by the Shikon no Tama. I don't want you to get the wrong idea or anything, but I do want you to know that Kouga is here with me as I write this. He saw something that you might find………interesting.
Kagome, please, I want you to ……I don't know what I want you to do. But there is something that you need to know. And it's not something that you need to find out through a letter. I know you're supposed to be home for two weeks, but I wanted to know if you would be willing to come back a few days earlier. What we, Kouga and I, want to tell you can wait until then. If you do decide to come back early, don't let Inuyasha find out. What we need to show you concerns him, and if he knows your back, the truth will never be told.
Kagome, Kami, I don't know how to put this, Kouga is putting one of his pack members close the well if you do come back. The minute they find you, they'll take you back to Kouga. He's the one that wants to show you this. By the way, be sure that you come at night. I am pretty sure that no one will notice you then. I can't get away from my family, in fact, it's the middle of the night right now, and Kouga had to come get me from the camp. After we drop this off, he's taking me back to my family.
I love you Kagome. Please, I know this is an odd way to find out something like this, but ……you just need to know. Good-bye for now.
Your loving son,
Shippou
Kagome frowned and shook her head before scanning over the letter again. She folded it back and looked over at where Buyo was asleep on the bed.
"Buyo, there's something wrong." she said. "Something is wrong with Inuyasha and the others." She looked over at her clock and frowned. It would be dark in an hour. She shook her head and frowned. 'Looks like I'm going back earlier than I though.' she thought. She put the letter on her dresser and sat down on her bed.
"Shippou said wait until dark to come back." she said in confusion. "I don't get it. And what's Kouga got to do with this?" She petted the sleeping cat and frowned. "Whatever it is, Inuyasha's not going to like it." She sat on her bed and sighed. Just when she thought things were going to go smoothly, something backfires with the wish. She wracked her brains out trying to think of something that would cause this much of a problem because of the wish. Of course, her first thought was Kikyou. She knew that the wish had brought back the miko, but Inuyasha had assured her that Kikyou was no longer a threat when he had marked her. She put her hand to her neck and searched for the mark. The hanyou had told her that the marks were permanent once they were formed. There was only two ways the marks would fade. If one of the partners were unfaithful, or if they died. She fingered the bumps, noticing that they seemed smaller than before, but she let the thought go, chalking it up to the initial swelling going down.
Something else had to be wrong. She loved Inuyasha, and he would never betray her. He had swore himself to her, and he would not go back on his word, or so she thought. She got off of her bed and went to the kitchen. She told her mom that she was going to go back down the well for a day or so, and the older woman nodded. So, Kagome waited for the sun to go down before she found herself traveling a well worn path to the direction of the Bone Eater's well. She jumped into the well and waited for the world on the other side to appear before her.
"Inuyasha." she said quietly. "Please be safe. I couldn't live if something happened to you and you left me here without you."
A/N: Okay peeps. How'd it come out? Okay? Horrible? Terrible? Good? What? Leave me a note telling me. Oh, by the way. I don't know what Kohaku is supposed to act like, so I just kind of made it up as I went along. It seemed to fit well for me. How about you? Later.
