The Scent of Despair
Written by Catrina Winner
Author's Note: Sorry for the very long delay on this chapter, but school has started again and I have caught something. There just hasn't been any inspiration in me to work on the story, but no fear, I promised I would finish it, so I will. Keep hanging in there! Inspiration comes and goes! Though, you know, reviews always help.
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Chapter ThirteenKagome adjusted her hair as the young maid stood next to her, patiently awaiting the completion of the Miko's changing. The raven girl tugged her skirt down into place and turned to leave the room. A small noise from the servant stopped her.
"Yes?" she asked softly. The apprehension of leaving through the well a final time was finally beginning to take over her.
"Aren't you staying for the feast?" A look of slight confusion flickered across the girl's face as she stood, looking up at the taller Kagome.
"I… feast?" The Miko searched her mind for anything the others might have mentioned about this. It came up blank and she sighed. "I don't understand. There was a feast?"
The little girl nodded quickly, "If you were able to complete the summoning successfully, the village planned a small feast for you, but because the whole place is protected now, we want to throw a grand party for you!" Her smile broke out, and the child began jumping up and down. "You'll be the guest of honor! Don't you want to come to our feast? You can always go back to your boring old world later!" she stopped bouncing and tried to look serious. Her eyes widened slightly, giving her the illusion of complete innocence and she continued, "Please, Miss Kagome?"
Kagome sighed. "I… suppose it wouldn't hurt if I just left sometime at night… And I am hungry. Why not?" At her words, the servant child jumped up with a squeal of joy. When she finally settled down enough to breathe, both Kagome and the girl wandered out of the hut, hand in hand.
"Tell me, little girl, what's your name?" Kagome questioned.
"Masako."
Kagome smiled down at her hair. "It's a pretty name," she replied.
"It means 'elegance'!" the young girl proudly proclaimed, and promptly tripped over a small rock. The Miko laughed and assisted her back onto her feet. The child was still smiling widely, though a slight smudge of dirt smeared her cheek. Her red hair bounced up and down as she ran ahead of Kagome, trying to reach the festivities before her newfound friend could.
The two of them entered a ring of noise and merrymaking. At the sight of Masako and Kagome, the entire assembly cheered and swamped over the Miko and her shadow, thanking her, shaking her hands, pushing offerings at her. Confusion was defiantly the basis of this celebration, but she was going to enjoy every moment of it. Because she didn't know how many of these precious times she had remaining in this world. Masako's red hair appeared close to her face as she was lifted onto the shoulders of a passerbyer.
"Kagome!" the little child squealed in glee. Kagome laughed and let her catch her hand as it flew by. The person holding Masako up swung around and Kagome came face-to-face with Miroku.
"Miroku!" she exclaimed, surprised.
"Someday," the priest said, "I'm going to have lots and lots of little kids like this," a finger pointed at Masako as he continued, "and not a single one of them will be born with the void, thanks to you!" he hugged her, the girl upon his shoulders yelping in surprise and delight. Kagome was happy to notice that a hug was the only contact she got from the usually lecherous houshi. Maybe he really had sworn off females for Sango after all!
The other woman joined them a moment later, smiling widely. She lifted Masako down to the ground where she wouldn't get hurt when Miroku lifted his bride-to-be off the dirt and spun her around. Kagome smiled at the two of them and looked down as she felt a slight tugging at the edge of her skirt. Masako looked up with big, bright eyes, pointing off into the distance at the lip of the forest.
"Kagome, there's something in the trees!" she exclaimed. Kagome nodded and left the girl with the happy couple, heading slowly off to discover whatever resided in those branches.
A step into the woods revealed a rather bored looked hanyou watching her as she approached.
"Are you going to be with these humans all night?" Inuyasha demanded. Kagome laughed uncertainly.
"Well, they are throwing this entire feast in honor of the Shikon Jewel… As its Miko, don't you think I should take part in it all?" She pushed a lock of hair behind her right ear and sighed. "Besides, I don't know anyone in this village other then Kaede, and isn't it time that I learned more about this time period?" she paused, as if she were going to mention something else, but fell silent instead of continuing. Inuyasha's heart jumped as she pointed out how little she knew of the time.
"Wh… Why would you need to learn about the Sengoku Jidai? Aren't you going home? To your time?" he asked her hesitantly. Kagome looked into his eyes and tried breezing off the question with a light shrug, but Inuyasha pressed closer to her, trying to read her movements.
"You… never know, do you?" she said quickly. The half demon accepted the answer and sat back on his haunches.
"Well, why don't you get back to your party?" he asked her, suddenly cold. Kagome felt a light tugging on the edge of her skirt. Looking down, she saw the bright eyes of Masako gazing up at her again.
"Kagome, Sango wants to know where you went!" the little girl informed the older woman. "I told her that I'd get you. C'mon!" she pulled slightly harder on the skirt. Kagome reached down and gently freed the cloth from the child's grip.
"Go tell Sango that I'm not coming to the feast, Masako. I'll be back when it's over, alright?"
The girl frowned and paused, weighing her options. It was obvious she wanted to beg Kagome to return with her, but also apparent that something was happening between the hanyou and the girl that she wouldn't understand and was not allowed to interrupt. She shrugged and ran off, back to the demon huntress.
Sango turned, looking only marginally surprised when Kagome did not return with Masako. She raised her eyebrow in a questioning way and the little girl drew herself up to deliver the important news.
"Adult stuff," she stated in a proud voice that signaled she had forgotten everything but the sight of Kagome and Inuyasha standing near each other. Sango laughed and nodded, taking the little girl's hand and returning to Miroku's side.
Back in the woods, behind the tall trees, Kagome watched Sango and Masako retreat into the ecstatic party. She turned slowly towards Inuyasha, who was watching her closely.
"C'mon!" the Miko said happily and grabbed his hand, "let's go!"
"W-Where?!" he sputtered, allowing himself to be dragged towards a lake.
"Here, of course," Kagome said and settled down in the grass. With an enormous smile, she looked up at Inuyasha and stated simply: "Sit!" while patting the ground beside her. The hanyou winced from instinct, then recalled the exchange of necklaces and stared down at her. Finally, he dropped down next to her and looked out over the lake, following her eyes.
In the new moonlight, the water sparked and shone like sapphires glittering away in a sunrise. The stars danced overhead, bright and proud, beaming as if they could light up the entire world in one pass. Kagome leaned against his shoulder and stared out into the water, watching the slight ripples. Inuyasha didn't move a single muscle until he heard her breathing level out and realized she was asleep. Carefully, he gathered her up in his arms and stared into the deepening night, remorse and the agony of a near parting lying heavily on his mind and in his heart.
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Yeah, I know, "it took you THAT long to get this chapter out?" Well, YES, it did, and I'm very sorry. Please review, and I'll try as hard as possible to get the next chapter out soon. It should be the start of the second half of this fiction. In other words, our first major plot twist is about to be thrown into the story. Will Kagome leap through the well and leave their lives forever, or will she stay in this time with Inuyasha? Aren't you excited now? Yeah, so am I!
Um… Yeah. I have to go do homework now. Blast homework. It gets in the way of my writing. Well, please, PLEASE review, and check around for the next chapter sometime!