Chapter 19: Dreams and revelations
Kagome's sleep was disturbed by familiar voices. "Feh, leave her. She didn't bring the Ramen."
"We are not leaving her just because you're hungry. Go hunt for something."
"Daddy bring food for Rin! See?"
"Ooh! Can I have some?"
"Me too!"
"No! This food is Rin's!"
Kagome scooted deeper under the covers, hoping her movements would go unnoticed. No such luck.
"Honey! The boys want Rin's food!"
"We don't want all of it! We want to share!"
"Stop it!" The room stilled. Kagome stuck her head out and grimaced at the brightness . Ow, my head… Where am I? "What time is it?"
"It's late. You were supposed to get up early."
She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, muttering, "So sue me. I had a tough night last night."
"I'll say!" The people around her laughed. She cracked open an eye and paled.
The forest had vanished. She was sleeping in a lavish room, surrounded by several empty futons. Kagome looked around. Sango and Inuyasha sat together on the floor reading a magazine. Miroku had a laughing Rin on his shoulders, while Shippou and Hoonomei jumped around him trying to snatch her tennis shoes. Wait a sec… Tennis shoes?
Sesshoumaru came in the door, tugging on his tie and shoving an arm into his suit. "Great! You're up, sis. Can you take everyone to the mall? I'll catch up with you guys later. Take your cell phone, ok? Thanks!" He patted her head, hugged Rin, and rushed out the door again.
Kagome stared after him with an amused look. "Did he just pat my head?"
"Don't touch my woman!"
Kagome started out of her dream. What the—
"I said, don't touch my woman!" She grimaced at the voice. Dammit, what now?
She stretched and looked around. The forest was still deep in shadow. She glanced at her watch. She pressed the little button, and the numbers flashed brightly at her. Not even 3 A.M.! She stood, holding on to the tree for support. She sensed three shards close by. She glanced at the kids, who were now wide-awake and fearful. She motioned to them, and all three raced over to her. She sat back down and hugged all three close to her. She held a finger in front of her lips, closed her eyes and concentrated. "Don't let go of me…"
"I know my woman! You were touching her!" Kagome opened her eyes briefly, and pinpointed the voice's location. She smirked, shook her head, and muttered a few words. The voice vanished.
"Okay, kids. We're safe from the scary voice." Which I'll kill later… How can he confuse me with…her!?! "But don't let go of me, or you might get hurt." She smiled at them and received two smiles in return. "Rin? Are you all right?"
The little girl shook her head and shivered. Kagome pulled all three in a close hug. "What to tell us about it?"
The little girl replied in a small voice, "Scary voice hurt Rin."
Kagome and Shippou paled, Hoonomei growled, and a deep growl rushed by the foursome. "Oh, no… Sesshoumaru, stop!"
Kagome jumped up, dragging the kids with her. She paused, put the kids down, and raced after the angry demon lord. She waved her hand backwards and encased all three inside an orange energy bubble, which floated upwards into the trees.
*****
Scary voice hurt Rin… Four words that had struck fear deep inside Sesshoumaru's body and soul. Fear that had turned to blind hatred when he realized what she meant. The demon lord's eyes were bleeding red. He barely registered the human voice yelling at him to calm down. He growled and burst through the dense brush, the nagging voice left somewhere behind him. He took in a rumpled Inuyasha with Tetsusaiga at the ready, and the soul stealers behind him floating off into the night. He concentrated on the only figure left, the one facing his half-brother. He growled.
The figure turned. Sesshoumaru registered the surprise and fear on this newcomer, but his scent was familiar. He bared his fangs. Wolf… Poison dripped from his claws. His eyes were red, but he was barely managing to refrain from transforming.
Inuyasha faltered and watched his older brother and his rival. He smirked, sheathed his sword, sat down and waited. This'll be good…
"Lord Sesshoumaru, to what do I owe the pleasure—" Sesshoumaru backhanded off the rest of the sentence. He growled again.
Kouga turned his head slightly and mumbled out of the side of his mouth, "Um, Inuyasha, why's he acting like this?"
"No clue, pal."
"You're enjoying this, aren't you, dog turd?"
"You got it, you wimpy wolf."
Kagome crashed through the same hole Sesshoumaru had made minutes earlier. She went up to Sesshoumaru and placed a hand on his arm. She murmured something. He shook his head. Inuyasha's ears perked up, and his jaw dropped. He turned to Kouga, whose face was mirroring his shocked expression. Inuyasha smirked. "You're screwed now, wolf…"
Kagome had missed the exchange between the two young rivals. She sighed at the demon lord. "Kouga-kun, please leave. Now."
Kouga turned to her, cocked his head and looked Kagome up and down. "Kagome, what happened to your miko clothes?"
"Never mind that. Go now." She turned away from him, and he reached over to stop her. Sesshoumaru backhanded him again.
Kouga wiped the blood from his busted lip. "What the—"
"Sesshoumaru, stop it. He doesn't understand."
"I shall make him understand."
"Please don't force me to choose. Inuyasha's tried that one before and it hasn't worked!"
Sesshoumaru's calm face turned to her. "I, Lord Sesshoumaru, do not follow orders from humans."
Kagome's eyes narrowed. She turned from the angry demon lord, went up to Kouga, and slapped him. Kouga whined, hurt by her actions. "Get the hell out of here, Kouga. We'll talk later, I'll make sure of it." She walked back the way she came, stopping in front of Sesshoumaru once more just long enough to hiss two words at him before leaving the clearing. "I quit."
*****
Miroku watched an extremely infuriated Kagome pack up her backpack. Well, 'pack' was too nice a term for what she was doing. "Um, Kagome—"
She turned angry eyes to him. "What?"
"Where are the kids?" Yes, safe topic.
"Up a tree somewhere." She went back to shoving her extra pair of jeans inside the worn bag.
"Should I go find them?"
"Miroku, leave me the hell alone. I'm going home for a while, and I need to pack. I'll bring them down when I'm good and ready." She grabbed one of Rin's books, rolled it up, and shoved it down the side. Miroku heard fabric tearing and grimaced. Kagome growled, grabbed the bag, and threw it against a wall. The contents of the bag spilled inside Kaede's cramped home with a cacophony of odd noises.
Kagome glared at the bag, sat back down and sighed. She pulled up her legs and dropped her head on her knees. "Kouga's dead."
Miroku started at the way she uttered those two words. What the—
"Don't talk, Miroku. Don't. Just listen." Kagome scooted over to him and sat close to him. She grabbed the cursed hand and toyed with the prayer beads. She chuckled, a sad facsimile of the usual melodic tinkle in her voice. "We should have realized it sooner, Miro. We missed the signs. And now Kouga's dead."
Miroku's eyes followed her hands as he resisted the strong urge to yank his hand away. He barely registered her soft words as they washed over him in a calming manner.
"I thought he'd changed. That he'd, I dunno, mellowed out. Calmed down. But he hasn't. He wouldn't even give Kouga a chance to explain." Her finger traced the black glove on his hand. He swallowed and prayed to every divinity out there that Kagome wouldn't notice anything different about him.
"I'm leaving for a while, Miro. I don't know when I'm coming back, if ever." Her quiet statement brought Miroku to his senses. She looked deep into his wide eyes. "I know I'm acting strangely. I know I've been acting strangely for some time. Thanks for ignoring it—me." Her slight smile drooped. "Look at this. The same person bitching about Inuyasha's snubs is glad you've chosen to pay no attention to her lately." She let go of his hand and stood. Her back to Miroku, she sat by her bag, righted it, and reached for everything that had fallen out.
Miroku fought with the fog clouding his mind. "Kagome, I'm confused—who killed Kouga?"
"Sesshoumaru."
© 10/22/03, M.A.R.
Aphiopsyduck: Great news! The story is getting closer to the end! But not yet. I'm still having trouble getting them together. Romance is hard. :-P
Since chapter 20 refused to cooperate, there are 2 chapters being uploaded today. It's a good day to be a reader. :o)
Personal to Red Day: No problem whatsoever. It's supposed to be Miroku/Kagome,
but she won't cooperate. And yes, along with everything else, she's trying
to figure out who Thomas is--but he's not what anyone thinks...
(More or less) Permanent A/N: *sweatdrops…* Ehehe…
First fanfic… If nothing else, it's a test run, since this will be my first
real fanfic posted anywhere. I don' really know where it's going though,
so please bear with me. Reviews are welcome, and flames will be used on
undead mikos who refuse to leave our heroes alone. :o)