Disclaimer: Thirty-Two Chapters and you still don't know who belongs to me and who doesn't? ::Sigh::
"Spoken"
Thoughts
Chapter 32: Goodbye Again
Inuyasha and Kagome climbed out of the well. Inuyasha took in a deep breath of the crisp air around them. He was in a good mood. He went over to his companion and picked her up and spun around with her. Kagome started giggling. His good mood was contagious.
When he finally stopped and put her down, they both collapsed to the forest floor still laughing.
Kagome turned so that she was lying on her side facing Inuyasha. "What was that all about?"
Inuyasha shrugged. "I felt like doing that." He paused and looked at her in the eyes. "Just like I feel like doing this."
His hand cupped her face and he brought her closer. Softly he kissed her and this time he had no intention of ending it quickly. Kagome was surprised by the action, but after a moment she relaxed against him. Her arms snaked up around his neck and he pulled her even closer to him.
It was taking everything in him to keep the kiss soft and sweet and not turn into a devouring need. After a few more moments, the kiss ended. They didn't get up but just laid there in each other's arms with Inuyasha's chin resting lightly on the top of Kagome's head.
"How much longer can we stay like this?" Inuyasha asked.
Kagome looked up at him. "I would say forever, but I think Miroku, Sango, Shippo and your cousin would start to worry about us."
She felt rather than heard Inuyasha sigh. "I guess you are right."
He got up and helped her up. Together they made their way into the village and to the waiting Kirara.
*****
A few hours later, they had arrived at the Southern Lands and the house of Inuyasha's cousin. Shippo was a flying ball of fur into Kagome's arms.
"Kagome, I missed you so much! Are you feeling better? Was Inuyasha ever mean to you? Guess what Miroku and Sango slept together," the little kit blurted out.
"I missed you too. Yes. No. WHAT?"
"Shippo!" the monk exclaimed. Sango could only blush. Kagome giggled and Inuyasha raised his eyebrow to the couple. Miroku could not get a hold or the kit due to the fact that he was safely in Kagome's arms.
"Kagome, why do you smell like Inuyasha?" Now it was a role reversal. Sango gave Kagome a questioning look to which Kagome blushed.
"Shippo!" Inuyasha was not as nice as Miroku. He lifted the kit from Kagome's arms and gave him a beating on the head. He grinned at Miroku. "Would you like a turn?"
An evil grin slowly made its way across the monk's face. "Why, Inuyasha, I would love a turn."
Shippo managed to escape Inuyasha's grasp. He gave both boys a merry chase while the women laughed. After a few minutes (and a few good hits) later the "game" stopped. Miroku straightened out his robes and looked at his friends.
"There is a rumor of Shikon Shards back in the Western Lands. We still have a few hours of sunlight left and could probably make into those lands," he stated.
Inuyasha thought about it for a moment and then nodded his agreement. He turned to the red-haired girl. "We must take our leave of you now."
Nekoyasha nodded her head. She embraced Sango and Miroku.
"Take strength from each other. There is no reason to face all the horrors of the world alone." The demon slayer and the monk could only nod. Miroku put his arm around Sango and pulled her close to him. The gesture was not lost to anyone there.
Next she went to Kagome and gave the future girl a hug. "Don't leave him. He needs you more than both of you realize."
Kagome nodded. "Thank you for all you have done for us. I know it could not have been easy having all of us here in your house."
Nekoyasha laughed. "I don't know. It has been an interesting last few days."
Then she went and stood before Inuyasha. The cousins look at each other for a brief moment.
"There is so much to say, Inuyasha. And no words to say it with. I am here for you."
Inuyasha glanced down. He took her hand. "Be careful with that jewel shard. I don't want you in danger from Naraku." He glanced around. "Speaking of danger, where is Sesshomaru?"
"He left this morning." Nekoyasha put her hand to his face. "I do not think that he will bother you for a while. He has his own issues to deal with." She hugged the boy that looked so much like her.
When she let go, Inuyasha saw Shippo and Shinta trying to say their goodbyes. He felt sorry for the little fox cub. The group was all so much older than Shippo and he knew the last week had been good for the kit to have playmates.
"Shippo…" Kagome softly called. The kit turned from the boy and slowly made his way to his family.
"Wait a minute," Nekoyasha called. Shippo looked back to the cat. Lotus was holding a box out to him. He accepted the box and opened it. His traveling companions looked over his shoulder as he removed the contents.
Like Rin, he had received two dolls. A boy dressed in a blue kimono. However instead of a red-headed doll, he had another black-haired doll. This one had more feminine features and was dressed in a kimono of yellow and red.
"They look so much like Shinta and Rin," Kagome commented.
"That's who they are. Rin also received dolls, except she had Shinta and Shippo," Sango supplied.
Shippo looked up at the cat. "Thank you."
She knealt down to the kit. "It's important to have friends around you. But you also have your family." Shippo nodded and hopped up into Kagome's arms still holding on to the dolls.
Nekoyasha stood up. Lotus leaned over and whispered something in her ear.
"Ah yes. There is one more thing."
Lotus came back with a stack of colored cloth, which was handed to Sango.
"There is a sari there for each of you," the younger girl replied.
The group looked at each other for a few minutes. Miroku gave Inuyasha a mischievous grin.
"Well, this means we can bathe with the girls now."
"Yea! We can all take baths together now. Thank you for the gifts," Shippo exclaimed.
The women laughed. With the goodbyes said, there was nothing left for the group to do now except to leave.
The cat and her grandchildren watch the group make its way to the end of the village. When they were gone, Nekoyasha turned to her grandchildren. They both had sad expressions on their faces.
"I will miss them as well. But I am sure we will see all of them again. Their journey is far from over." She pulled her grandchildren into a hug. Then she picked up a wooden box and gave it to Shinta.
He opened it up and pulled out a little girl doll and a kitsune cub doll. He looked up at his grandmother.
She smiled at him. "Do you think that I would deprive my own grandson of his friends?" The little boy shook his head.
"Now then, I believe there is a festival tonight in the village," she looked to her granddaughter, "and I know there is someone you are wanting to see."
Lotus blushed. And with that, the little family went back into the quiet house to get ready.
*****
A/N: It's finished. ::ducks as she sees rotten fruit being thrown at her:: All 32 glorious chapters and 97 pages of it. I am impressed with myself. This is the longest thing I have ever written.
Thank you to everyone for making it this far. Special thanks go out to Inuyagura, RavenShadow, Sweetdaeth, Ryguy, and Henrika who have been with me since almost the beginning (I think it was around chapter 8). Thank you to everyone who reviewed and encouraged me to write more. Thanks to Eromeus for being someone who I could share my enthusiasm with.
I don't know how long it will be before the next one. I'm working six days a week. It is crazy. Hopefully the next story will be as fun and exciting as this one. Sorry that there wasn't a lot of action. It was more storyline than anything else I guess. I promise that there will be more action in the next one. And Naraku.
Nekoyasha: I'm not sure about this next story.
Catleana: Huh.
Nekoyasha: I've seen what you will be doing to me. Can we just skip the story and go to my new job?
Catleana: ::sigh:: No. We need the next story to help explain various things. Besides how do you know about all of that?
Nekoyasha: I do live in your head. How else could I follow you around?
Catleana: True. ::look of panic:: I hope the others haven't found their way down here yet. I wouldn't want to see what Inuyasha would do to Mickey Mouse.
Nekoyasha: Good Point. ::Wanders away to find Kagome's cell phone number to tell her to keep Inuyasha away.::
Catleana: Until next time!
