Hello to all of y'all on this most lovely Valentine's Day. Sadly, as I am currently boyfriendless, I shall not be spending the day cooing with a significant other, but instead stuffing my face with chocolate to take away the slight pain of not having someone to coo with. And then I'll remember that I'm not the only one who doesn't have a boyfriend and then I'll be able to eat my chocolate in peace. I don't really know why it's such a lovely day today (it's raining) but the fact that I've been lulled into a happy little caffeinated state might have something to do with it…*grin*
Anyhoo, I was roaming through my little account thingy on ff.net and I realized this nifty thing called author alerts. So now it's filled with all my authors so that all I have to do to find out if a story is updated is go to my email! Isn't that great! But this is not what I was meaning to say. I also found this fun thing called "stats", I went in there, and I found out that 5 people have put me on their author alerts! So I would like to thank inu91, Kagome122, depressed-girl001, LilacRose23, and romie43 for caring enough to want to be alerted when I update. I would especially like to thank LilacRose23 and romie43 for doing this. This gesture lets me know that there are other people reading my story; they just don't like to review. Even a little review is nice, even if it's just to say hi or let me know how confused I have made you (hi there Mustard Yellow Sunshine!)…By the way, LilacRose23, a CV (curriculum vitae) is like a résumé.
Well, I really wanted to respond to y'all's reviews but ff.net is apparently having heavy traffic and won't let me re-read my reviews so I'll have to take the answers to y'all's questions from off the top of my head. I don't think that bazooie had any problems but I seem to recall that I confused Mustard Yellow Sunshine quite a bit. Okay, MYS (I'm abbreviating your name because otherwise I'll kill my fingers before I even start the next chapter), you were confused by the time issue. Yes, I made that up. I have absolutely no idea what the real time change is; I never get to watch the show. I think the last time I saw an Inuyasha episode was like way back in August. I have no idea of the little intricacies of the show. I just like the characters and their attitudes. Um, I don't remember your other question but I think it was something like how Inuyasha wouldn't remember Kagome and why did he think she was Kikyo and how did he manage to tie her up if she had those magic powers. Or something like that. Um, a couple of chapters ago, he lost his memory when he was in the weird creepy gray place. It's like he thinks he's back in the life he had before Kagome came through the well. He can remember Kikyo shooting him to the tree but he's in a sort of mind frame where he's woken up and can't remember how he woke up. He also has no idea how he got unpinned from the tree (Kagome did that, but he doesn't know Kagome yet, according to the amnesia he got from the gray place). So the only person he knows that would look like Kikyo is Kikyo herself. Am I making sense? I'm not very good at explaining little details; I need to work on that. Anyways, I hope this little explanation makes some sense and I'll fully explain all of it later in the story. You sounded so confused that I just felt like I needed to explain this. And I know that I won't be spoiling the rest of the story for many other people because I know for a fact that a majority of people don't read my talking and just skip on down to the actual story.
So anyways, it took me a little while to find a fitting song because this particular song had to convey a little bit more emotion than the others. After all, these are Inuyasha's emotions that we get to listen to in this chapter. Usually I don't listen to angry/yelling music but I did some scrounging around and I figgered that Blink182 had the best emotionful music. And I have picked the song "Lemmings" as this chapter song, partly because it fits the mood I'm trying to create but mostly because 'lemming' is a fun word to say and they're cute. Now, let this be known, I have never actually listened to this song and I picked it purely for the lyrics. There might be crappy vocals and music; I just wanted the lyrics. But if any of y'all have heard it before, review and let me know (even if you're not in the habit of reviewing ,:P).
I think this is really chapter 9, but I'm not sure. So Here You Go!
Chapter 9(?), Lemmings…
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A freight train to the right, feeling that sting of pride
It's fucking with me, it's fucking with you
All's fair in love and war until you say it isn't but you're wrong
~
Words on the back of flyers, my clothes are in the dryer
It means nothing, nothing is changing
La familia is dead and gone, the children grew up and moved on
~
Is it too much to ask for the things to work out this time?
I'm only asking for what is mine
I wanted everything, I got it and now I'm gonna
Throw it away, I'll throw it away (yeah)
~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Now, Kikyo. First you're going to tell me exactly why you shot me with that damn arrow," Inuyasha growled. Kagome's eyes widened. Whatever she had been expecting him to say, this wasn't it. Kikyo? What was wrong with Inuyasha? They hadn't seen Kikyo for months, not since she had disappeared into the woods after telling the group that she was going to Naraku's palace. With a glare towards Kagome and an uncharacteristic grin for Inuyasha, she had melted into the mist between two trees. That had been months ago, and, though everyone made sure to remember that Kikyo had joined Naraku's forces, nothing had come of her absence. The group wasn't plagued with her creepy soul-catchers and Inuyasha seemed to relax a little more. Kagome blinked at the angry hanyou sitting in front of her. Inuyasha growled again to remind her to hurry up with answering. "I'm not Kikyo," Kagome whispered. "What did you say?" Inuyasha questioned. "I said that I'm not Kikyo. You have the wrong girl," Kagome said in a louder, but calm voice. She hoped that a calm voice would keep the hanyou from going over the edge; his eyes were turning red at the edges and she could see the faint outline of stripes on his cheeks. "What the hell are you saying? How can you not be Kikyo?!" he yelled, "Of course you're Kikyo! You're the last person I saw before you shot me with a fucking arrow! You look like her and even smell like her!" However, on this last line, he paused in his fury. She might look exactly like Kikyo but there was something different in her scent. Kikyo never smelled like raspberries. Her scent was more heavy and earthy, as though she had just come out of the woods. Inuyasha paused, caught in a memory.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Prime select and a box of glazed, pulling fly-bys on days
When we were young and innocent
Elbow-drop Sundays when Mark Eaton got beat to shit
~
Laughing at the bands we used to hate, all the spots we used to skate
They're still there, but we've gone our own ways
I know it's for the best but sometimes I wonder
Will I ever have friends like you again?
~
Is it too much to ask for the things to work out this time?
I'm only asking for what is mine
I wanted everything, I got it and now I'm gonna
Throw it away, I'll throw it all away (yeah)
~*~*~*~*~*~*
He had just made it out of the damned shrine. It had taken him ages to try and get past all the barriers, both magical and physical, that tried to stop him from getting to the ultimate prize, the Shikon Jewel. But now he had the Jewel and he would be able to wish for anything his heart desired. At the moment, this was to become a full demon, instead of a weak hanyou. Hearing a yell behind him, he turned his head and suddenly his wish was to get as far away as possible. Kikyo stood beside the ruined shrine with her bow in hand, her long black hair swirling in the breeze. Inuyasha had seen Kikyo use that bow on others, and he knew that her aim was deadly. "Die, Inuyasha!" rang out as she let go of the taut bowstring. The arrow sped through the air and then through his shoulder, effectively pinning him to a huge tree in the forest. Inuyasha dropped the Jewel on the ground and it rolled at his feet. He gasped out a feeble "Kikyo…I thought…" before unconsciousness claimed him and his head dropped down onto his chest.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Is it too much to ask for the things to work out this time?
I'm only asking for what is mine
I wanted everything, I got it and now I'm gonna
Throw it away, I'll throw it away (yeah)
~
You're gonna drown in the mess you make
Your self-inflicted hate
You turn your back on the friends you lose
When they don't follow all your rules
~
But people are what they wanna be
They're not lemmings by the sea
Maybe it's time you looked at yourself
And stop blaming life on someone else
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Inuyasha shook his head to clear it from that memory. That particular memory was the last thing he remembered before waking up in a clearing with a scar on his shoulder. He had wandered the forest for weeks, trying to find out what had happened to him, why there was an old scar from such a recent wound, and where the hell Kikyo was so that he could find out why she had shot him. Inuyasha glared down at the girl. Her scent had become slightly anxious and a fear had entwined itself in her aura. That aura in particular was what had drawn him to her. It was so strong magically, that he had been sure that he had finally found Kikyo. When he had come upon the girl in the middle of the night and he had discovered that she looked so much like Kikyo, he had lost control. But now, in the morning light, he saw that there were differences in the two females. For one, Kikyo would never be caught dead in such revealing clothes. Having grown up in a temple, even the sight of an ankle would be scandalous. This girl wore a skirt that rode so high, he was surprised that it covered anything. Before allowing his thoughts to drift any farther down that road, he tried to remind himself that this was Kikyo, the girl who had shot him after saying she loved him. Looking at her now, all the differences started to show. The stubborn chin and those blue eyes struck him speechless. No, this wasn't Kikyo. But if not Kikyo, then who was she?
Kagome saw the red receding from Inuyasha's eyes as he looked her over. He was obviously thinking hard and it was obvious that he was trying to remember something. When he had stopped growling at her and had instead shifted his gaze to a point over her left shoulder, she watched his emotions play out over his face. Kagome was curious because Inuyasha never allowed his feelings to show. She saw glee, then surprise, and eventually shock cross his features. When his eyes had opened, there was pain and confusion in their depths. His gaze dragged over her and Kagome wondered what exactly he was thinking. When his eyes stopped right at her legs and roved over them, Kagome grew uncomfortable and pulled them up underneath her. This stopped him and he brought his eyes back to her face, searching for answers to his questions. "Who are you?" he asked warily. Kagome was still confused as to what was wrong with his memory, that he didn't even remember her, but she calmly answered, "I'm Kagome. Don't you know me?". Inuyasha's eyebrows drew together, as if he had heard that name before but couldn't place it. He gave up and finally asked where she was from. Still confused, Kagome started to tell their history to him, of how she was from a time period 500 years in the future, of how she had unpinned him from the tree, and of how they had been traveling together for about 2 years. Inuyasha listened to the story but responded with an "I don't believe you." Kagome said, "Well where is Kaede? Or what about Miroku and Sango? Ask them. They'll give you the same answer." Inuyasha shook his head. "If Kaede is the old woman who used to live in here, she's gone now. She put up too much of a fight when she didn't answer me correctly. And I don't know who Miroku or Sango are." Kagome gasped. "You killed Kaede!?!" she asked. "No, I didn't kill the old hag. I just chased her out and told her to find somewhere else to live," Inuyasha responded carelessly.
Kagome's jaw tightened and she yelled, "SIT!". Inuyasha plunged down into the hard floor and tried to struggle back up but the spell held him in place. Kagome started yelling at him, about how uncaring he was, how insensitive he was, how the hell could he go and forget everything they had together. In the midst of her yelling, Inuyasha had sat up angrily but then wonderingly. There was only one person in the world who had the power to press him into the ground like that. She was sitting right there, blue in the face from yelling so much. It was all coming back to him now. When she had told him of how they had been through 2 years together, the memories had pricked at him, irritating him to no end. There was something to be remembered. When she had yelled out the osuwari and he kissed wood, the past flooded back to him as though he had been plunged into a pool of deep water. Kagome. How did he ever forget her? He grabbed her chin to hold it still and kissed her square on the lips. Kagome stilled immediately but eventually gave in to the kiss. It was her first and it was more than she had ever dreamed of. Inuyasha pulled back slightly and placed his hands on both sides of her face. "Good lord, Kagome. I've been wanting to do this for so long," and he kissed her again in the morning sunlight streaming in the dirty windows of the hut.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
So there y'all go. A little bit of Valentine's spirit and (hopefully) the end of all the unhappiness and angst. So go smooch a loved one today! It doesn't matter if Valentine's Day is a corporate plot to get the unknowing public to spend their hard-earned money on meaningless gifts; you just finished this chapter so go kiss somebody while you're still feeling warm and fuzzy!