Nights in White Satin
Chapter Nine: Pain Revisited
Written by Sleepwalking Chicken
Written on: September 7, 2004

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Kagome sighed feebly as the group once again began their trek towards the Northern territory. "According to the map," she told her companions, who almost seemed as distracted as her, "We should reach the water dividing the Western Lands with the Northern Lands by nightfall or tomorrow morning."

"I propose we find shelter for the night and set out early the next morning, then," Miroku said at once, always up to the idea of staying in an inn instead of the hard ground, surrounded by trees. After saying this he realized the dilemma with Inuyasha and glanced at him.

The other's followed his gaze to the youkai, who seemed the most distracted of all. His head was tilted upwards as he stared at the sky, not even noticing that Kagome and Miroku had spoke. His golden eyes followed the flight of birds in the sky.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked sweetly, a hand coming out and closing on his shoulder.

The youkai paused and tilted his head downward to look at Kagome. She smiled kindly at him. "Did you hear us?"

"Uh…" was the youkai's intelligent response and Kagome knew that he hadn't.

She smiled reassuringly, "We're going to reach the water this evening, but we figured we'd stay in a village for the night and set out the next morning." Her eyes turned apologetic, for there was the high possibility that he wouldn't be allowed in the village. "Is that ok?"

"Feh, whatever," he said, his voice quiet and his eyes averting to the side as he watched more birds fly.

Kagome pursed her lips and removed her hand from his shoulder. A pulse ran through her and she felt a small wave of apprehension overflow her. She glanced at Inuyasha and the others, but they seemed to not notice. Shrugging it off, she continued to walk.

The group continued on in silence, their eyes not meeting any one else's in favor of staring at the passing landscapes. 'It's so beautiful here…' Kagome mused as she watched birds fly across a grassy field to the right of the dirt road travelers, such as herself, used. 'Inuyasha's acting strange…I hope he's alright,' she thought with a frown and turned her attention towards the youkai, who's golden eyes were staring at the passing birds, his eyes soft and unreadable. Kagome felt her heart skip a beat and felt a strange feeling overtake her.

She shook her head and looked away and immediately the feeling went away.

"Kagome?" his voice reached her and she turned her attention back to the youkai. She smiled sweetly at him.

"Yeah?" she asked, quickening her steps so she was standing next to him. She folded her arms behind her and tilted her head up towards him. "Inuyasha?"

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"What do you mean, 'am I okay'?" Kagome asked with a smile.

"You keep staring at me," he said, confusion evident in his voice. "And you get this weird expression and look in the other direction…" now instead of confusion she heard a slight pang of hurt. Kagome's eyes softened.

"Sorry, It's just that…" Kagome let out a small sigh, her blue eyes drifting closed for a moment before reopening them and staring at him, a small smile on her lips. "I was thinking, that's all."

"About what?" he asked curiously, his golden eyes watching her.

"Nothing important. Just things," she said, not wanting to tell him what she truly was thinking. He watched her for a moment, and they both knew she was lying. Finally, he nodded and turned back towards the road, his golden eyes becoming unreadable again.

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"Please, may we take shelter in your inn for this evening?" Miroku asked later that day. They had arrived to the village near the water without much incident. They'd gotten there earlier than Kagome had predicted and had an estimated three hours before the sun sunk into the west. Miroku was currently working on their sleeping arrangements.

"Aye…I suppose I could spare you a room for tonight, Houshi-sama," the inn keeper said with a small nod. His eyes took in the weary travelers: the handsome monk, the strong demon exterminator, her sleeping kitten, snuggled into her arms, the weary kitsune child who hid partially behind the monk in order to hide his tail, the cheerful miko, who at this point had grown weary and tired, and lastly the demon, who stood behind him, his golden eyes staring ahead, unwavering.

The inn keeper drew in a breath when his eyes settled on the youkai before him. His cheery face grew into a sneer as his hand trailed to the inn door. "Actually," he said, his voice a startling contrast to the sweet voice he had moments ago. "We're all full, goodbye," and with that, he slammed the door.

Miroku stood in surprise, his eyes blinking in disbelief. He turned to his companions and sighed, "Well, there are several inns here. It is a port, and draws many travelers."

Kagome nodded, but, like the others, had doubt in her heart that they would receive a room.

They continued on to the next inn.

"We have no room."

And the next…

"We're all filled up. Sorry."

And the next after that,

"No."

Miroku let out a small scream as he rubbed his temples, running his palm over his face and brushing his bangs out of his eyes. "This is ridiculous," Miroku said with a growl.

Kagome let out a sigh, "There's one more inn."

"It's worth a try," Sango agreed.

They walked up to the smallest inn in the village. It was situated near the water, but out of the mainstream of villagers who moved about the marketplace, selling and buying goods. Miroku cleared his throat and stepped up the five steps leading to the veranda that surrounded the main house. His staff jingled as he walked up to the inn's door and gently knocked on the wood frame.

The door slid open to reveal an elderly woman. She observed the houshi for a moment before smiling warmly, "May I be of service, Houshi-sama?"

"You may, my fair lady," Miroku said with a gentle smile, "My traveling companions and I were hoping that perhaps we could find shelter here for the night?"

The elderly woman's eyes swept over the group, like all the others had. But unlike the others, she smiled warmly, "Yes. We have a vacancy. Please, right this way."

She step aside and ushered the group in. Kagome blinked in confusion and glanced at Sango. The girl mimicked her expression.

'What a nice lady…much nicer than the other innkeepers,' she thought with a smile. The woman led them to a room near the back of the inn and slipped the door open.

"Will you need a separate room for the ladies?" The woman asked the monk.

"That won't be necessary," he said calmly, "We shall share a room."

"Aye," the woman nodded and trotted down the hall and out of the sigh. Miroku walked into their room, ignoring the glares he received.

The group became situated and unfolded their futons, preparing for when it became dark enough for them to sleep comfortably.

It was while Kagome was unrolling her futon and setting down her yellow backpack that she realized something,

"Where's Inuyasha?"

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His golden eyes closed as he inhaled the scents of the village. It was odd, how this small village reminded him so much of what had once been. He remembered running down the road, chasing after small balls and sticks the children threw, wanting more than anything to be accepted into their games. He remembered wandering outside and trying to ignore the looks the elders sent him, their eyes narrowed in disgust and their harsh jeers sickening and cruel.

His mother's tears. Those were the most vivid of this place. Her crying over him, because of him, for him. It was all the same at the end of the day. Something would happen that would cause his usually calm and beautiful mother to shed tears.

'Welcome home, Inuyasha,' he thought to himself as he stared at his childhood home. After his mother had left the castle she had grown up in, his infant self tucked in her arm, she had journeyed her, to try and start a new life. But because of her attachment to the hanyou child, she had been scorned, the people of the village disregarding the fact she was once their princess.

Inuyasha let out a sigh and ran his fingers through his hair. After the second visit to on of the inns, he realized that the reason they weren't getting a room was once again because of him. He snuck away when Sango made a comment about never finding a place to sleep. He currently sat on a hill outside the village, his golden eyes taking in all the town had to offer. It brought back sickening memories of his childhood, of his mother, of the life he had slaved through, of the innocence he lost.

He pulled his knees up to his chest and tucked his chin in between the two appendages. His arms wrapped around his legs and held them in place; the wind whipped back his hair and sent a small shiver down his spine. 'It's going to be cold tonight,' he mused. 'We're heading north, and it shows…'

He tilted his head towards the sky, where soft white clouds floated by leisurely towards the setting sun. The mountains seemed closer and he could clearly see the small sliver of the moon already in the sky.

Giggles reached his ears and his head rose from its position on his knees and looked around. His golden eyes searched for the source of delighted laughter. There was more than one. Small children giggled on the other side of the hill. With a tentative sniff he decided there were about seven children. Then another scent assaulted his senses.

"Kagome…"

He stood and walked to the other side of the hill. Down below, where the grass grew high and wildflowers bloomed brightly, Kagome stood giggling as children ran around her, their small pudgy hands thrown high above them as they threw wild daisies at the schoolgirl. Kagome smiled warmly as a particularly short child, her hair pulled back into pigtails, held out a large golden flower to the schoolgirl. The petals of the flower flowed from its center and fit perfectly in the miko's hand. She smiled warmly at the child and tucked it behind her ear, pleasing the small girl.

Kagome knelt down and plucked a pink flower from the depths of the tall grass and tucked it under the tie of the girl's hair tie.

She looked up and her blue eyes locked with his golden orbs and her face sprung into a delighted smile. "Inuyasha," she called the youkai over.

The dog demon stood apprehensively on the grassy hillside, hesitant to join Kagome in the field. His demonic features would surely scare the children away. It had in his youth as a hanyou, would it not be intensified as youkai?

The children paused to look at the youkai on the hill before Kagome rolled her eyes and walked up to him. Inuyasha took a step back and before he could react, Kagome had grabbed his hand and was dragging him towards the several children who had gathered in the field.

"I was looking everywhere for you," Kagome said with a gentle smile, her cheeks a light pink. "I couldn't find you and was about to head back when I noticed the kids here."

"Uh…"

"So I stayed to play with them," she said, her cheeks growing pinker. "I'm sorry. I should have kept looking for you instead of playing."

"No…its fine," he said quietly as the girl came to a halt in front of the young children.

"Who's he?" a young boy asked, his brown eyes wide with wonder as he stared at Inuyasha.

"This is Inuyasha. He's my friend," Kagome said kindly and stepped aside so the kids could see him clearly. "Be nice to him, he's very shy," she whispered loudly, holding a hand to the side of her mouth, acting as if unaware the youkai could hear her. She winked at the kids and they all giggled.

Inuyasha, who had heard Kagome perfectly, scowled slightly. He was in no way shy, he just didn't want to spend time around people he didn't know. They were always frightened of him. He cast Kagome a look, but the girl was ignoring him in favor of playing with the children, who had begun to run along the field.

'This is stupid, what the hell is Kagome trying to do? Make me look like a sissy or something? Ugh…why'd I let her drag me down here?' Inuyasha thought with a larger scowl. He felt a tugging on his hakama and looked down to see the smallest girl, the one who had given Kagome the flower.

He raised an eyebrow, "What?"

The little girl said nothing, just held out a large red flower to him. He stared at it for a long moment before blinking. The girl tugged on his hand and he allowed her to pull him down into the grass. He sat feebly and watched the girl crawl over his legs so that she was standing near his face. With a giant smile the girl tucked the flower between two beads on his rosary.

She blushed with pride and puffed out her chest. "Pretty!" she said happily.

Inuyasha tilted his head downward so he could see the large red flower sprouting from his rosary beads.

"Not pretty?" the girl asked when he didn't make a response.

Inuyasha looked up and locked eyes with the little girl and let a small smile grace his lips, "It's pretty…"

The girl beamed with joy and jogged away, her smile never wiped from her face. She joined her friends and they began playing.

He felt a presence behind him and looked up to see Kagome, a gentle knowing smile on her face. She walked over to him and sat down gently. "I saw that," she said warmly.

"Feh," Inuyasha snorted, trying to remain indifferent. He plucked the flower from his rosary. "She's a stupid ignorant girl."

"You seemed to get along fine with her," Kagome commented, her blue eyes sparkling.

"She's young. She knows nothing of what I am," Inuyasha said coolly.

"She's an orphan," Kagome said quietly. "She lives with the village leader, but her parents were slain by a youkai from the north island," Kagome turned towards Inuyasha with one eyebrow raised. "But she knows the difference between good and evil."

"Feh!"

Kagome rolled her eyes and stood. "Not everyone is prejudiced against youkai, Inuyasha."

"When she gets older she'll realize how stupid she was," Inuyasha turned his face away and snorted. Kagome rolled her eyes again and walked back towards the children. Inuyasha watched her go out of the corner of his eye and when he was sure that Kagome wasn't looking, he tucked the red flower into the sleeve of his haori for safe keeping.

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As the sun began to set in the sky, the young children were forced by their elders to return to the sanctuary of their home. Kagome watched them go with a smile and a wave, which the children eagerly returned. Inuyasha, who had remained hidden in the grass so the elders would not see him, watched the littlest girl wave at him before disappearing around the hillside and down towards the village. He waved lightly back, even if the girl could no longer see him.

Kagome turned to him with a smile and tilted her head to the side.

"I think she likes me," Inuyasha mumbled lightly when Kagome approached him.

Kagome smiled and kneeled down beside him. She smiled lightly, "I think you like her too…"

He nodded slightly and looked away embarrassed.

The sun fell behind the mountain tops and bathed the world in blissful darkness. Fireflies flew through the air, their eerily greenish yellow light moved through the air like stars. Inuyasha watched their path as they bathed the field in a gentle light. The firebugs flew near them and Kagome moved her hands towards them, she gently enveloped a bug into her palm and the bright light illuminated her face as she drew it near.

"I caught one," she said proudly, her voice and face taking on an almost childlike innocence as she stared at the bug in between her clasped hands.

"And now that you have one, what do you plan to do with it?" Inuyasha asked with one eyebrow raised.

"I'm going to set it free," she said honestly as her eyes locked with his. She held her hands out and opened them palm up. The bug didn't waste a moment and was soon flying away, its glow never ceasing.

"What's the point of catching one, then?" Inuyasha asked curiously.

"Because, Inuyasha," Kagome said knowingly, her eyes falling down to his rosary. "Something wonderful shouldn't be kept in a prison. Something so beautiful should be set free, not trapped. You have to release the things you love. If they come back to you," Kagome moved her hands towards his rosary and Inuyasha watched their path. "Then they truly are yours."

Her fingers lightly touched the purple beads when Inuyasha's hands moved and grasped hers, ceasing her action. Kagome looked up at him and his golden gaze stared lightly before he gently shook his head.

"Not now," he whispered.

She looked at him in confusion before inching closer and wrapping her arms around the youkai. "When?"

His arms folded around her small frame and held her close to his chest, his head gently nuzzling her as he closed his eyes and inhaled her scent. "Soon."

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author's notes: The spacing is being screwy. I'll fix it later.