Alrighty, Happy Youkai is back in action! *millions groan in the background* Oh, c'mon people, you missed me ^_^. Thank you AnimeAngel0123, Loozer-09, Sarah, Hinoke, Crystal Sapphire, fairlight_inuyasha, and Shadow Wraith for reviewing. Some of you expressed beautiful hatred toward Kikyo which made me so happy! Kikyo should die!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Maybe, I'll have her die sometime during this fic……..
Yes, yes I SHOULD kill her off!!!!!!!!!! BWAHAHA! *cough cough* I'm in an insane mood, so you'll have to ignore me.
Oh! And I was surprised with some of your concern for my head. Thanks for worrying about my brain's condition and the headache is no more. Ah! The wonders of painkillers and a good ol' nap! *tee hee* Anyway, I'll stop ranting.
Disclaimer: I don't own the anime/manga "Inuyasha"; Rumiko Takashi does. Also, I don't own the lyrics below.
Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But, then, it is painful
Want to meet everyday
What should I do with this feeling
I want to grow up right now
But it wouldn't happen all of a sudden…
Hold me than to kiss me
Don't stop suddenly…
I think I'm addicted to you…
-Addicted to You (English), Utada Hikaru. (Borrowed from )
Kagome parted from her father's warm embrace and wiped tears from her muddy, brown eyes. She looked into Dion's face and understood what he meant about her looking like his family. They shared most of the same features –same eye color, chin, jaw line, forehead, etc. - like he said earlier. At that moment, Kagome was filled with an odd sense of completion and joy and she could not wait to tell Sango, Horaku, and Inuyasha…
Inuyasha…
The inu hanyou…
Half human, half demon…
Demon…
"Dion… I mean… Dad?" Kagome began but stopped when it came to the issue of what to call him. Dion just nodded for her to continue. "You said earlier –if I remember correctly- that the only way we would be able to tell for certain if you are truly my father would be through demon ways. What are the demon ways or whatever?"
Dion backed away from his new found daughter and plunked down on a couch, motioning for Kagome to sit next to him. "It entails nothing painful. In fact, Prince Inuyasha could tell for us. To put it simply, family members smell alike since they share similar blood. If you are really my daughter –who I'm sure you are- we will smell alike."
"Speaking of Inuyasha… He will be awfully surprised to find out we're related."
"You know him?" Dion arched an eyebrow.
"Yes. In fact he loves to bug me, but I really don't mind," Kagome scratched the back of her head. "Our meeting was different. He insulted me, I did so back, I looked for him during the ball to apologize, he looked for me… I don't know why… But we spent the entire morning talking and I had archery drills the next morning. That was this morning. He nearly got me in trouble with General Loki for his antics. But," Kagome decided to skip the part about Inuyasha giving her a kiss, even though it was only on the cheek, "we're going into town tomorrow."
"A date?" Dion inquired, falling easily into the fatherly concern about teenage daughters dating.
"I don't know. I wouldn't say we're like that, but just friends."
"Alright," Dion said, but did not believe her.
"So…uh…Kikyo is my Aunt?" Kagome asked hesitantly.
"That she is," Dion sighed and rubbed his temples. "You do not care for her much."
"N-no!" Kagome stuttered.
Dion chuckled and covered his mouth to be polite, "I really do not like Kikyo much, either. My father (your grandfather) was not very good at keeping his hands to himself. Kikyo was born to a king and a miko. Our father passed away not too long after she was born, but she remained with her miko mother. She is close to your age. A little over twenty, I think," Dion patted Kagome on the leg. "I know she gives you hell. Just get in her face about it and eventually she will leave you alone. At least that is what I had to do with her."
"Oh ho ho!" Kagome laughed maniacally. "I've done more than gotten in her face. I've messed it up!"
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A few thorough, solid knocks rang through the thick oak of the barrack door of Kagome and Kikyo. Kagome shot up from her bed where she was making last minute adjustments on her hair. She flung the door open to be greeted with the smiling face of the inu hanyou prince, Inuyasha. As always, he looked fresh, clean, and superbly dressed. He wore a simple red shirt that looked to be made of fine fabric, and black pants.
"Hello, Kagome," Inuyasha widened his grin. "Are you ready?"
"I am," Kagome nodded and turned around to face Kikyo. "I'm going now; will you be fine without me, Auntie?"
Kikyo emerged from the spring fed bath at the back of the barrack with a wet cloth over her right eye, though the skin around it looked tinged purple. Also her lower lip was spit and scabbed, as well as small cuts and bruises decorating her usually glistening skin. She gave Kagome a hard glare and retreated back into the bathing room.
"Well then, I'll see you later this afternoon," Kagome waved and closed the door behind her.
Side by side, Inuyasha and Kagome marched around stale puddles swarming with flies, to get through the barrack lots. Eventually, the pair made it through the lots and walked leisurely down a dirt path lined with sakura trees. Inuyasha shot a glance at Kagome who was looking to the sky, her raven hair framing her face in tiny wisps while most of it was pulled back into a bun.
"You… uh… look nice," Inuyasha whispered.
Kagome turned to face him, pausing and smiled sweetly, "Thank you."
Inuyasha stopped as well and gasped sharply when a breeze flew around them, tossing her bangs around. "Uh-h," Inuyasha chocked, "You're welcome."
She grinned once more and continued down the path slowly so Inuyasha could catch up. Within moments Inuyasha trotted to her side like a faithfully puppy. They continued this pace until the came to the city of Mythora. The city is surrounded by a stone wall much like the outer gate of the Palace and circled the city until it came to the ocean on the other side of town. Without incident, Kagome and Inuyasha were able to walk in through the gate and found themselves in a tiny square with a fountain of a horse spurting water from its mouth.
"Kagome," Inuyasha said, "why did you call Kikyo your 'Auntie'?"
"Ah! That," Kagome rubbed the back of her neck. "I just recently found out she's my aunt and King Dion is my father."
"So that explains why you and King Dion smell so similar," Inuyasha said slowly. "So, now that we are here, what should we do?"
"You could tell? Well, I suppose it's not too important, but," Kagome patted her stomach, "I'm starving. We should eat."
"I think Miroku said there was a good restaurant somewhere around this square, but I don't see a building that looks like one," Inuyasha said.
Kagome felt like falling over from the hanyou's statement. "Inuyasha, we are standing right in front of a restaurant."
Inuyasha turned his head just a bit to see a sign with 'restaurant' written in big yellow text. Embarrassed at bit, he looked to the ground and ran the front of his shoe through the dirt in a mindless distraction.
"Ah! So we are," Inuyasha finally piped up brightly. "Should we go in?"
All Kagome could do was nod as Inuyasha walked toward the building, for she felt that if she said anything she would laugh at Inuyasha's slight mental lapse. It surprised her that Inuyasha missed such an obvious sign. I must be affecting his brain in weird ways, she thought as she dodged people to get to Inuyasha who waited impatiently at the entrance. When Kagome caught up, Inuyasha ducked inside the doorway and was met with the round, shining face of an old lady who looked like she would keel over at any moment.
"What can I do for ya?" she croaked in the Mythoran accent.
"Uh…" Inuyasha droned, staring at a wart on her forehead.
Soon, Kagome realized what Inuyasha was doing and slapped him rather hard on the back, and then turned to the woman to answer, "We would like a table for two, please."
"Sure," the lady bowed slightly, "Let me run back and check if we have a table open. It will be just a moment."
And with speed that seemed impossible for a woman so old, she shot into –what Kagome assumed was because of the noise emerging from it- the dinning hall. Not much more than half a minute later, the old lady skidded to a halt in her previous spot and bowed once more, gesticulating to the dinning hall, "There's a nice table for two we have located in the back of the restaurant. It's in a private room with a nice view of the Mythora Botanical Garden," she paused to wink at them. "A perfect place for young lovers like you to spend a meal."
"Sounds good," Kagome said and slugged Inuyasha who still was staring at the old woman's wart.
"Alright, then" the lady clapped her hands together. "Follow me."
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"Kanna?" Lord Naraku called to his youngest creation.
Within seconds, the mirror wielding, blue haired child appeared before him and bowed. "What is it, my Lord?"
Naraku sniffed the air and caught the scent of fresh air coming off Kanna. He assumed she had been outside when he summoned her. "How is Kohaku coming along?"
"He is doing fine," Kanna blinked a few times before continuing. "I do not spend much time with him. Most of his training comes from Kagura, but I have seen him fight. The battle between Uranin and Hathar will be won by our side, master. You need not come and fight. The combined powers of me, Kagura, and Kohaku will be more than enough to wipe out any force that opposes us."
The Lord nodded, pleased that things were going so well in the Uranin cause. But there was one thing that bothered him. A priestess was rumored to have taken up arms in the Hathar army which could threaten everything he had built up to the past few years.
"I have come across some interesting information, Kanna," Naraku spoke when he stopped thinking of the miko rumor.
"Really, Lord Naraku? What kind of information?"
"It is about our dear King Dion of Hathar. It seems he has recently found his lost daughter. What do you think of that?" he asked, scratching an itch on his chin.
"I do not know what to think, master, but I have heard the same thing as well from our spy Loki. It is strange though, but not too good for us," Kanna intoned.
"Why would you say that?"
"She is the heir, master. If Dion were to loose this battle coming up, he could send his daughter away to gather a stronger army from all over the planet and take back the thrown," Kanna said in an almost pleading tone.
"Very true, Kanna; I never thought of that," Naraku whispered. "You, my youngest creation, are more useful in the long run than Kagura. She will betray me again, I have forseen it. As soon as her training with Kohaku is finished, I will banish her from here upon pain of death. If threatened with death, I know she will leave."
"What of me, my Lord, have you forseen me betraying you?" Kanna inquired anxiously, for she did not want to disappoint her master.
"No, Kanna. You will always remain by my side," Naraku shook his head, causing his dusty black locks to fly about.
"I am glad, my Lord," Kanna bowed lowly.
"So am I…"
########################################################################
A thick blanket of darkness settled over the thriving city of Mythora who still bustling with people. The city of Mythora is well known for its raucous, entertaining nightlife. Two people in particular –actually and hanyou and ningen- did not wish to participate in the rowdy nighttime affairs of Mythora and were quickly scurrying through the busy streets. They passed many shops and practical businesses that they recognized, but not their night uses. Many had been transformed into bars or temporary brothels that would be cleaned up by morning for their normal uses.
Kagome was surprised by all that she saw, for she lived a sheltered, provincial life in the country and so at the most they had a pub, but it was used as the town hall as well; so that way, it had to be practical all the time, not just during the day. Inuyasha, it seemed to Kagome, was not fazed in the least bit about the things going on around them. In fact, it seemed he did not notice them at all.
Abruptly, Kagome stumbled when a drunken man came soaring out of a bar and crashed into her. At the last moment, Inuyasha caught her arm and pulled her to her feet, giving the drunkard a sound kick in the stomach before charging on with Kagome in tow.
When they were a safe distance from the man, Inuyasha pulled Kagome aside and asked, "He did not hurt you in any way, did he?"
Kagome's widened and she shook her head, "No. He just startled me."
He nodded in understanding and pulled Kagome along with him once again. Most of the trek out of the city required them to navigate the streets around drunkards and on some occasions, Kagome had to knock out prostitutes who were after Inuyasha. Finally, they reached the familiar rusted iron gate of the city wall and both nearly ran for it. As soon as they passed through it, each exhaled in relief, laughing at their adventures that day. The restaurant was only the beginning of everything. After that, Kagome and Inuyasha aimlessly walked the streets of Mythora, occasionally stopping in shops. About two o'clock, they decided to sit on the outer rim of a fountain. They chatted about stupid things many couples/close friends do, while a child of about seven chose to rob Kagome. She saw him just as he ran away with her money and Inuyasha (a.k.a. the Hero) chased the child around the fountain. Inuyasha caught the child, but fell into the fountain causing Kagome to laugh mercilessly at him. For the rest of the afternoon, they walked around more so Inuyasha could dry off. And that was their afternoon in Mythora.
"Wow!" Kagome exclaimed, her face towards the heavens. "The stars are really bright tonight. I love looking at the sky at night. It makes you realize just how tiny you are in the scheme of things."
"Yeah," Inuyasha half-mindedly agreed. He was too busy looking at Kagome's face.
The entire time the spent in Mythora, Inuyasha had struggled to find the perfect time to give Kagome a real kiss. Now, with the stars shining and twinkling above them, he thought this was the perfect time, but of course his mind was not too sure about that. It argued that she might not want to be kissed, and that she probably did not feel any likeness towards him besides friendship. Then his heart came forth with a gigantic mallet and bashed his mind a couple times, telling him that Kagome would not care. But, in the end, heart and mind came to an agreement. He would ask her.
"Kagome," Inuyasha said, lightly gripping her arm to pull her back from the sky to earth.
"Yes, Inuyasha."
"C-can," he stuttered, "I k-kiss you?"
Kagome turned slowly to look at the hanyou prince and looked at him critically. At first she thought he was kidding about being kissed, but then she saw the sincere, afraid look in his eyes. He looked like this scene had happened once before in his life and ended in rejection. For that reason, Kagome thought she would agree, but then this is the moment she had been waiting for since yesterday. Since the sweet kiss he had given her on the cheek…
"Sure you can kiss me," Kagome finally answered.
Inuyasha's eyes widened in surprise, for he never thought she would consent. Abruptly, he nodded and bent over quickly, shivering at the sensational feeling of his lips actually touching hers. After seconds that felt like minutes, he pulled away, nervously liking his lips and tasting her on them. He blushed, scared of what she would say in response to the kiss.
"Inuyasha…" Kagome trailed off and blushed; unaware Inuyasha was doing so at the moment too. Inuyasha visibly cringed, waiting in awful apprehension for her cutting words about how bad his kiss was. "That kiss had no emotion and was too short," Kagome finished.
She wrapped her arms around the scared stiff hanyou's neck and stood on her tip-toes. A daring grin stretched her red lips as she pressed them to Inuyasha's. For many moments, Inuyasha stood still as Kagome kissed him, but then he got used to it… liked it very much. He slipped his hands around her petite waist and pulled her closer, deepening their kiss. With their closeness, Inuyasha and Kagome could feel the other's fast, erratic heartbeats, almost causing them to loose self-control. Kagome started playing with Inuyasha's furry dog ears, making the hanyou purr embarrassingly, but he did not break their kiss. In fact, he snaked his right hand to the small of her back, pulling her even closer to his body. In response Kagome groaned longingly. Inuyasha licked her lips through their kiss, begging her wordlessly for entrance into her moist mouth. She complied without hesitation, moaned into his mouth, and allowed her tongue to roam his teeth –the normal, human-like teeth and the sharp, dog-like teeth.
"I should have known I would find you like this," a low, smooth, male voice spoke causing Inuyasha to break the passion between himself and Kagome.
"Sesshoumaru," Inuyasha growled, pulling Kagome half-way behind him protectively. "What do you want? Aren't you supposed to be on vacation with Rin?"
"Yes!" Rin called from just behind Sesshoumaru. She stopped when she caught up with her husband, panting heavily. It was obvious that Sesshoumaru had not waited for her in his haste to find Inuyasha. When she gained her breath, Rin spoke up, "We were on our honeymoon, but we have bad news about back home. Fluffy," she used her pet name for her mate, "and I have arranged for you to leave here with us tomorrow morning."
"What is it?" asked Inuyasha. Rin would not meet his eyes so he guessed, "Did something happen to father?"
"Yes," Sesshoumaru nodded and turned around, "King Inuki of Yogo is no more. He is dead. You, Inuyasha, are the chosen heir in his place. It is my duty to ensure your safe journey home, because his death was not natural. It was murder. I, Sesshoumaru, must make sure the new King makes it to Yogo safely; that was father's wish. Come, Inuyasha."
"Alright," the hanyou responded tonelessly and shuffled after Rin and Sesshoumaru.
"Inuyasha," Kagome called after him. He turned around, sorrow evident in his usually bright, golden eyes, so she ran to him. "I'm sorry about your father, I truly am, but is this it? Will I ever see you after this?"
"I," Inuyasha paused and pulled Kagome into a hug, "don't know. Perhaps when the war is over, and I'm settled into the thrown, I'll look for you. No… I promise when everything settles down I will find you," he stopped and buried his face in her lavender smelling black locks. Eventually he whispered into her ear, "Will you wait for me?"
"Yes," she responded and hugged him tighter. "I'll wait for you, even if I die during the war, I'll wait for you in the afterlife."
"Good bye, Kagome," Inuyasha murmured and kissed her. She eagerly and lovingly kissed him back, knowing this might be the last time she would ever see her hanyou.
"Bye," Kagome said when they parted lips.
Inuyasha sadly –and almost tearfully- nodded, then turned around once more after his brother and sister-in-law. Kagome watched the trio leave the grassy, flat plain that minutes earlier, she and Inuyasha shared many delightful kisses on. She sank to her knees, silent tears streaming down her ivory cheeks in tiny rivulets, dropping off her chin to fall on her shirt. At that moment, her mind felt as if it might explode with gloom and immense want for Inuyasha.
"Inuyasha," she cried into her hands. The only thing to sympathize with her at the time is the stars and sky; both had witnessed the two young people pouring their love and souls into simple kisses. Out of the seventeen years of her life, Kagome had lost two people and gained one. Shira, she knew she would never get back, but Inuyasha, there was the slight chance she might see him again. With hardened resolve, Kagome decided she would survive the war…
…Only for Inuyasha…
Well, there you have it. Sad, eh? Well, maybe not. But I felt sort of sad writing it. But, yeah, I hope you liked the chapter. I tried making it long for all you people out there and I think I'm within my normal chapter lenght range.
Anyway, thanks for reading the chapter and I hope you leave nice, long reviews. ^)^ Long reviews are a good thing. Even if they have nothing to do with the story and just go on about anything, I'd still love the review! *tee hee* I apologize, I've let my weirdness get hold of me *beats weirdness back with a machete and wicked blue lightsaber!*
Buh-bye people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
^_^