Author's Notes: Thanks for those who keep on reviewing and put a smile on
my face. Your comments are really uplifting, especially when this week has
been so crazy for me.
I am also sorry about the delayed update, but I finally managed to finish this chapter, lots of fluff in this chapter.
Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi owns all rights of Inuyasha and Co. I have no claims on him whatsoever.
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A Country Life
Chapter Six
Little Steps
***********
Kagome sat down on Souta's comfortable armchair and stared at the gift in her hands. No one at the time seemed to be paying attention to Kagome, her friends had long gone by now and Souta was showing Inuyasha around his house.
Kagome peeled off the wrappings and gently lifted open the top of the box. She saw inside was a charm, it was of a dog, it was Lady. Kagome set the box down and put on the necklace. She laughed as she saw the charm of Lady dangling on her neck. It really was a beautiful necklace though. Kagome ran her fingers through the smooth silver chain and watched the way the light hit the charm and sparkled on the crystals.
She turned around and saw Inuyasha and Souta coming in, both of the men's cheeks red from the frosty air outside. Inuyasha smiled at Kagome when he saw the necklace on her. He slipped off his boots and hung his jacket on the coat hooks next to him. He walked over and sat in front of the fireplace, trying to warm up faster.
Kagome sat next to him. "Thank you again, I really love it." Inuyasha turned his head around so that he was facing Kagome. His warm amber eyes searching Kagome's eyes, "I thought you might." He said as he turned back to the fireplace. Kagome played with the charm. She then laughed and caught Inuyasha's attention once more.
"What's so funny?" he asked. Kagome tilted her head sideways and looked at Inuyasha. "How often can I say that I'm wearing a dog for a necklace, especially one that had me completely soaked the very first time I met her?"
Inuyasha thought about it and laughed. "Yeah... I guess that's why I got it for you, so you can laugh about it. You should laugh more often..."
Kagome's face held a soft smile as she continued to play with the charm. "Sometimes I wish I had more to laugh about..." She whispered, her eyes lost in thought.
Inuyasha looked back at the crackling fire in the fireplace. "What keeps on holding you back then?"
Kagome scrunched up her lips and shrugged, "Just that I never seem happy, truly happy that is. There's always something holding me back like the past, my mother, and what my future holds for me..."
"Then why don't you try to fix it, your problem that you have with your mother?" Kagome let out a sigh, a long sorrowful sigh. "I know that I could, but at times it's so much pain that she had put me through that sometimes the fight doesn't seem worth being solved... I just wanted to be normal and I hated being her daughter just because she was a star. I never could just go anywhere without being hounded down by bright lights and cameras to questions and stalkers. It's funny I had more attention from people that I didn't know than from my very own mother."
Inuyasha nodded understanding where she was coming from. He too still had yet to solve his problems with his father. "You know running away you're your problems doesn't solve anything if you want to know, I would know personally." Kagome gave him a quizzical look. "What do you mean?"
"I know what it's like to be pressured under the eye of the public, especially when your father is a major corporate business owner. I was always living this life that seemed so surreal. We had so much money that sometimes we didn't know what to do with it. It was just disgusting. I just didn't want that life, I wanted to be free from it all, so I chose to start a ranch; a childhood dream, and become a cowboy."
Kagome laughed again. Inuyasha watched her amusedly. Kagome bit her lip and looked at the picture of her and Souta on the fireplace mantel. "Look at us we're both are scared of our parents, we're such cowards." "Hey..." Inuyasha said defensively, with a suspicious twinkle in his eye.
Before Kagome even saw it coming she was whacked by a pillow in the face.
Kagome widened her eyes and looked at Inuyasha in surprise. "That's it this is war." She said and she grabbed a cream colored pillow from her opposite side of the couch and whacked Inuyasha back with her pillow.
The fight was on.
Miroku munched on popcorn loudly as he watched the soap opera "In the World of Tinsel Town". His jaw would drop up and down occasionally when he saw that Bianca wouldn't admit her feelings that she had for Jake, or when Cindy lied to Nick about her baby. The whole Bianca and Jake situation was uncanny. She loved him but wouldn't admit it because she was hurt by someone else in the past, she was scared of being loved again... It sounded familiar to Miroku but he wasn't putting two and two together. His eyes were glued to the TV screen, now watching Bianca slapping Jake for kissing her on the cheek and grabbing her butt at the same time...
Shippo came in and flopped down on the couch pulling the remote out of Miroku's limp hand. He rolled his eyes and changed the channel. "Hey it was getting to a good part!" Miroku cried out loud.
Shippo raised an eyebrow and looked at him funny. "Miroku, you do know that soap operas are not real, especially this one?" Miroku snatched the remote back from Shippo and changed the channel back, "Great! I missed the part where Jake confesses to Bianca. Now it's back to the Cameron, Ryan, and Amy's love triangle."
Shippo quietly and slowly crept off the couch and headed towards the kitchen where his grandmother was making dinner. "Grams, why don't we ever have a normal Christmas around here?" Shippo asked while watching his Grandmother carved the turkey. "Because Shippo this is not a normal family, therefore we don't do things normally, for example take Miroku and his love of soap operas."
Shippo walked back to the living room and saw that Miroku was now crying while still watching the soap opera on TV. Shippo sighed and sat back down on the couch. Since there was nothing better to do he decided he would watch TV with Miroku, even if it was soap operas...
"Miroku you can open your eyes now, Bianca told him the truth. They finally confessed their affectionate feelings for one another... And I can't believe I'm telling you this." Shippo shook his head and gave a light smack to his forehead. "Remember Shippo you're bored, not crazy but bored." He said to himself out loud.
Miroku clapped his hands together and let out a cry of happiness. "Wow that was their best episode except for when Kelly dies and her look alike Kayla comes to town and falls in love with Kelly's would've-been-if-Kelly-was- alive fiancée, Eli. And then we find out that Kelly wasn't really dead but kidnapped and held captive for three years in a dark..."
Shippo covered Miroku's mouth. "Look if I have to hear anymore about soap operas I will personally kill you. I don't care about Kelly or Kayla. I could really care even less about Bianca and Justin, or the show for that matter."
Miroku fiddled with his fingers and looked down at the ground before saying "Actually its Jake not Justin."
Shippo let out a scream of frustration.
Kagome sighed as she saw her reflection in the mirror. She couldn't believe she let Souta talk her into this. She was going to her mother's annual Christmas party, even though her mother did not send her any invitation...
Souta had made arrangements and talked to her mother about it, she was going to go whether she liked it or not. She smoothed her blue satin dress and fixed her hair before she left the mirror to go answer Souta's door.
Kagome walked past Souta's room and saw him struggling with his tie. She laughed at Souta's struggle, mentally. She continued walking towards the door and opened it when she reached the door.
"Hello Inu...Yasha..." Kagome stared at the figure standing in front of her. She had seen him in a suit before, but never took the time to notice last time, and she definitely didn't want to remember last time...
His hair was down and neatly splayed around his shoulders. His shoes shined to perfection and his suit neat, black, and new. His face held a handsome smile just for her as he handed her the bouquet of roses. Kagome accepted them and took the time to smell them. "Thank you Inuyasha. The roses are beautiful."
Inuyasha continued smiling and enjoyed the moment of studying her profile. Her face was in deep adoration, her eyes twinkling in pure joy and happiness, her full lips pulled back into a graceful smile. She was perfect in his eyes and he felt so stupid for noticing it now.
Kagome placed the roses in another empty vase that was on the table, Souta was never good at taking care of flowers anyways... She yelled over to Souta that she would meet him there, Souta answered back with an angry grunt. Kagome had a feeling he was still struggling with his tie.
She placed her hand in Inuyasha and closed the door behind her. She felt good holding hands with him. It was just perfect how they fitted together. She smiled on the inside feeling considerably lighter at heart because he also didn't pull away.
Instead he held her hand a little bit tighter.
Kagome bit her lip in anticipation as Kagome's car pulled up closer to her mother's enormous mansion. Inuyasha parked the car and handed Kagome the keys. She closed her car door and pressed the automatic lock system for her car. She slipped the keys in her purse and let out a fearful sigh. She couldn't believe she was doing this...
Inuyasha held her hand and rubbed his thumb in circles on the back of her hand, he could tell that she was nervous. Kagome gave him a half smile and walked up the stairs that led to the inside of the house with him, she rang the doorbell once and the person that answered the door was a butler. He was holding a clipboard of the guest list in his hands and the pen in the other. He gave Kagome a warm smile, since he knew who she was. His eyes ran down the alphabetical list and spotted her name on the paper.
"Is the guest accompanying you, Miss Higurashi?" Kagome nodded to the butler, "Yes he's with me, Lee." The butler moved aside to let them through, Inuyasha's eye widen at the décor of the inside. It had been a long time since he had been to one of these kinds of parties, a very long time. He was impressed with the set up of the whole house; it definitely gave off the warm Victorian Christmas feeling. It was as if it came straight out of a movie, in this case it probably did.
Inuyasha felt Kagome's hand squeeze his hand rather tightly, he looked in her direction and saw that it was her mother. She was standing with her friends talking and smiling animatedly. He could see why Kagome was scared. Her mother might not be the young movie star she once was, but she was still a respected one. A star that walked with grace, and carried a strong head on her shoulders. She was smart and witty, beautiful and talented. But in her eyes he could see the conniving tactic ruling out, just waiting for the perfect opportunity to lash out and attack anybody and anyone.
Her mother spotted Kagome and gave her a slight wave to tell her to come closer, her friends turned around and waved at Kagome. Kagome led Inuyasha to her mother and friends.
"Hello Kagome, my you have grown over the past year..."
"Your mother was right about you, you've just blossomed into a delicate beautiful flower."
"Did you change something? You look different... Happier, I believe?"
"Who's the handsome young man?"
Kagome smiled and stood there stiffly listening the meaningless comments. Her mother finally decided to subject, smoothly as usual. "Ladies if you'll excuse us. I would like to catch things up with my daughter. Maybe some other time we can talk about this?" Her friends all nodded and agreed. They cleared out of the way and went in opposite directions to mingle with others.
Her mother linked her arm with Kagome's and looked around. "How has the past few months been for you dear?" Kagome saw that Inuyasha was left behind but now in a conversation with another guest. Kagome turned back around to the front, "It's been good Mother. A lot different from here but refreshing." Her mother and her continued to walk, Kagome's insides felt squeamish.
"That's wonderful... Is the pay any good?" Kagome looked over at her mother, "It's enough, and I don't need money to keep me happy. You know that." Her mother still held a plastered smile on her face occasionally waving to her guests that had just arrived with her other hand. "Who is that man that you came with? A friend of yours or is he your boyfriend?"
Kagome looked away from her mother. It wasn't an easy question to answer because she herself didn't quite know. "I guess were friends at the moment." She answered. Her mother nodded, but Kagome could sense the disappointment in her body language. "He's a good looking fellow. I could've sworn he looked like a younger version of Inutashio Tahimiyo." Kagome didn't say anything to confirm her mother's answer.
Instead she watched her mother's guest entertain themselves. "Kagome are you listening?" Kagome pulled out of her stupor. "Yes mother?" Her mother's smile faltered a bit. "Well I was saying how nice it would be if you had somebody. Your not getting any younger you know."
"I know I'm not getting any younger, but I have other priorities first." Kagome added firmly.
Her mother pulled Kagome out into the back courtyard so they wouldn't bring attention to them. "Was it so hard to ask you to stay here and work at a stable job that paid reasonably well? And what was wrong with that other young man you used to date? He was a nice and a good looking man also."
"He was boring, Mother. He didn't know how to express his feelings, he was always awkward to be with, and there was no spark there. And I also happened to like this job, it's not stressful at all, and I don't have to be near you and under your watch all the time..." Kagome paused realizing what she had just said out loud. She looked over to her mother, who was staring at Kagome in complete shock.
"What do you mean by that?" Her mother asked. Kagome closed her eyes and sighed. "I just hated how you controlled my life, when I'm out there it's about me and not about pleasing you. I'm old enough to make my own decisions and be an independent person. So what if I don't have that special someone in my life right now? And so what if I am doing a job you disapprove of? What about me being happy, is that so wrong to want to be free and happy? I just wanted to escape from all this! This unsolved silent feud going on between us."
Her mother looked away from Kagome and focused her attention on her rose bushes. "Why do you have to be so sadistic, Kagome? I have sacrificed everything just so that you and Souta had a roof over your heads and constant food on the table. I sent you to the finest schools in all of Japan. I made sacrifices! I only ask that you do what would please me in return."
"I'm being sadistic?" Kagome looked at her mother in anger with tears brimming in the corner of her eyes. "I have watched you make sacrifices all right, but not for Souta and me. It was for your career, the movies and the glamour, and the long hours of never being home. I have watched years after years of different nannies and butlers taking care of us, and not even our own mother could take care of us. You knew that we had enough but you always pushed yourself to be away from home. You never wanted to be near us, and that's the truth."
Her mother's eyes widened. "How dare you talk to me this way. I am your mother!"
Kagome scoffed, "That's right you are. So can you recall how many times you were there for our birthdays or the holidays. You know that time of the year where you're supposed to spend time with your loved ones? Where were you? You were our mother and you never sufficed to be there. Why did you hurt us so much even to this day?" Kagome wiped away her tears and stood still, waiting for a reaction from her mother.
Akari blinked once, then twice. She had comprehended all of what Kagome had said to her. It was years of Kagome's frustration pented up inside of her and she had finally released it and gave her mother a final blow to her mind.
"I... I..." Her mother paused not knowing what to say. Because everything her daughter had said was true, she had never been there. She could count on one hand alone the times she actually spent with them. She blinked again and placed a hand to her face.
She felt something moist and real streaming down her cheeks. Her tears... "I'm so sorry Kagome, I should've done something... I should've been a better mother, it's just when your father passed away I was in so much pain. I felt so alone. I kept on pushing the important things aside in order to escape that morbid feeling. But it was always there, when I was rehearsing, when I was getting my makeup and hair done, when I was on cue... It never left me and it didn't phase me that you two were going through it too."
Kagome sat down on the marbled stone-cemented bench. Her mother sat next to her. Kagome looked at her mother apologetically, "I know that you were hurting, but... Why did you choose to push us aside and do things your own way. It was as if you didn't want us."
Her mother stared at the back of the mansion. She saw how beautiful it was on the inside but how dim and dark it really was on the inside after all these years. "I always loved you two. It was the only thing that kept me from completely falling apart when your father died. I never once didn't want you."
Her mother closed her eyes and held a smile to her face. "My two little sunshines, always making the house full of life and never empty. When you two left, I hated being in that house so I would keep on working on a new project, film after film. I kept on pretending there was nothing wrong, that I didn't do anything wrong. But I did and I was too selfish and scared to fix it."
"Then fix it now." Kagome took her mother's hand in hers. Kagome saw that even after all these years her mother still wore her wedding ring. Kagome saw her long slender fingers were just as long as her mother's. The last time she had held hands with her mother she was very young, her fingers didn't even reach past her palms when she lined them up, palm against palm.
And now... Now she could measure up to it perfectly, it was equal. So many years had passed by for her and her mother. "I'm sorry dear... I'll make it better for the both of us and the family, from now on."
Kagome smiled and looked into her mother's warm chocolate eyes. She had her mother's eyes as she saw her own reflection in her mother's eyes. "That sounds good enough for me." They hugged for the first time in a long time.
This was the best Christmas yet to have come for both of the Higurashi woman.
The snowflakes glittered around the two, gliding on their perfect hair and elegant dresses, making the moment seem just right.
They knew then that everything was just going to be fine.
Spring had arrived. The snow covered grass was gone and replaced by a tangent green color. The trees shouted with happiness and were no longer suppressed by the harsh winter snow. Flowers were slowly growing and poking out from the earth.
Kagome led each horse out to the large grazing area and let them run free and wild. They neighed in appreciation as they ran in side in circles of the largely wooden fence enclosure. She leaned against the fence and watched the horses. Her favorite horse that was a palomino, Calypso, ran along with the others trying to catch up. She was the youngest, but was now easily fitting in with the older horses. She was part of their family now.
Kagome smiled being able to relate to the horse, she was a part of this family here too. She turned around and smiled when she saw Inuyasha coming towards her, riding his favorite stallion. "You want to go for a ride?" he asked.
She smiled and nodded. Inuyasha pointed out to the horses out in the field that were roaming around. "Go on then, pick one." Kagome opened the fence and walked over to Calypso that was standing in the corner. "Hey girl, do you want to go out for a ride today?" The horse nudged Kagome's cheek answering her question. Kagome grabbed the rein and led her out of the fenced area.
She closed the fence door behind her securely and placed a saddle on the horse's back and adjusted the bit into her mouth, and climbed onto the back of the horse. "So where do you want to go, Inuyasha?"
Inuyasha gave her a smirk, "I know just the place, come on catch me if you can." He tugged on his stallion's reigns to make him go faster, they galloped away into the distance.
"Hey no fair! Cheater!" Kagome shouted and tugged gently on Calypso's reigns to make her gallop too. "Let's catch up to them, girl." They horse neighed in response and picked up a great amount of speed to catch up to the two ahead of them.
Kagome caught up with Inuyasha a short while later. The two were riding side by side slowly now. Kagome looked around her, "Where are we?" Inuyasha pulled backed the curtain of willow leaves and silently led her through. Kagome did what Inuyasha did and pulled back the willow leaves and followed him.
When they finally were past the thick willow leaves she saw a clearing of small lake glistening ahead. She gasped, and looked over at Inuyasha who got off his horse and was tying it to a tree. Kagome jumped off the horse and tied the palomino next to the stallion.
Inuyasha placed a finger to his lips telling her to be quiet, Kagome nodded and followed Inuyasha quietly. She knelt beside him and watched carefully as he pulled back the cattails. Kagome smiled when she saw swans gracefully swimming around in patterns in the lake. The setting sun's afterglow touching the tip of the wings of the beautiful birds, and the water. The younger ones were swimming around and playing in the water, while the parents just swam for leisure.
Kagome watched the small ripples they made with their feet when they pushed their feet to make powerful strokes in the water. Then she watched the younger ones making splashes and calling out to their mothers. She looked over to Inuyasha and saw that he was looking at her instead of the birds.
"Is this their nesting grounds?" She asked. Inuyasha nodded, "Yeah my father showed it to me years ago. Before we were rich, we use to go camping up here and he taught me everything about camping... But things changed, they always do." He said quietly.
Kagome watched his face and saw sadness in his eyes. It didn't seem right that he should hold such pain in his eyes. "Inuyasha tell me about you." Kagome asked switching the subject.
Inuyasha turned around and looked at Kagome who was now laying on the ground on her stomach, playing with the grass strands in between her fingers, but still looking at him. "What do you want to know?" he asked back. "I don't know just anything." She said.
"Well I like to pick my nose and scratch my butt in public and..." He stopped and smiled jokingly. "Ha ha, Inuyasha. Very funny, how about the truth this time around." She said in a mock-tone, still smiling at him.
Inuyasha leaned against the big rock behind him, "Okay well I was just like any normal little boy. We lived in a regular one story house, and every Saturday the whole family would spend recreational family time together. Those were my favorite memories that I can recall. I've been stung by a bee four times, had broken a leg and an arm, tore a muscle once, played basketball, soccer, and did kendo in high school. Glued my brother's hair to his pillow once, only once. And in college I was studying law but dropped out when I decided to aspire a different road of career. I only had one significant other in the past, we were going steady but again things changed, and so did her heart."
Kagome knew who he was talking about. "Who was she?" Inuyasha's eyes met Kagome, but he didn't see anger in her eyes, just curiosity. "Her name was Kikyo Kimishima, the governor's daughter. We once had something but that all disappeared once I told her about my plans of the future. She didn't want me to go pursue my dreams but my father's. She didn't want to marry a cowboy as she blatantly put it."
"Well it wasn't love then was it? Anyone that loves you would follow you and trust you no matter what. There would be no hesitation and no questions asked." Kagome rolled over on her back and stared at the now night sky.
"Did you have somebody once?" Inuyasha asked curiously. Kagome nodded, "Yes once, but he wasn't the one for me."
Inuyasha felt warmth in his heart as he watched her laying there comfortably, and trusting him not to do anything sexual. She trusted him.
And he trusted her, he could be himself around her, and never feel like he was being a fool in her eyes. It was something he had never felt before. He liked the new feeling.
He laid down on the grass next to her, she never flinched or moved away, and instead she stayed there. They both were looking up at the stars, and not saying anything because they didn't need to say anything in order to enjoy each other's company.
He propped his elbows on the ground and placed his head on his hands. His eyes taking a considerable time watching her. He watched her long eyelashes flutter against her skin when she blinked, her lips pink and rosy perfectly contrasting against her smooth skin. Her beautiful almond eyes looking at the sky above her, and her hair flowed out behind her with the new spring grass. Her feet were playing with the grass blades, and her hands resting on top of her stomach.
Inuyasha leaned over closer to see her up even closer. Her eyes darted from the sky to his eyes. He smiled and gently brushed his hand through her bangs. He didn't feel nervous being so close to her. He wasn't scared at all, he waited to see if she would do anything to stop him. She didn't, she just watched him and giving him one of her perfect smiles.
His fingers traced her nose and cheekbones, and then finally tracing the contours of her lips. His eyes were still on hers. Then his fingers combed through her soft silky black hair, his nose picking up on the soft scent of her fragrant conditioner.
She too played with his hair and ran her hands across his well-structured face. She took the time to watch the way his eyes danced against the light of the night stars. She also noticed the way his eyes crinkled in the corners, when he smiled so wide.
Her hands tingled when her hand made contact with his skin. She continued stroking his face and once in a while skimming her fingers lightly across his face.
He leaned in even closer and still waited for any signs of hesitation, there was none. "Would you mind if I kissed you?" he whispered, his breath gently grazing her neck and face. Her lips pulled up into a curvier smile. "No I wouldn't mind at all." She whispered back.
He enclosed the space between them, cupping his hands around her face. He smiled on the inside when their lips met and touched. A deep warmness spread through them like a fire being lit and slowly growing more and more.
His lips glided perfectly in rhythm against hers, he felt his heart thudded madly when she bit gently on his bottom lip, then he licked her lip seeking for her entrance. She accepted and let him go farther.
Her senses were extremely keen and sensitive at the moment. Her skin was now tingling with passion, and her cheeks were flushed red, her heart uncontrollably beating faster each moment.
She let him get acquainted with her mouth as did she. He ran his tongue across her teeth and the smoothness of her palate. She fisted her hands into his hair, deepening the kiss.
They broke apart to catch their breaths, Kagome leaned her head against his forehead and stared into his eyes. He looked back and smiled, he gave her a quick chaste kiss on the lips, only this time smiling against her lips when they met once again.
It was short and not passionate like the previous one, but it was a meaningful kiss nonetheless.
They were taking short and little steps for the time being, but for them it was enough.
It was enough for now.
AN: Ch. 7 will be up around next week, I know that this chapter was a bit short, but I hope this chapter was enough to satisfy you guys for now. Thanks for reading.
I am also sorry about the delayed update, but I finally managed to finish this chapter, lots of fluff in this chapter.
Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi owns all rights of Inuyasha and Co. I have no claims on him whatsoever.
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A Country Life
Chapter Six
Little Steps
***********
Kagome sat down on Souta's comfortable armchair and stared at the gift in her hands. No one at the time seemed to be paying attention to Kagome, her friends had long gone by now and Souta was showing Inuyasha around his house.
Kagome peeled off the wrappings and gently lifted open the top of the box. She saw inside was a charm, it was of a dog, it was Lady. Kagome set the box down and put on the necklace. She laughed as she saw the charm of Lady dangling on her neck. It really was a beautiful necklace though. Kagome ran her fingers through the smooth silver chain and watched the way the light hit the charm and sparkled on the crystals.
She turned around and saw Inuyasha and Souta coming in, both of the men's cheeks red from the frosty air outside. Inuyasha smiled at Kagome when he saw the necklace on her. He slipped off his boots and hung his jacket on the coat hooks next to him. He walked over and sat in front of the fireplace, trying to warm up faster.
Kagome sat next to him. "Thank you again, I really love it." Inuyasha turned his head around so that he was facing Kagome. His warm amber eyes searching Kagome's eyes, "I thought you might." He said as he turned back to the fireplace. Kagome played with the charm. She then laughed and caught Inuyasha's attention once more.
"What's so funny?" he asked. Kagome tilted her head sideways and looked at Inuyasha. "How often can I say that I'm wearing a dog for a necklace, especially one that had me completely soaked the very first time I met her?"
Inuyasha thought about it and laughed. "Yeah... I guess that's why I got it for you, so you can laugh about it. You should laugh more often..."
Kagome's face held a soft smile as she continued to play with the charm. "Sometimes I wish I had more to laugh about..." She whispered, her eyes lost in thought.
Inuyasha looked back at the crackling fire in the fireplace. "What keeps on holding you back then?"
Kagome scrunched up her lips and shrugged, "Just that I never seem happy, truly happy that is. There's always something holding me back like the past, my mother, and what my future holds for me..."
"Then why don't you try to fix it, your problem that you have with your mother?" Kagome let out a sigh, a long sorrowful sigh. "I know that I could, but at times it's so much pain that she had put me through that sometimes the fight doesn't seem worth being solved... I just wanted to be normal and I hated being her daughter just because she was a star. I never could just go anywhere without being hounded down by bright lights and cameras to questions and stalkers. It's funny I had more attention from people that I didn't know than from my very own mother."
Inuyasha nodded understanding where she was coming from. He too still had yet to solve his problems with his father. "You know running away you're your problems doesn't solve anything if you want to know, I would know personally." Kagome gave him a quizzical look. "What do you mean?"
"I know what it's like to be pressured under the eye of the public, especially when your father is a major corporate business owner. I was always living this life that seemed so surreal. We had so much money that sometimes we didn't know what to do with it. It was just disgusting. I just didn't want that life, I wanted to be free from it all, so I chose to start a ranch; a childhood dream, and become a cowboy."
Kagome laughed again. Inuyasha watched her amusedly. Kagome bit her lip and looked at the picture of her and Souta on the fireplace mantel. "Look at us we're both are scared of our parents, we're such cowards." "Hey..." Inuyasha said defensively, with a suspicious twinkle in his eye.
Before Kagome even saw it coming she was whacked by a pillow in the face.
Kagome widened her eyes and looked at Inuyasha in surprise. "That's it this is war." She said and she grabbed a cream colored pillow from her opposite side of the couch and whacked Inuyasha back with her pillow.
The fight was on.
Miroku munched on popcorn loudly as he watched the soap opera "In the World of Tinsel Town". His jaw would drop up and down occasionally when he saw that Bianca wouldn't admit her feelings that she had for Jake, or when Cindy lied to Nick about her baby. The whole Bianca and Jake situation was uncanny. She loved him but wouldn't admit it because she was hurt by someone else in the past, she was scared of being loved again... It sounded familiar to Miroku but he wasn't putting two and two together. His eyes were glued to the TV screen, now watching Bianca slapping Jake for kissing her on the cheek and grabbing her butt at the same time...
Shippo came in and flopped down on the couch pulling the remote out of Miroku's limp hand. He rolled his eyes and changed the channel. "Hey it was getting to a good part!" Miroku cried out loud.
Shippo raised an eyebrow and looked at him funny. "Miroku, you do know that soap operas are not real, especially this one?" Miroku snatched the remote back from Shippo and changed the channel back, "Great! I missed the part where Jake confesses to Bianca. Now it's back to the Cameron, Ryan, and Amy's love triangle."
Shippo quietly and slowly crept off the couch and headed towards the kitchen where his grandmother was making dinner. "Grams, why don't we ever have a normal Christmas around here?" Shippo asked while watching his Grandmother carved the turkey. "Because Shippo this is not a normal family, therefore we don't do things normally, for example take Miroku and his love of soap operas."
Shippo walked back to the living room and saw that Miroku was now crying while still watching the soap opera on TV. Shippo sighed and sat back down on the couch. Since there was nothing better to do he decided he would watch TV with Miroku, even if it was soap operas...
"Miroku you can open your eyes now, Bianca told him the truth. They finally confessed their affectionate feelings for one another... And I can't believe I'm telling you this." Shippo shook his head and gave a light smack to his forehead. "Remember Shippo you're bored, not crazy but bored." He said to himself out loud.
Miroku clapped his hands together and let out a cry of happiness. "Wow that was their best episode except for when Kelly dies and her look alike Kayla comes to town and falls in love with Kelly's would've-been-if-Kelly-was- alive fiancée, Eli. And then we find out that Kelly wasn't really dead but kidnapped and held captive for three years in a dark..."
Shippo covered Miroku's mouth. "Look if I have to hear anymore about soap operas I will personally kill you. I don't care about Kelly or Kayla. I could really care even less about Bianca and Justin, or the show for that matter."
Miroku fiddled with his fingers and looked down at the ground before saying "Actually its Jake not Justin."
Shippo let out a scream of frustration.
Kagome sighed as she saw her reflection in the mirror. She couldn't believe she let Souta talk her into this. She was going to her mother's annual Christmas party, even though her mother did not send her any invitation...
Souta had made arrangements and talked to her mother about it, she was going to go whether she liked it or not. She smoothed her blue satin dress and fixed her hair before she left the mirror to go answer Souta's door.
Kagome walked past Souta's room and saw him struggling with his tie. She laughed at Souta's struggle, mentally. She continued walking towards the door and opened it when she reached the door.
"Hello Inu...Yasha..." Kagome stared at the figure standing in front of her. She had seen him in a suit before, but never took the time to notice last time, and she definitely didn't want to remember last time...
His hair was down and neatly splayed around his shoulders. His shoes shined to perfection and his suit neat, black, and new. His face held a handsome smile just for her as he handed her the bouquet of roses. Kagome accepted them and took the time to smell them. "Thank you Inuyasha. The roses are beautiful."
Inuyasha continued smiling and enjoyed the moment of studying her profile. Her face was in deep adoration, her eyes twinkling in pure joy and happiness, her full lips pulled back into a graceful smile. She was perfect in his eyes and he felt so stupid for noticing it now.
Kagome placed the roses in another empty vase that was on the table, Souta was never good at taking care of flowers anyways... She yelled over to Souta that she would meet him there, Souta answered back with an angry grunt. Kagome had a feeling he was still struggling with his tie.
She placed her hand in Inuyasha and closed the door behind her. She felt good holding hands with him. It was just perfect how they fitted together. She smiled on the inside feeling considerably lighter at heart because he also didn't pull away.
Instead he held her hand a little bit tighter.
Kagome bit her lip in anticipation as Kagome's car pulled up closer to her mother's enormous mansion. Inuyasha parked the car and handed Kagome the keys. She closed her car door and pressed the automatic lock system for her car. She slipped the keys in her purse and let out a fearful sigh. She couldn't believe she was doing this...
Inuyasha held her hand and rubbed his thumb in circles on the back of her hand, he could tell that she was nervous. Kagome gave him a half smile and walked up the stairs that led to the inside of the house with him, she rang the doorbell once and the person that answered the door was a butler. He was holding a clipboard of the guest list in his hands and the pen in the other. He gave Kagome a warm smile, since he knew who she was. His eyes ran down the alphabetical list and spotted her name on the paper.
"Is the guest accompanying you, Miss Higurashi?" Kagome nodded to the butler, "Yes he's with me, Lee." The butler moved aside to let them through, Inuyasha's eye widen at the décor of the inside. It had been a long time since he had been to one of these kinds of parties, a very long time. He was impressed with the set up of the whole house; it definitely gave off the warm Victorian Christmas feeling. It was as if it came straight out of a movie, in this case it probably did.
Inuyasha felt Kagome's hand squeeze his hand rather tightly, he looked in her direction and saw that it was her mother. She was standing with her friends talking and smiling animatedly. He could see why Kagome was scared. Her mother might not be the young movie star she once was, but she was still a respected one. A star that walked with grace, and carried a strong head on her shoulders. She was smart and witty, beautiful and talented. But in her eyes he could see the conniving tactic ruling out, just waiting for the perfect opportunity to lash out and attack anybody and anyone.
Her mother spotted Kagome and gave her a slight wave to tell her to come closer, her friends turned around and waved at Kagome. Kagome led Inuyasha to her mother and friends.
"Hello Kagome, my you have grown over the past year..."
"Your mother was right about you, you've just blossomed into a delicate beautiful flower."
"Did you change something? You look different... Happier, I believe?"
"Who's the handsome young man?"
Kagome smiled and stood there stiffly listening the meaningless comments. Her mother finally decided to subject, smoothly as usual. "Ladies if you'll excuse us. I would like to catch things up with my daughter. Maybe some other time we can talk about this?" Her friends all nodded and agreed. They cleared out of the way and went in opposite directions to mingle with others.
Her mother linked her arm with Kagome's and looked around. "How has the past few months been for you dear?" Kagome saw that Inuyasha was left behind but now in a conversation with another guest. Kagome turned back around to the front, "It's been good Mother. A lot different from here but refreshing." Her mother and her continued to walk, Kagome's insides felt squeamish.
"That's wonderful... Is the pay any good?" Kagome looked over at her mother, "It's enough, and I don't need money to keep me happy. You know that." Her mother still held a plastered smile on her face occasionally waving to her guests that had just arrived with her other hand. "Who is that man that you came with? A friend of yours or is he your boyfriend?"
Kagome looked away from her mother. It wasn't an easy question to answer because she herself didn't quite know. "I guess were friends at the moment." She answered. Her mother nodded, but Kagome could sense the disappointment in her body language. "He's a good looking fellow. I could've sworn he looked like a younger version of Inutashio Tahimiyo." Kagome didn't say anything to confirm her mother's answer.
Instead she watched her mother's guest entertain themselves. "Kagome are you listening?" Kagome pulled out of her stupor. "Yes mother?" Her mother's smile faltered a bit. "Well I was saying how nice it would be if you had somebody. Your not getting any younger you know."
"I know I'm not getting any younger, but I have other priorities first." Kagome added firmly.
Her mother pulled Kagome out into the back courtyard so they wouldn't bring attention to them. "Was it so hard to ask you to stay here and work at a stable job that paid reasonably well? And what was wrong with that other young man you used to date? He was a nice and a good looking man also."
"He was boring, Mother. He didn't know how to express his feelings, he was always awkward to be with, and there was no spark there. And I also happened to like this job, it's not stressful at all, and I don't have to be near you and under your watch all the time..." Kagome paused realizing what she had just said out loud. She looked over to her mother, who was staring at Kagome in complete shock.
"What do you mean by that?" Her mother asked. Kagome closed her eyes and sighed. "I just hated how you controlled my life, when I'm out there it's about me and not about pleasing you. I'm old enough to make my own decisions and be an independent person. So what if I don't have that special someone in my life right now? And so what if I am doing a job you disapprove of? What about me being happy, is that so wrong to want to be free and happy? I just wanted to escape from all this! This unsolved silent feud going on between us."
Her mother looked away from Kagome and focused her attention on her rose bushes. "Why do you have to be so sadistic, Kagome? I have sacrificed everything just so that you and Souta had a roof over your heads and constant food on the table. I sent you to the finest schools in all of Japan. I made sacrifices! I only ask that you do what would please me in return."
"I'm being sadistic?" Kagome looked at her mother in anger with tears brimming in the corner of her eyes. "I have watched you make sacrifices all right, but not for Souta and me. It was for your career, the movies and the glamour, and the long hours of never being home. I have watched years after years of different nannies and butlers taking care of us, and not even our own mother could take care of us. You knew that we had enough but you always pushed yourself to be away from home. You never wanted to be near us, and that's the truth."
Her mother's eyes widened. "How dare you talk to me this way. I am your mother!"
Kagome scoffed, "That's right you are. So can you recall how many times you were there for our birthdays or the holidays. You know that time of the year where you're supposed to spend time with your loved ones? Where were you? You were our mother and you never sufficed to be there. Why did you hurt us so much even to this day?" Kagome wiped away her tears and stood still, waiting for a reaction from her mother.
Akari blinked once, then twice. She had comprehended all of what Kagome had said to her. It was years of Kagome's frustration pented up inside of her and she had finally released it and gave her mother a final blow to her mind.
"I... I..." Her mother paused not knowing what to say. Because everything her daughter had said was true, she had never been there. She could count on one hand alone the times she actually spent with them. She blinked again and placed a hand to her face.
She felt something moist and real streaming down her cheeks. Her tears... "I'm so sorry Kagome, I should've done something... I should've been a better mother, it's just when your father passed away I was in so much pain. I felt so alone. I kept on pushing the important things aside in order to escape that morbid feeling. But it was always there, when I was rehearsing, when I was getting my makeup and hair done, when I was on cue... It never left me and it didn't phase me that you two were going through it too."
Kagome sat down on the marbled stone-cemented bench. Her mother sat next to her. Kagome looked at her mother apologetically, "I know that you were hurting, but... Why did you choose to push us aside and do things your own way. It was as if you didn't want us."
Her mother stared at the back of the mansion. She saw how beautiful it was on the inside but how dim and dark it really was on the inside after all these years. "I always loved you two. It was the only thing that kept me from completely falling apart when your father died. I never once didn't want you."
Her mother closed her eyes and held a smile to her face. "My two little sunshines, always making the house full of life and never empty. When you two left, I hated being in that house so I would keep on working on a new project, film after film. I kept on pretending there was nothing wrong, that I didn't do anything wrong. But I did and I was too selfish and scared to fix it."
"Then fix it now." Kagome took her mother's hand in hers. Kagome saw that even after all these years her mother still wore her wedding ring. Kagome saw her long slender fingers were just as long as her mother's. The last time she had held hands with her mother she was very young, her fingers didn't even reach past her palms when she lined them up, palm against palm.
And now... Now she could measure up to it perfectly, it was equal. So many years had passed by for her and her mother. "I'm sorry dear... I'll make it better for the both of us and the family, from now on."
Kagome smiled and looked into her mother's warm chocolate eyes. She had her mother's eyes as she saw her own reflection in her mother's eyes. "That sounds good enough for me." They hugged for the first time in a long time.
This was the best Christmas yet to have come for both of the Higurashi woman.
The snowflakes glittered around the two, gliding on their perfect hair and elegant dresses, making the moment seem just right.
They knew then that everything was just going to be fine.
Spring had arrived. The snow covered grass was gone and replaced by a tangent green color. The trees shouted with happiness and were no longer suppressed by the harsh winter snow. Flowers were slowly growing and poking out from the earth.
Kagome led each horse out to the large grazing area and let them run free and wild. They neighed in appreciation as they ran in side in circles of the largely wooden fence enclosure. She leaned against the fence and watched the horses. Her favorite horse that was a palomino, Calypso, ran along with the others trying to catch up. She was the youngest, but was now easily fitting in with the older horses. She was part of their family now.
Kagome smiled being able to relate to the horse, she was a part of this family here too. She turned around and smiled when she saw Inuyasha coming towards her, riding his favorite stallion. "You want to go for a ride?" he asked.
She smiled and nodded. Inuyasha pointed out to the horses out in the field that were roaming around. "Go on then, pick one." Kagome opened the fence and walked over to Calypso that was standing in the corner. "Hey girl, do you want to go out for a ride today?" The horse nudged Kagome's cheek answering her question. Kagome grabbed the rein and led her out of the fenced area.
She closed the fence door behind her securely and placed a saddle on the horse's back and adjusted the bit into her mouth, and climbed onto the back of the horse. "So where do you want to go, Inuyasha?"
Inuyasha gave her a smirk, "I know just the place, come on catch me if you can." He tugged on his stallion's reigns to make him go faster, they galloped away into the distance.
"Hey no fair! Cheater!" Kagome shouted and tugged gently on Calypso's reigns to make her gallop too. "Let's catch up to them, girl." They horse neighed in response and picked up a great amount of speed to catch up to the two ahead of them.
Kagome caught up with Inuyasha a short while later. The two were riding side by side slowly now. Kagome looked around her, "Where are we?" Inuyasha pulled backed the curtain of willow leaves and silently led her through. Kagome did what Inuyasha did and pulled back the willow leaves and followed him.
When they finally were past the thick willow leaves she saw a clearing of small lake glistening ahead. She gasped, and looked over at Inuyasha who got off his horse and was tying it to a tree. Kagome jumped off the horse and tied the palomino next to the stallion.
Inuyasha placed a finger to his lips telling her to be quiet, Kagome nodded and followed Inuyasha quietly. She knelt beside him and watched carefully as he pulled back the cattails. Kagome smiled when she saw swans gracefully swimming around in patterns in the lake. The setting sun's afterglow touching the tip of the wings of the beautiful birds, and the water. The younger ones were swimming around and playing in the water, while the parents just swam for leisure.
Kagome watched the small ripples they made with their feet when they pushed their feet to make powerful strokes in the water. Then she watched the younger ones making splashes and calling out to their mothers. She looked over to Inuyasha and saw that he was looking at her instead of the birds.
"Is this their nesting grounds?" She asked. Inuyasha nodded, "Yeah my father showed it to me years ago. Before we were rich, we use to go camping up here and he taught me everything about camping... But things changed, they always do." He said quietly.
Kagome watched his face and saw sadness in his eyes. It didn't seem right that he should hold such pain in his eyes. "Inuyasha tell me about you." Kagome asked switching the subject.
Inuyasha turned around and looked at Kagome who was now laying on the ground on her stomach, playing with the grass strands in between her fingers, but still looking at him. "What do you want to know?" he asked back. "I don't know just anything." She said.
"Well I like to pick my nose and scratch my butt in public and..." He stopped and smiled jokingly. "Ha ha, Inuyasha. Very funny, how about the truth this time around." She said in a mock-tone, still smiling at him.
Inuyasha leaned against the big rock behind him, "Okay well I was just like any normal little boy. We lived in a regular one story house, and every Saturday the whole family would spend recreational family time together. Those were my favorite memories that I can recall. I've been stung by a bee four times, had broken a leg and an arm, tore a muscle once, played basketball, soccer, and did kendo in high school. Glued my brother's hair to his pillow once, only once. And in college I was studying law but dropped out when I decided to aspire a different road of career. I only had one significant other in the past, we were going steady but again things changed, and so did her heart."
Kagome knew who he was talking about. "Who was she?" Inuyasha's eyes met Kagome, but he didn't see anger in her eyes, just curiosity. "Her name was Kikyo Kimishima, the governor's daughter. We once had something but that all disappeared once I told her about my plans of the future. She didn't want me to go pursue my dreams but my father's. She didn't want to marry a cowboy as she blatantly put it."
"Well it wasn't love then was it? Anyone that loves you would follow you and trust you no matter what. There would be no hesitation and no questions asked." Kagome rolled over on her back and stared at the now night sky.
"Did you have somebody once?" Inuyasha asked curiously. Kagome nodded, "Yes once, but he wasn't the one for me."
Inuyasha felt warmth in his heart as he watched her laying there comfortably, and trusting him not to do anything sexual. She trusted him.
And he trusted her, he could be himself around her, and never feel like he was being a fool in her eyes. It was something he had never felt before. He liked the new feeling.
He laid down on the grass next to her, she never flinched or moved away, and instead she stayed there. They both were looking up at the stars, and not saying anything because they didn't need to say anything in order to enjoy each other's company.
He propped his elbows on the ground and placed his head on his hands. His eyes taking a considerable time watching her. He watched her long eyelashes flutter against her skin when she blinked, her lips pink and rosy perfectly contrasting against her smooth skin. Her beautiful almond eyes looking at the sky above her, and her hair flowed out behind her with the new spring grass. Her feet were playing with the grass blades, and her hands resting on top of her stomach.
Inuyasha leaned over closer to see her up even closer. Her eyes darted from the sky to his eyes. He smiled and gently brushed his hand through her bangs. He didn't feel nervous being so close to her. He wasn't scared at all, he waited to see if she would do anything to stop him. She didn't, she just watched him and giving him one of her perfect smiles.
His fingers traced her nose and cheekbones, and then finally tracing the contours of her lips. His eyes were still on hers. Then his fingers combed through her soft silky black hair, his nose picking up on the soft scent of her fragrant conditioner.
She too played with his hair and ran her hands across his well-structured face. She took the time to watch the way his eyes danced against the light of the night stars. She also noticed the way his eyes crinkled in the corners, when he smiled so wide.
Her hands tingled when her hand made contact with his skin. She continued stroking his face and once in a while skimming her fingers lightly across his face.
He leaned in even closer and still waited for any signs of hesitation, there was none. "Would you mind if I kissed you?" he whispered, his breath gently grazing her neck and face. Her lips pulled up into a curvier smile. "No I wouldn't mind at all." She whispered back.
He enclosed the space between them, cupping his hands around her face. He smiled on the inside when their lips met and touched. A deep warmness spread through them like a fire being lit and slowly growing more and more.
His lips glided perfectly in rhythm against hers, he felt his heart thudded madly when she bit gently on his bottom lip, then he licked her lip seeking for her entrance. She accepted and let him go farther.
Her senses were extremely keen and sensitive at the moment. Her skin was now tingling with passion, and her cheeks were flushed red, her heart uncontrollably beating faster each moment.
She let him get acquainted with her mouth as did she. He ran his tongue across her teeth and the smoothness of her palate. She fisted her hands into his hair, deepening the kiss.
They broke apart to catch their breaths, Kagome leaned her head against his forehead and stared into his eyes. He looked back and smiled, he gave her a quick chaste kiss on the lips, only this time smiling against her lips when they met once again.
It was short and not passionate like the previous one, but it was a meaningful kiss nonetheless.
They were taking short and little steps for the time being, but for them it was enough.
It was enough for now.
AN: Ch. 7 will be up around next week, I know that this chapter was a bit short, but I hope this chapter was enough to satisfy you guys for now. Thanks for reading.