Blooming Promise

Hey! I'm back! I have risen from the dead!

...yeah, I know, I'm totally phasing out on all my stories. I'm sorry, it's just, I have a major case of Inuyasha-fanfiction-writer's block. I have all these random ideas for original stories, and I've been working with one of my friends on about three different stories that we're writing togther. Plus, a lot's been going on over break...

Happy New Year!

I will update Silver Linings soon (which means before 2006).

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Inuyasha or any of his friends. If I did, Kikyo would die and stay dead, Inuyasha and Kagome would have fessed up to each other long ago, Sango and Miroku would be married and expecting... gets gagged and dragged away by team of lawyers

BTW, the italicized sections are flashbacks. As you may figure out...you're smart...right?

The bright summer sun smiled upon an open field of flowers. Rising from the carpet of colors near the fringes of the field was a wizened old sakura tree. A half-demon teenager sat in its branches, his bright red clothing vivid against the pale rose of the sakura blossoms.

He cupped a single flower in his clawed hand, plucking one fragile petal at a time, murmuring to himself as he did so.

"I maim the brat. I maim him not. I maim the brat. I maim him not. I maim the brat. I maim him— Damn!" He chucked the bare stem off to the side and slammed his knee with a frustrated fist. "So how am I supposed to punish him?"

He glowered at the clear, brilliant sky. But the threatening effect of his fangs and sharp amber eyes was rather diminished by the various black doodles of hearts, flowers, and the like on his face. "Stupid Shippo!"

He leaped out of the tree and landed confidently on his feet. His white dog's ears twitched as he located the nearest stream. Then, he was off, crossing the entire flowering meadow in five bounds. He landed squarely next to a still pool fed by a brook and promptly splashed water onto his face. Grumbling, he rubbed the liquid into his face as he tried to erase the quite un-masculine graffiti.

But he was to be disappointed when his reflection showed his face, framed by silver hair, still covered in permanent marker. He scowled at the dancing bunny on his right cheek. "Curse that little brat."

He sighed and let himself fall onto his back, ignoring the small patches of mud speckling the shore of the brook. "Well, one thing's for sure," he grumbled. "I can't have Kagome see me like this. It's bad enough that Miroku noticed. He'll never let me live it down." He sighed again and glared at the sky, casting about for something to occupy his mind until he could sneak back to camp in the dark.

His attention landed on the rainbow of flowers that decorated the side of the brook. His amber eyes were immediately drawn to a cluster of similarly hued five-petaled blooms. The vivid hue reminded him of Kagome's yellow backpack, the one she always took with her when she came to join him and his friends in the Feudal Era.

He pricked up his ears when he heard Kagome's little brother ask in concern, "Doncha think that's a little heavy, sis?" He leaned forward alertly, as if his little nap by the old well had never been.

She grunted as her enormous pack rustled, settling onto her back. "Of course not, Sota. A girl has a lot of needs, you know."

He suddenly smirked to himself. He had just saved the wench that morning, after making her apologize for shoving him down the well in a fit of rage. Perhaps it was time for a little something known as payback.

He launched off the floor and landed silently at the foot of the stairs. Another leap, and he was at the door of the well-house. Now, one more to go. This landing would be a bit harder to stick, seeing as his target was moving.

He made the jump and landed squarely on Kagome's backpack, tucking himself into a relaxed tailor's seat as the pack plummeted to the ground, bringing her down with it. "Bah. Cretin."

She looked up at him in surprise and indignation. "What the hell are you doing?"

In one smooth motion, he lifted up the backpack, freeing Kagome from its tangled straps and swinging it over one shoulder. "Let's go!"

He frowned in costernation. Kagome had treated him much more nicely than usual for the rest of the day. At first, he had decided to believe that it was her way of apologizing to him. But that didn't explain her unusually good mood. Now that he thought about it, her fiery eyes had softened by the time she jumped down the well with him. Was it because he had been waiting for her?

He turned his head more to the left. This time, his eyes locked on a single, delicate pink blossom. Almost the same color as Kagome's metal horse, or, as she preferred to call it, her bike.

He walked slightly ahead of Kagome, sniffing occasionally to make sure she was still behind him. His thoughts were driving him crazy. She wanted him to share his past with her.

To speak or not to speak. He surreptitiously glanced back at Kagome, her eyes filled with pity.

'Wha-- I don't want pity!' he thought indignantly.

Time to set things straight. "Neither one or the other."

"Huh?"

"Not a human. But not a demon either. I'm not either. When I was younger, I always thought I had to carve out my own place. I always thought that was the only way for me. By the time I discovered there was another way, I was alone." He frowned, remembering the pain of watching little children, adults, and boys his own age basking in the comfort of companionship. Why hadn't he seen or understood before?

"…Inuyasha, that makes me so happy." She caught up to him, wheeling her bike.

'Eh?' "Oh, my suffering makes you happy, is that it?!"

"No." She smiled. "It's just…I'm so glad you decided to share your past with me. I want to know more about you Inuyasha."

"Hmpf."

"And Inuyasha…" Kagome looked into his eyes, acceptance and friendliness radiating from her blue-eyed smile. "You're not alone anymore."

That stopped him in his tracks. He watched her thoughtfully as she continued down the path. 'She's right. Somehow…I've come to take it for granted that she'd always be here with me.'

Inuyasha growled, although he couldn't help but feel a flutter of warmth inside his chest. Why so many reminders of Kagome?

He turned to find something to look at, and he began studying a patch of multicolored blossoms.

He watched as the golden ball slowly rolled back toward him. Didn't anyone want to play? He watched the retreating nobles' haughty backs and heard someone mutter, "Half-breed…"

"Half-breed?" he repeated. He turned and saw his mother in one of her beautiful, flowery kimonos. He ran into her welcoming embrace, fleeing from an inexplicable sense of loneliness and hurt. "Mother?" He looked up at her, eyes full of innocent curiosity. "What's a…half-breed?"

He watched in surprise as tears leaked out of the woman's eyes. She said nothing, only held him a little tighter.

"Puh. Half-breed. I'd like to see those uppity nobles call me that now." He held his hand up over his head and studied his sharp claws. The sun cast its light on one razor sharp edge, making it glint somewhat threateningly.

He walked leisurely through the forest, feeling buoyant, which was quite unusual for him. On this very spot, he would turn into a human for the love of his life.

The scent of driven snow reached his nose. "Kikyo?"

Three sharp points flew out of a hole in the bushes. Startled, he jerked back against a tree, wincing as the points of the three arrows buried themselves in the wood around his head.

Once the odd light faded, he saw a young woman, her gray eyes angry and defiant. She held another arrow to the string of her bow. "Die, Inuyasha!"

His insides froze. 'Kikyo…? What…what are you doing?'

She let the arrow fly. The moment her fingers left the string, he fled, betrayal and anger coursing through his blood. 'Is that it, Kikyo? Did you trick me, just so you could kill me? If that's the way it is, then I'll go through with my original wish after all! I will become a full demon!'

He sighed. This was only depressing him. The betrayal had been over fifty years ago, and it had been set up. If only…if only he had trusted Kikyo a little more, it wouldn't have happened.

Inuyasha let his hand drop and his eyes close, basking in the sun's warmth. Which reminded him of something different altogether…

He watched in horror as Kagome walked toward him, holding Shippo's hand. Flames billowed around them. Why were they here? Hadn't the demon Hiten's fire burned them to a crisp? He winced as his heart twisted. It was all his fault.

Myoga jumped up and down on his shoulder. "Look, their souls are coming to bid their final farewells!"

He looked at him in surprise. "Final…? So that means…"

"Inuyasha…thank you. For everything." Kagome's soft voice penetrated his sorrowful self-disgust. Was she bidding him goodbye?

Shippo added, "Same here. Thanks to you, my dad can rest in peace."

The flames suddenly billowed, as if an enormous bellows was fanning them higher and higher. He watched helplessly as the blaze began to reach into the sky, the two ghosts' eyes following it.

"Wait! Don't go!" He reached into the flames, trying, rather uselessly, to hold them back. He thought wildly, 'I have to tell her—' But he couldn't stop the conflagration from climbing into the sky. He stared up after it mournfully before he realized he still held something warm. He looked down and saw his hand firmly grasping Kagome's, warm, smooth, and most definitely alive. "Wha—"

He smacked his forehead. "She was fine," he muttered. "And there I went getting all mushy…"

He inhaled to sigh, and a sweet scent stormed his sense of smell. "Hm? Kagome?" He sniffed again, propping himself up on his elbows. "She smells," –sniff sniff– "upset."

He sat up fully, scanning the meadow for her. The odd thing was, once his head popped up over the flowers, he completely lost her scent. "Curse her," he muttered. "Why does she have to smell like flowers? …not that I don't like it…" he added almost involuntarily. He stood and caught sight of her bluish black hair. "Aha!"

He bounded over and landed quietly behind her. She was seated in the middle of a patch of red flowers, apparently lost in thought. "Where could he be?" she muttered, hugging her knees to he chest.

"Who, me?"

She squeaked and twisted to look at him, forgetting the awkward position she sat in. She suddenly lost her balance, teetering as she flailed to keep him away.

"Hey!" He ignored her fluttering limbs and lunged forward to grab her shoulder, successfully halting her fall. When she regained her bearings, he plopped himself down in front of her, assuming his favored tailor's seat. "What was that for? Did I seem threatening or something? Didn't you sense me?"

Kagome ignored his question, however. The only thing she seemed capable of doing was slapping a hand over her mouth and uttering odd, muffled sounds that made her shoulders shake.

"Kagome? What's wrong?" Was she choking?

"Y- your face!" she spluttered. "I just…I can't—" She exploded into giggles.

He grimaced. He had forgotten all about that. He flattened his ears defensively as she scooted closer to him, studying the doodles with amused fascination. "Oh, look, here's a heart, and a bouquet of flowers. And, oh, that bunny is so cute!" She touched his cheek and chuckled. "You know, it kind of suits your ears," she joked.

Normally, Inuyasha would have taken enormous offense at that comment. But the feather-soft touch on his cheek was more distracting than any amount of words could say. He could clearly remember the last time a girl had touched the same spot so gently…

Kikyo reached up and brushed his cheek with her fingertips. "Aren't you afraid, Inuyasha?" she whispered. "I could kill you with these hands right now."

Before he could answer her, or react in any way, she gently kissed him on the lips…

He gulped and blushed, instantly tearing his face away from Kagome's touch. Somehow, he felt dishonest whenever the merest thought of Kikyo crossed his mind when Kagome was around.

She frowned, then sighed. "Sorry, Inuyasha. I know how sensitive you are about your ears."

"No, it's not that," he mumbled.

Her eyebrows lifted in questioning before a look of comprehension crossed her face. Then, they plummeted into a cold, hurt glare. "I see," she said icily. She stood and wordlessly brushed the dust off her skirt, turning to walk away.

"No, Kagome…wait!" He sprang up and set a restraining hand on her shoulder.

She shrugged it off without turning to face him. "Why should I? You already have Kikyo's memory to keep you company!"

"Kagome, please, listen. Do you think I can help it if my mind instantly goes to these memories? I was in love with her, Kagome! And now, she's wandering around the world of the living, trying to find peace because I didn't trust her! She's always on my mind!"

A silent moment passed, then he quietly asked, "Kagome…can't you trust me?"

Her voice was just as quiet as she said, "I don't know. Most of the time, I'm willing to put my life in your hands, and I usually do. But other times…" she met his eyes. "Sometimes I wonder if I can really count on you."

...well. That hurt.

"I just…Kagome, I want you to trust me. I've asked you to so many times. Don't you know that you're safe with me? I would never let anyone hurt you. Not if I can help it. You know I've always protected you, Kagome. Even in the very beginning, when we were fighting Yura of the Hair, and I thought I hated you."

"How can I believe that you'll continue to protect me when your heart is so fixed on Kikyo?" she asked, tears beginning to sparkle in her eyes. "She wants me out of the way, Inuyasha!"

"Out of the way of what? What are you preventing her from getting?" He gnawed his lip, trying not to trigger her tears to fall.

She looked away. "I'm preventing her from getting you, Inuyasha. Isn't it obvious? You are the thing she wants most. And I am the only one who both wants to and is capable of keeping her away from you. She once said to me, 'It seems that Naraku also sees you as the greatest nuisance.'"

"I don't remember that…"

"Of course you don't. It was the day Kikyo stole the chunk of Shikon shards we had and gave them to Naraku. You weren't there until I was about to fall into the crevice Naraku created. She wants to make sure I don't stop her from taking you to hell."

"You don't want me to go?" he asked, surprised.

She stared at him in disbelief. "Of course not! She wants you dead! Do you expect me to accept that? No way!"

"So you're saying that you've been trying to protect me?" he asked, confusion creeping into his voice. Of the two of them, wasn't he supposed to be the guardian, the sole obstacle Death had to get past?

"Isn't obvious?"

He cocked his head for a moment. As a matter of fact…

Inuyasha whipped around, trying to find a path through the tangled mass of poisonous snakes that Naraku had unleashed on him and his friends. "Damn you Naraku," he growled. He glanced at his haori, not hanging off his shoulders and tucked into his hakama as usual, but on the ground, shielding Kagome and Shippo from the worst of the miasma. 'How long can they hold out?'

He cracked his knuckles, gritting his teeth. He restarted his efforts to clear a way out, hacking and coughing as the wounded snakes spewed, instead of blood, poison into the air.

Suddenly, something roared, causing all the snakes to explode. Strangely, the miasma disappeared. The source of the roar was an arrow that continued in its flight to slice through the side of a hut. He watched in amazement as the wall exploded, revealing a suddenlyarm-less Naraku. The arrow's final resting place was obvious.

He turned to see who had shot such a powerful arrow, and was greeted by the magnificent, and rather intimidating sight, of a truly pissed off Kagome. She stood confidently, bow in hand, arrow on the string, eyes burning with passionate anger and resolve.

"Naraku!" she shouted. "You're dead!"

That time, she really had protected him, hadn't she? Actually, she said she got so pissed off because Naraku had been making a fool of him. When he heard that, he was torn between getting angry at being called a fool or saying in exasperation, "That's it? That's what got you so angry?" He had chosen the latter.

And there had been other times. When Sesshomaru had almost killed him with Tetsusaiga, she had undone its transformation with another arrow. She was the one who woke him up from his 50 year long sleep. She had saved him from the Nothing Woman.

But most importantly, she had saved him from loneliness. She was the first true companion and friend that he ever had, the first person he ever trusted.

Yes, that warranted the title of protector.

"…okay, how about this. As long as you protect me, I'll protect you. And you have to protect me as long as I do the same for you. Does that make you feel better? Trust me a bit more?"

Kagome studied his face with a light frown, then suddenly grinned a bit mischievously. "Not quite. I'd like to perform a little oath-swearing ritual from my time. Now, link your pinkie with mine." She held hers up for him to hook his around. "Now repeat the promise."

"Um…as long as you protect me, I will protect you. And vice versa."

"Agreed." She suddenly rose up on her tiptoes and pecked him on the lips. Face red, she recited, "Sworn on a pinkie, sealed by a kiss. Remember and always hold true to this."

Inuyasha was speechless. Had she just…?

"And now, the oath is complete! Better not break it, or you owe me twenty bucks!" she chirped, trying to draw attention away from her blush.

"Bucks? As in deer?"

"Um…never mind. Let's go back to the others." She turned to walk back to camp.

"Uh, Kagome?"

"Yeah?" She turned to look at him, then glanced down at their still entwined pinkies. "Oops! Sorry!" She dropped it like a hot potato, fidgeting nervously.

"No, it's not that." He pointed at his face. "Don't you think I should clean up, first?"

Her eyes widened, then she chuckled. "I suppose."

They walked silently to the pond he had been reminiscing beside and managed to rid his face of every spot of ink, albeit with some hand cleanser that Kagome just happened to have.

As one, they stood and began heading back to camp. Inuyasha suddenly cleared his throat. When Kagome tore her gaze away from the flowers to look at him, he glanced meaningfully down at their hands. As she watched, Inuyasha shyly twisted his pinkie around hers again. "This part I actually didn't mind."

She smiled at him, gently freeing her finger and sliding her whole hand into his. "I think I mind this even less."

And Inuyasha agreed wholeheartedly.

So what'd you think? Kawaii? I hope! Pointless? -.-;; Yes, I agree. Fluffy? If so, thank you!

I could go on, or I could just let you tell me what you think through reviewing! Give me a little feedback, okay?

I promise I'll update What Dreams Can Do as soon as I can, okay? The next chapter has a 99.99 percent chance of being the last one. And it's so hard (at least for me) to just end a fic. It's just…I dunno. But I'm working on it!