Disclaimer: Well, of course I own Inuyasha! You people are just plain crazy if you think I don't! Oh, hey, look! A pig just flew by my window!
A/N: I think I'm going to be skipping around a bit in the next few chapters, time-wise that is. I want to get to the action ^_^ Anyway, thank you guys for all the wonderful reviews! I got so many! ::grins:: I'm sorry this chapter took so frickin' long to come out. The time just seemed to fly by! But I hope you guys enjoy! I added a bit of fluff and humor.
Also, if you guys would PLEASE read my little one-shot called 'Memories'! Please? It's very lonely with only 4 reviews U_U Please review for it? It's really short! It's just a quick read, only 900 something words!
Ch. 7
Something Special
~ Three months later… ~
"Oi. Kagome, wake up."
Kagome shook herself out of her "sleep". It was a standby program she had found in her system that would allow her to rest her body. She had discovered it a couple months before at the palace. The Inu family (meaning the King and the Queen) invited everyone to stay for the rest of the time until the Curse. She looked up with a smile at Inuyasha. "Good morning."
Inuyasha gave a nod back in response. "They're serving breakfast in half an hour. If we hurry, we can take the long way through the garden."
Kagome beamed. "Oh, good! I love going through the garden." She stood up quickly and grabbed his arm. "Come on, what are you waiting for?"
Inuyasha felt his heart speed up. Despite the knowledge of her un-humanity and countless warnings from Mushin, he had still fallen head over heels for the girl. He was being stupid, he knew. She wasn't real and she would be dead in less than half a year. He couldn't bear the thought, but as long as her fate didn't change, he wanted to enjoy what little happiness that had been granted to him and he wanted her to enjoy what time she had left. If only he'd discovered her earlier!
On their way to the garden, Inuyasha caught a glance of Miroku sitting in his room in what looked like deep concentration. Strange, he thought, he's usually the first at the breakfast table. "Hey, Kagome, you go on ahead, I'll catch up with you later."
She gave a small playful frown but complied with his wishes. "Alright."
Inuyasha casually strolled into Miroku's room. He had an almost comical look on his face, his eyes squeezed shut, as he has his chin cupped his hand in thought.
"Hey, Miroku, what's wrong with your face?" He asked dryly.
Miroku kept his eyes closed, "I'm cogitating."
"You're what-ing?!"
"I'm thinking!" He snapped, his eyes opening angrily.
Inuyasha humphed, "Why didn't you just say that?" A pause. "So, what are you cogipating about anyway?"
"Cogitate!"
"Keh, whatever."
Miroku gave him another angry glare but continued nonetheless, "I was just thinking about the Curse."
"What of it?"
"Well… if the Curse was given to Kikyou then how could Naraku be fooled into thinking Kagome is the cursed one, assuming he even comes at all?"
Inuyasha gave no reply. That was something to think about.
Miroku went on, "Kikyou was the one who was cursed originally. It can't be just transferred to Kagome because they look alike. Yes, she will die because she will touch the tip of the arrow but that is only part of the curse. Somehow, she'll be tied to a specific arrow, at a specific time. In this case, it is her sixteenth birthday. And who knows if Naraku will come at all? Perhaps it will be a magical arrow that will levitate and stab of its own free will. If he does not come, who will there be to fool? Appearance won't make a difference. If he should expect a trick, why should he come at all?"
Inuyasha shrugged, "Uh… villain tradition…?"
"Somehow, I don't think that's the case."
Inuyasha grunted, "I have to admit, that is something to think about… Damn, Miroku, I never took you to be one of those deep types. I didn't even take you for one of the smart kinds at all!" He said, a small smirk pulling at the side of his mouth.
"I can be if I try, Inuyasha," Miroku rolled his eyes.
"Then, you must not try very much, huh?"
^_~
Inuyasha quietly slipped into the seat next to Kagome at the breakfast table. "Sorry I'm late," he whispered to her.
"Inuyasha!" The sound of his father's booming voice made him jump.
"…Yeah?"
"Your spot at the table is next to your wife-to-be, not next to the oversized doll!" He said angrily.
His wife winced. She had observed the girl and she really wasn't all that bad. That was definitely not a deserving name.
The first thing that came to Inuyasha's mind was to kill his father, but before he could fully leap out of his chair, he looked down at Kagome's face. It was in neutral mode, like it usually was whenever someone said something rude about her, while she was present.
Then, he leapt out of his chair, and landed right in front of his father…
… Which meant he was on the table.
"What did you say?" Inuyasha said in a low voice, crouching down to meet his father in the eye.
"Inuyasha! Get off the table and stop acting like the beast you are!" Lord Inutaisho whispered fiercely, conscious of stares in their direction.
The boy's stare hardened. Inuyasha just sat like that, unmoving, glaring at his father for two seconds, before standing up slowly to tower over his father, "So… now I'm a beast…" Angrily, he kicked a nearby cup of water to the ground, satisfying in the shatter of glass. With another bound, he jumped off the table and was out the door.
Everyone present was silent for another two seconds before Kagome scooted back her chair noisily and stood up. She tossed her napkin onto the chair and ran out after him.
The silence returned.
"So…" Miroku coughed to break the uncomfortable silence, "Anyone up for some orange juice?"
^_~
Kagome found Inuyasha sitting outside in the garden, throwing rocks into the pond.
"Inuyasha?" She said gently.
He didn't replied.
She sat down next to him. "What are you doing?" She angled her head to get a look at his face.
He turned his head away.
Angrily, she pulled at his hair until he turned back to her.
"OW!" He complained, "That hurts!"
"Why won't you look at me?" She demanded.
"Didn't you see what happened back there? I'm a beast! My own father admitted it! Just a damn half-demon. If I weren't the Prince then they'd probably chuck me out of the family to live by myself. Do you know how dishonorable it is for a demon to mate with a human?" Inuyasha stared down at her, "Luckily, for my father," he spat, "he has a fast tongue and he just managed to keep his throne and family. He would be an even more respected king if I was never born." He said sullenly.
Kagome slapped him across the face.
Inuyasha looked at her bewildered, eyes wide. His hand reached up to lightly touch his reddened cheek.
She looked at him squarely in the eyes, "I don't ever want to hear you say that, Inuyasha! You are not just a beast! Those people are wrong to judge you by what you are instead of who you are!"
He looked down, "Then, who am I?"
Her eyes softened. She pushed away his hand and let hers take its place, gently cupping his cheek. She rubbed at the flesh and forced him to look at her again, "You are a nice and loving man who deserves so much better, and whom I care about very, very much."
"You think so…?" He asked quietly.
"I know so."
Suddenly, he ducked his head down and kissed her fiercely in a passionate 'thank you' that he couldn't put in words. She sighed and responded to him, curving her arms around his neck. He reciprocated the gesture by pulling her closer and hugging his arms around her waist. He tilted his head and kissed her even more deeply, his tongue darting out at times to lick at her lips.
"Should we be doing this?" Kagome mumbled against his mouth.
He reluctantly broke the kiss, "Why not?"
"You'll be getting married… soon. And I won't be around for much longer."
"Kagome… I don't care. I don't care about Kikyou, and I don't care about the wedding. It's only you I care about. You taught me to care and to be happy. And knowing that you might (he stressed on the 'might') be gone in two months… I want you to be happy. And even though so many people have tried to stop me, I… I l-love you… more than I ever thought I could."
"Inuyasha…" Kagome smiled warmly. If she was still human, she would have been crying at that moment, but crying was a useless action and Mushin had gotten rid of it.
"It's strange, really." He murmured, burying his nose against her hair. "I've never felt like this before. My parents have tried to get me together with someone for nearly a century, and it only took me three months to fall for you. I guess… you're just something special."
She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. "Inuyasha… you mean so much to me. I can't say that I love you," Inuyasha's face fell slightly, "but I know I care for you very deeply. Love… is something that comes hard for me. I don't know why, but I can't just say that I love you… not yet, no matter how much I want to. I don't want to hurt you."
Inuyasha brought her hands from around his neck and touched them to his lips lightly. "It's alright, Kagome. But don't you pull none of that noble crap on me. I already love you, and there's nothing you can do to prevent that. But," his eyes softened, "for now, even if I can't have you, I'll settle with just having you here.
"My something special."
^_~
"Inuyasha."
Inuyasha groaned. He'd just stepped away from his talk with Kagome when his father jumped at him. "What is it now, Father?"
"I want you to stop hanging around that Kagome girl. You are being less than faithful to your fiancée and it is tarnishing our family name. It's hard enough to keep you here at it is. Don't make it any harder."
Inuyasha growled, "So what are you trying to say? That I don't belong here?"
"No, I'm only telling you to be with your future wife more." He replied.
"Look, Father, I don't know how many times I have to say this, but I don't like Kikyou. Not one bit. If it was my choice, I'd be engaged to Kagome." He ground out.
"Inuyasha, get a grip! She's not even real! Why would you replace a living, breathing being with a robot?!" Lord Inutaisho shouted.
He sneered, "Maybe you should ask Lord Higurashi that. After all, that's what he did too, hm?"
"That is a different matter entirely!"
"Kikyou might not have had a say in getting that curse, but she sure deserves it now! Do you even know what she's like?! She's a fucking bitch! And I'd rather stab out my own eye than be mated to her!" Inuyasha spat out.
"Inuyasha!" He barked, "Watch your tongue! You don't have a choice whether or not to marry Kikyou! You will complete this union."
"What are you going to do to make me?"
"You talk of this Kagome as if she lives. Well, if you truly believe that, then getting locked up in a room for the rest of the coming two months must not be a very fun, wouldn't you agree?"
Inuyasha stared at his father in horror, "You wouldn't!"
"Try me." He turned away, "I suggest you keep away from the girl now, unless you wish to risk her freedom."
Inuyasha slumped against a nearby wall in shock. His father was turning into quite the evil bastard.
^_~
"So… Miss Sango," Miroku sidled up to Sango.
She eyed him warily. "What do you want?"
He gave a dramatic gasp of shock, "I make time in my busy schedule to see you, and you accuse me of holding an ulterior motive?"
"Yeah, that sounds just about it."
"You injure me, Miss Sango," he gave her a miffed look.
"I ask you again, what do you want? You're wasting my time."
"Why, I only wished to get to know you better. Would you care to take a walk with me?"
"No."
"… Very well. We can just stand here and talk. So how long have you been working here?" He asked politely in the attempt to start a conversation.
"Why can't you just leave me along?" She cried in exasperation.
"Why can't you just give me a chance?"
"Because you're a lech! And you're annoying!" With a final huff, she stomped off.
Miroku cupped a hand to his chin in thought. This was going to be harder than he thought.
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Hey guys! What did you think of this chapter? I'm so sorry it was short! Also, I'm going to take a poll. Faster updates, but shorter chapters? Or slower updates and longer chapters? Let me know in your reviews. Thanks!
I'm so sorry, but I can't respond to the reviews today. I shouldn't be online, but I am and so I'm in a hurry. I hope you guys forgive me. I might or might not be able to respond to them next time. And I also didn't edit this chapter so sorry for any misspellings!