Nights in White Satin
Chapter six: Unhealed Wounds
Written by: Sleepwalking Chicken
Written on: August 13, 2004 (Friday!)
Author's notes: A few things from the reviewers last chapter. Tessaiga is spelled correctly. Tetsuaiga was a misspelling by the English dubbers. Tessaiga is the correct way to spell it due to the sword's name when its spelled in hiragana. Secondly, I know that Sesshoumaru used Tessaiga in episodes 133 and 134 (I believe) but what Kagome was saying was that he could use it without it really hurting him, when Sesshoumaru used it, it still protested against him to some extent, yet not enough to cause the youkai pain. I hope that clears it up and enjoy the chapter.
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"I see the village," Kagome said happily as she pointed ahead of them. Sure enough, there was a village not one hundred yards ahead. Kagome smiled and turned towards Inuyasha. Ever since Inuyasha's sword transformed for him, Kagome had felt that his spirits had lifted; for a cold hearted, evil youkai could not wield Tessaiga without being thrown aside by the energy shield. Now, Tessaiga only gave Inuyasha thin prickles whenever he held it, and his father's sword remained at his side.
Inuyasha returned her smile with his own small one as they reached the village. "I shall do the honors," the monk said and they walked to the only inn. "Excuse me, my good sir," Miroku stated kindly when the door was opened to him. "But we are travelers in need of a place to stay for the night; would you be so kind as to allow us a free room with free food if we gladly get rid of the youkai that lives in your home?"
"A youkai lives in my home?" the small old man asked with wide, fearful eyes. He looked around anxiously as if the demon would be right there waving at him. The old man cast his eyes back at the 'honest' monk and Miroku nodded.
"Yes, I felt its evil presence during my journey; it drew me here for I knew you and your family were in danger. It is my soul duty to protect you, as Buddha as my witness," Miroku said firmly as his dark blue eyes stared at the old man. "Please, good sir, allow my traveling companions and myself a place to stay for the night, and we will rid you of the youkai."
"Thank you, thank you, Houshi-Sama, yes, yes; please come in." The old man stepped aside and Miroku walked in, Sango following him. Kagome smiled at the old man as she carried Shippou and Kirara inside. "Hold it," the old man said firmly. "If you are ridding me of a youkai, why do you bring more into my house?" He asked, eyeing the kitsune and the little fire cat.
Shippou looked up at Kagome and then they all turned to Miroku.
Miroku cleared his throat, drawing the old man's attention to him. "My good sir, these are good youkai who are here as bait to lure out the evil youkai. Youkai often band together in groups, therefore, by bringing these gentle youkai, who have no ill feelings towards humans, the evil youkai that plagues your household shall be brought to us much quicker and you'll be able to rest easy."
"Never the less, it's still possible to get the demon," the old man said crossly, "No youkai are allowed in my home."
During Miroku's little speech, Shippou was able to place an enchanted leaf on his head and transform himself into a normal child, a new trick he'd adapted over the past few months, and until now had not had the chance to do so.
The kitsune appeared to be a little red headed boy with bright blue eyes. Looking at Kagome he offered her a silent apology, as if to say, 'I don't have enough magic to change Kirara or Inuyasha...' Kagome smiled kindly at Shippou and placed him down. The old man, fairly surprised to see the human boy (he'd been sure it had been a demon...) turned his attention instead to the obvious youkai of the group...Inuyasha.
"You cannot stay in this village; my kinsmen will harm you," he warned, showing that he was not a cold hearted man, just concerned about himself and his family. "I will have to ask you to leave the barriers of this village immediately. I'm sorry; our people do not trust youkai."
Inuyasha scowled and crossed his arms. Kagome turned to Inuyasha and sighed. "I'll stay with you, Inuyasha."
"No, you won't," he said crossly, "you'll just get sick; it's cold tonight. Stay here with the others, I'll be fine."
"But..."
"No, you go in and get a goodnight's sleep; I'll see you in the morning." Inuyasha turned his eyes away. Kagome seemed hesitant, but she finally agreed to his commands and moved into the inn, nodding towards the inn keeper. Kirara trotted over to Inuyasha with a small mew of protest. "I know, Kirara," Inuyasha murmured as they began walking out of the village.
As they rounded a corner, Inuyasha took a tentative sniff. He looked at Kirara, "Their room has an open window. You can get in if you'd like."
Kirara cocked her head to side as if asking why he couldn't come too.
"I'd come, but if the inn keeper came in and saw me, he'd have a fit. You can hide easily under blankets or Sango's hair. Go now." He shooed Kirara away with his foot and watched the fire kitten run back towards the inn, happy that she had a chance to protect her mistress again.
Inuyasha watched the fire kitten disappear from view before turning away and leaving the village, which was surrounded by a wooden wall. He continued walking the way they came until he made it to the tree line of the forest. With a sigh, he jumped into a tree and faced the direction of the village.
"I'll see them in the morning," he told himself. But never the less, he felt incredibly alone...
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Meanwhile, Kagome was plagued with difficult problems that had been cursing her ever since the journey started.
'I can't get home? The well is closed, but I'll need to get home sooner or later. After all, I do have a life on the other side of the well, I can't stay here forever...or can I? I can't...Inuyasha probably wouldn't want me to stay here. Actually, I'm not so sure what he wants lately, he barely talks to me anymore, it's depressing, really...
'But...how do I get home? What will my mother think if I can never come back? But I can't even think about leaving my friends here. They're like my second family. They're important to me, so important...'
Kagome sighed and stared out the window, where only a sliver of the moon could be seen. 'Tomorrow is going to be the new moon,' Kagome thought wistfully, 'I wonder how Inuyasha feels about that? This will be the first new moon where he hasn't turned human? Will he be happy, or sad?'
"Kagome-Chan?" She was stirred from her thoughts when Sango sat up from her futon beside her. "What are you still doing awake?"
"Just thinking." Kagome dismissed it and ran a hand through her hair. "Go back to sleep, Sango-Chan, I'm fine."
"Alright, Kagome-Chan," Sango said, uncertainty in her voice.
Kagome quietly watched the stars twinkle outside. 'I want to be able to go home, but I want to stay here, too.' She sighed sadly as she rested her chin on her folded arms, which had been laid on top of her bent legs. 'I guess I'll have to choose,' she thought sadly.
'How am I supposed to choose?' she thought angrily. 'I'm only a teenager; I shouldn't have to make this decision. On one hand, I'll be able to see my family again, but on the other hand, I'll be loosing my friends forever. I wish I could talk to mama right now, she'd know what to do...'
Kagome felt a stray tear run down her cheek. Kagome looked back out the window and let out a sigh. "I should go see Inuyasha," she whispered and stood before retreating to the outside of the inn. She lit a lantern so she could see better.
She began walking to the exit of the village, searching around for Inuyasha.
He found her.
"Kagome, what are you doing out here?" he hissed as he jumped beside her. He took a sniff and smelled the small tear that had run down her face. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" He sniffed again to see if she was in any kind of pain.
"I'm fine Inuyasha; are you okay?" she whispered and she reached out a hand to touch his shoulder.
"I'm fine..."
"Inuyasha..."
"Don't worry about me, Kagome. You should go back to bed," he said crossly as he averted his gaze, staring up at the sliver of the moon.
"I...don't want to," Kagome said, equally as cross. "I'm staying out here and keeping you company, if it's the last thing I do!"
"Kagome..."
She grabbed his hand and stared up into his eyes, before smiling shyly and blushing. She averted her gaze and pulled him towards the forest. "Can you smell a stream...?" she asked. When she was little, streams always calmed her, perhaps she could calm Inuyasha?
"I smell a hot spring," he murmured. Kagome paused and looked at him with pleading eyes. He smirked. "I'll show you where it is."
They walked in silence until they reached the hot spring Inuyasha had smelled. Kagome looked around it and smiled brightly at Inuyasha. She slipped off her shoes and her socks before dipping her feet into the warm water. She hummed in happiness as the warm water caressed her feet.
After a long moment, she placed the lantern near a small cove in the hot spring, causing an unearthly light to dance across the water of the hot spring, and revealed the steam rising off the water. It was so clear; Kagome could see the bottom of the spring.
"Want to come in, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked as she smiled at him.
"No," he said and Kagome frowned.
"I think you do, but you're too shy to admit it," Kagome joked and giggled when he blushed. It looked odd when he blushed because of the twin purple lines on his cheekbones, causing the blush to rise over the purple lines like it really was part of his skin.
"Shut up," he mumbled.
"Inuyasha, come on," Kagome stood up before him and grabbed his haori, her fingers brushing against his rosary beads. She observed the haori for a long moment before she opened it at the chest. Inuyasha stared in shock.
"K-Kagome!" he whispered in shock as Kagome slipped the kimono off of his arms, leaving him bare from the waist up.
"I'm not going to take off your pants, Inuyasha, relax..." Kagome said with a blush on her own cheeks. Her eyes landed on the smooth skin on his chest, the muscles rippling beneath it. Her eyes found a small scar over his heart and she stared at it for a long time.
Hesitantly, Inuyasha moved his hand so that it was covering the scar there. He turned his eyes away and stared off in the distance. Kagome watched him. "Inuyasha...?"
"Not all scars heal," he finally whispered and dropped his hand. Kagome realized then, it was the scar from Kikyou's arrow.
Why hadn't she seen this scar before? How could she have missed it?
She tentatively reached her hand out and covered the scar with her own hand, locking eyes with his after the golden eyes hesitantly turned towards her. She smiled.
"All scars heal...eventually..."
"Kagome..."
She smiled softly at him and he found himself returning the small gesture, his hand moving up to cover hers.
'I can heal your scars Inuyasha, even if this scar stays with you forever, I can heal the scars that are deep within your heart, deep where no arrow, no weapon, nothing can touch. I'll help you, I know you need me...' she thought as she stared up at him.
"Come into the hot spring, Inuyasha," she said and he nodded.
She grinned and pulled away before stepping in. She probably looked rather absurd with her pajamas on as she stood at the edge of a hot spring. Inuyasha slowly followed her, slipping his legs in so that he, too, was up to his waist in water. Kagome smiled brightly.
"There, I'm in the hot spring," he grumbled and crossed his arms before stepping deeper. Kagome watched his white hair float around on the water's surface, slipping and sliding like white satin under her finger tips.
"Good. I'm glad," Kagome smiled and sat on the edge of the hot spring, watching him walk around.
"I was worried," she said after a long pause. He stopped and stared at her. "I was worried that you'd be lonely out here, all by yourself."
"I'm fine. Why do you care?" he snapped and turned his head away.
"I care a lot about you, Inuyasha," she admitted, her blush rising in her cheeks.
"Feh..."
"I've been thinking...about what you said, about the well," Kagome said with a quiver in her voice. "I have to be honest, I'm torn between the two times." She looked at her feet in the water and felt his eyes on her. "I love it here, and I love it there. I love my family, but you and the others are like my family and I love you all..."
"Kagome..." Kagome continued to stare at her feet, not willing to meet his eyes. "Do what you think is right," he finally whispered and Kagome felt tears roll down her cheeks. "Kagome," he whispered again and Kagome saw his feet appear below her.
She hesitantly lifted her gaze and found that his beautiful golden eyes were staring at her. He reached out a hand, wet from the hot springs' water, and brushed it against her cheek. "Stop crying, there's no need to cry," he murmured as his hand cupped her cheek.
"Inuyasha..." More tears fell from her eyes. "I don't know what to do! How can I do what's right if I don't know what's right? I miss my family and my time, but I know if I'll go back I'll miss you the most!"
His eyes widened as she continued to cry. His other hand reached up and cupped her other cheek. He tenderly held her head in his hands as he gazed down at her. Sobs racked her body.
"I don't want to choose! I don't want to choose!" she whispered, her voice shaky and small sobs exploding from her mouth.
"Kagome, no matter what you choose, your mother would understand," he murmured as he gazed at her.
"Inuyasha..."
"No matter what you choose, I'll understand." He gave her a tender smile. "Now stop crying." His thumbs brushed over her cheeks. She closed her eyes and opened them, causing the last of her tears to fall down her cheeks.
"I'm a mess," she whispered. She knew she was, her face was probably all red and her eyes were all blotchy. Yet, she didn't seem to mind, because having a half naked Inuyasha standing next to you can do that to a person.
"No." He shook his head and pulled her face closer to his. "You're beautiful."
Kagome suddenly felt the presence of the youkai's lips on hers and it was heaven. Her arms wrapped around the youkai and held him close, her body falling backwards as she fell against the earth. Inuyasha followed her, lying over her as his lips devoured her.
'I would always tell myself that I was weak as a hanyou,' Inuyasha thought as he continued to kiss her pink lips, 'But now look at me. If I was weak before as a hanyou, I'd rather be weak...'
He pulled away and gazed at her. Kagome blinked and panted, her face engulfed in a blush as she giggled and closed her eyes.
'I'll always spend my nights in white satin, with you,' she thought as she reached out a hand and touched his silken hair, the silvery white strands falling over her fingertips like water.
"Kagome..."
His whispery voice entered her heart and caressed her soul, and as she gazed at him, his golden eyes staring at her, silently questioning, she knew. She'd always known.
Her hands wrapped around his neck and she leaned towards him.
"I choose you."