A/N: Well, here's chapter two of my fanfic! Keep the reviews coming! Thanks!
Chapter 2
"I'm listening, Inuyasha."
The young half-demon continued to focus into the darkness. Not once had he made eye contact with Kagome. She was wondering what it was exactly that Inuyasha was about to reveal to her. He rarely, if ever, opened up to her like this and she wanted to make sure that she paid close attention so as to gain his trust in the future.
"I could feel them," he whispered to her, "I could feel them, Kagome."
Finally, Inuyasha stood up and turned desperately towards Kagome. His eyes showed an innocence that she had never seen in him before, like that of a young boy, lost and confused in a world of problems and conflicts. His voice sounded unsure, scared, and maybe even a little bit weak. His demeanor was all wrong; it was not the Inuyasha that she knew.
"Your parents?" asked Kagome gingerly as she took a step closer.
As an answer, he just nodded and stared down at the floor, unsure if he should go on.
"I felt their aura during that battle with Naraku. I knew it was them, but I just didn't know where it was coming from, that's why I couldn't focus properly. I just kept thinking about it, about them. I put everyone, Miroku, Shippo, Myoga, Kaede, Sango, and especially you, in danger today," he paused to consider his thoughts before speaking once again, "I don't know what to do, Kagome. For the first time in my life, I don't what to do. I don't know what direction to head in, what to think, I don't know any of that. I'm lost."
Inuyasha dropped down to his knees and pounded the ground with his fists in pure frustration with himself. He had never felt so weak and vulnerable in his whole life. What had forced him to become this way?
All of a sudden, he could feel Kagome wrap her arms around Inuyasha's waist. She rested her head against his chest and spoke softly to him.
"We'll figure this out, I promise you, Inuyasha. All of us, Miroku, Sango, Shippo, and myself, we all trust you. We're a team, so don't go thinking that you're going to go through this alone. We're with you all the way, and don't you forget that," smiled Kagome as she lifted her head from off of his chest.
"Kagome…" uttered Inuyasha.
At a complete loss for words, the only thing that Inuyasha could think of doing was holding onto her, never letting her go, and protecting her forever. He had always known that his friends were beside him, but he had never been told that before in actual words. Putting everything into words helped him to understand more of what Kagome was trying to tell him. Before she had come through the well, even after he had met Kikyo, he continued to have trouble trusting people, but with the likely teaming of Miroku, Sango, Shippo, and Kagome, he started to realize that they actually trusted him with their lives, as did he, in a way. He knew that they would never abandon him, even though he tried to convince himself otherwise. They were with him until the very end, he just had to get used to it.
Inuyasha, then, held onto Kagome and closed his eyes. He had never felt so close to her before. All of these unknown feelings were rushing to his head in a blur of emotions. But just then, something had ruined the moment.
"You hold Shikon Jewel shards…" came a voice from the darkness within the cave.
Letting go of each other, Inuyasha stood up in front of Kagome and held the handle of his Tetsusaiga threateningly.
"Who's there? Show yourself!" yelled Inuyasha at the dark form that was approaching them.
"I sense the sacred jewel shards," said the voice as it continued to approach, "You," it said while pointing at Kagome, "You have them."
"And that's where they're going to stay!" yelled Inuyasha warningly.
"Be careful Inuyasha," whispered Kagome.
"Inuyasha? The Inuyasha?" said the voice as it stopped in mid-step, "But you are nothing more than a mere mortal. The Inuyasha I've heard of is a powerful half-demon that yields a mighty weapon said to slay one hundred demons in a single swing."
"So, you've heard of me?" he asked, still clutching the handle of his sword.
"But you cannot possibly be the person I'm referring to, you're a mortal," laughed the figure.
"Come on out and I'll show you my real power!" screamed Inuyasha.
The figure came into the light of the cave and revealed himself to both Inuyasha and Kagome. He was a bulky, pale yellow color with fangs that reached past his lower lip. He also had a tale and mane like that of a lion and had two black stripes on either side of his face as well. It was…a demon.
"So, you're the great Inuyasha? Not much of an opponent if I do say so myself, especially considering who your father was," smiled the demon.
"How did you know my father?" growled Inuyasha.
"Yes, calm yourself my friend and I will tell you all about it," said the demon as he sat down.
"Friend? Who the hell do you think you are!" yelled Inuyasha.
"Inuyasha, calm down and hear what he has to say," hushed Kagome.
"You have quite a mouth on you young one," said the demon.
"Who asked you?" snapped Inuyasha as he sat down against his will.
"Now let's see, your father and I go way back. It all started with the great battle of the tribes. I was a part of the feline tribe, while you're father was the leader of The Great Pack that used to roam these parts. Well, my tribe always tried to pick a fight with your father, but apparently, your father wanted nothing to do with us. I had heard from a source that my younger brother had been killed by your father's hands, so I sought revenge against him. During my last battle with my tribe, I had been hit by a blast of energy and was left immobile. I thought I was going to die there, in the middle of a blood infested battlefield," the demon paused for a moment before continuing, "Then I saw your father. He looked very majestic, but at the time, I still despised him for what he had done to my brother. He walked over to me and bent to my level and, to my surprise, he started to tend to my wounds and then, without another word, took me back to the place in which he was residing. When I asked why he had done what he had done, he just responded with, 'I hate war,' and that was it."
"But didn't you ask him about your brother?" asked Kagome as she crept out from behind Inuyasha.
"Yes, of course I did. He said that he remembered my brother, but that he was already near death when he found him. He said that he buried him atop the hill that we battled on," finished the lion-demon.
"That's quite a story," said Kagome.
"Yes, it is. I remember when your father had taken me to your house, that's where I met your mother, a mortal woman. It struck me as outrageous that this leader of the pack would be wed to a mortal and then, that's where I saw you, Inuyasha. At the time, you were probably too small to remember me, but I certainly do remember you. You emanated an aura around you that was not quite human and not quite demon. It amazed me," sighed the demon.
"Well, I've never heard that story before," said Inuyasha as he started to loosen up a bit.
"I apologize for the intrusion earlier. I did not know that it was you. I apologize Miss…uh…"
"Kagome, my name's Kagome," she answered as she briskly shook his hand.
"I see you are not afraid to come near me. You must have had past experiences with demons," observed the demon as he returned her handshake.
"Yeah, I'm used to that by now. And your name was…"
"I am Yukanshu," replied the demon.
"Hmm, Yukanshu, come to think of it, that name does kind of sound familiar," thought Inuyasha out loud.
"Maybe you do remember me?" asked the demon.
"Always a possibility," nodded Inuyasha as he let go of his sword.
"Ah, the mighty Tetsusaiga I presume?" asked Yukanshu.
"Yeah, this is it all right," sighed Inuyasha as he sat down by the fire.
"May I ask if I was right in detecting jewel shards?" Yukanshu asked.
Kagome nodded her head and pulled out her necklace with the glass jar attached to the end that held her jewel shards.
"I have heard of them before, but I have never actually seen them. I here they bring amazing power to whoever holds them," said Yukanshu as he studied the shards carefully, "But how did a young girl like yourself come across such power? It is evident that you are not of our time."
"I'm from the future and was given the whole piece of the jewel shard when I was young," explained Kagome reminiscently.
Kagome then began to tell Yukanshu of their travels around the Feudal Era, Naraku, Sesshomaru, and also how she had freed Inuyasha from the tree of ages.
"And that's how we started this journey to recover the other pieces of the jewel shards," finished Kagome.
"Very interesting," nodded Yukanshu as he looked up at Inuyasha, "And I see you are very much like your father, young one. The desire to be with a mortal girl mirrors the desire your father had for your mother."
"You don't know what you're talking about!" snapped Inuyasha as he stood up and glared down at the demon.
"No, it's nothing like that at all," said Kagome gently, as she looked down at the ground solemnly.
"I see, well I apologize then," he replied as he lifted his gaze up to Kagome.
'Mortals are always easier to read. I see what's going on now,' thought the demon to himself, 'I can sense strong feelings at work here, but they seem to be the only ones who don't see it.'
"Anyway, what's a demon like you doing in a cave like this?" pondered Inuyasha as he tried to change the subject.
"I came in here to escape from the rain. As a feline, I despise the rain," answered the demon in disgust.
"Well, you're welcome to join us for dinner," smiled Kagome as she got out her instant noodle cups.
She threw one of them to Inuyasha, who eagerly grabbed it and began to gather water from outside. She tossed another one to Yukanshu, who studied it very carefully.
"Is this some sort of food item?" he asked.
"Yeah, you boil water and pour it inside the cup, and there you have it, instant ramen!" said Kagome.
Inuyasha came crawling back into the cave, shaking himself off of the excess rain water.
"Hey, Kagome, get out one of those match things," announced Inuyasha.
"All right, hold on a second," she replied as she began to fill her water jug with rain water.
As Kagome held the jug through the cave's entrance, she thought she saw a rustling in the bushes.
'Must be my imagination,' she thought to herself.
All of a sudden, she felt a sudden rush of adrenaline run through to her head. Her head started to pound and all of her senses starting running on overdrive. She quickly scanned the area of any kind of disturbance that would cause her to feel this way.
'What's this evil presence I'm sensing?'
She whipped her head around and saw that both Inuyasha and Yukanshu had sensed the same thing.
"What is it?" asked Kagome.
"Sesshomaru!" growled Inuyasha as he walked to the entrance of the cave.
Sesshomaru walked briskly out of the forest and headed straight towards the cave without a moment's hesitation. Suddenly, he broke into a run, Jaken and Rin trailing behind. Upon entering the cave, he pinned Inuyasha to the wall by his neck.
"Sesshomaru, what the hell are you doing?" yelled Inuyasha.
"L-Lord Sesshomaru, why are you bothering yourself with such riff-raff. Let me handle the half-breed, milord," bowed Jaken as he prepared his staff.
"Quiet Jaken," scolded Sesshomaru, his gaze never leaving Inuyasha's eyes.
"You felt it, didn't you?" asked Sesshomaru.
"Felt what?" asked Rin.
'He must be talking about their father,' thought Kagome.
"What is the meaning of this?" asked Yukanshu.
"Not another word if you value your life," growled Sesshomaru as he turned his attention back to Inuyasha, "The presence…"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Inuyasha replied
"Don't be foolish Inuyasha, you may be a worthless half-breed, but I know you felt it," warned Sesshomaru as he tightened his grip on his younger brother's neck.
The trees continued to sway in the distance and the wind, relentless in force, blew harshly threw the forest as a family of crows made their way to the dark night sky above. With every waking moment, Sesshomaru's patience was tried. His grip tightened and his eyes were fierce with a malice that neither Inuyasha nor Kagome had ever seen before. The tension between the two brothers was so high; it held a quiver in the night air.
"I won't ask again," spoke Sesshomaru as he breathed out.
"It was near Naraku!" Kagome blurted out, "Now put him down, Sesshomaru."
Glaring at Kagome with a look of intrigue, Sesshomaru opened his claw and dropped his younger brother on the floor with a thud. Yukanshu and Kagome ran up to the young half-demon to make sure he was okay. Inuyasha grasped his neck and attempted to catch his breath.
"Naraku, you say?" asked Sesshomaru, confusion written on his face, "And what does his involvement in this have to do with anything?"
Kagome stood up and clenched a fist as she answered Sesshomaru's question. "
"We were in battle with him…and that's when…" Kagome trailed off and reverted her glance back to Inuyasha.
"What?" asked Jaken frantically, "What happened?"
"Hmph…nothing," spat Inuyasha as he got up from his position on the floor.
Fed up with the attitude and disrespect that Sesshomaru was getting, he quickly ran up to his younger brother and let loose a relentless punch in the face, which, in turn, sent Inuyasha flying into the wall of the cave. Enraged, he got up and started to pull up his sleeves.
"Who the hell do you think you are!" yelled Inuyasha as he started towards Sesshomaru, but was abruptly stopped by Kagome. She stood in front of him, holding a five foot gap between the two brothers.
Sesshomaru, as cool and collected as could be, just smirked at his brother's misfortune.
"Let him come, I would be glad to give him an early death," scoffed Sesshomaru, "You're a disappointment to all demons, letting a human girl protect you. That may be the only thing that father and you have in common. Your weakness to be with a human girl will be your downfall."
"Shut up!" shouted Inuyasha as he pushed past Kagome.
"No Inuyasha!" warned Kagome as she caught a glimpse of Sesshomaru's sword, the almighty, but evil Toukijin, pulsating in his sheath, "Sit!"
Not being able to resist the power of the prayer beads, Inuyasha flew to the ground, face first.
"Damn this stupid thing!" muttered Inuyasha, face still firmly in the ground.
Giving a look of disgust, Sesshomaru turned his back to the young half-demon, "I leave you with this, Inuyasha; do not get involved. This will be my fight and I will be the one to kill Naraku. And it will be me who figures out why father's presence is near," finished Sesshomaru as took his leave back into the forest.
"That Sesshomaru…" growled Inuyasha as he got up from off of the ground and rubbed his face with his sleeve.
"Calm down. There's nothing you could've done," soothed Kagome as she watched Sesshomaru, Rin, and Jaken disappear into the forest from which they had come.
"And you! What the heck was that for?" asked Inuyasha, referring to the command that Kagome had given earlier.
"I did it for your own safety. You wouldn't have been able to go up against Sesshomaru now, not in your current condition at least," answered Kagome.
"She is right my friend," nodded Yukanshu.
"Who asked you?" said Inuyasha as he turned his head away in defeat.
"Why do you always have to be so stubborn?" yelled Kagome, her voice echoing throughout the cave.
"Me? Stubborn? What about you?" argued Inuyasha.
"What about me?" asked Kagome.
"You're so stubborn, you make Sesshomaru look docile!"
"Sit" yelled Kagome, and with that, the argument, that had started mere minutes ago, was over with Kagome the victor.
Yukanshu just shook his head as Kagome walked to the entrance of the cave in pure anger.
Later that night, after Kagome and Yukanshu had both gone to sleep, Inuyasha sat at the entrance to the cave, deep in thought. Thoughts of his mother and father swirled throughout his mind like a whirlwind that was out of control. Many hurtful memories of the past tried to force their way back into Inuyasha's mind, but he continued to ignore them. For the remainder of the night, he just sat there, unsure about everything around him. He was unsure about himself, his enemies, his friends…well, maybe not so much his friends.
He turned towards Kagome's sleeping figure as he thought this. The remaining fire that was helping keep the cave warm illuminated her face and made her seem to glow like an angel. He abruptly shook his head of the thought, wondering where that had come from, but he smiled at her, nonetheless. Although he didn't want to admit it, Kagome was always there for him, encouraging him in whatever he did. She had always been the one to put a smile on his face, whether she knew that or not. Throughout all the battles, she had been there, fighting alongside him, despite the danger that was always present.
'The danger…' he thought to himself.
Inuyasha knew that whatever was ahead, it would most definitely consist of some dangerous obstacles. Could he really risk her safety like that? Knowing the answer all too quickly, he shook his head. Of course her safety was a big issue, it always was, but she would never allow him to go through this alone. There was no way he'd be able to force her back through the well. But this fight…it wasn't just a physical battle they were dealing with. No, it was something much more severe than that, and Inuyasha knew it. But, he wondered, did she know it? Thinking about it made him worry even more, but what if they were underestimating the future? What if they just weren't strong enough? What if-
"Inuyasha?" came a sleepy voice from within the cave.
He turned his head to see Kagome groggily rubbing her eyes and yawning.
"What are you still doing up?" she asked, standing up and carrying her blanket to where he was seated.
"Thinking," he said simply, his gaze fixed on the horizon.
"About your parents?" she inquired. Kagome knew she was going into uncharted territory with Inuyasha's memories, but she just had to know.
He looked at her, a hint of surprise on his face.
"Don't look at me like that. How long do you think I've known you?" smiled Kagome, "I can read you like a book."
Without another word, he shifted his gaze downwards. She was right. It had been almost one year to the date when Kagome had come through the well and into his life. Since then, he could feel himself, little by little, opening up to her in a way he had never done. His emotions, his past, his feelings for Kikyo…she knew them all.
'How did I ever let that happen?' he thought as he smiled to himself.
"What's so funny?" Kagome's voice had snapped him out of his reverie.
"Nothing," he answered back, the same tone he had used before, "You should get back to sleep. We'll start off first thing tomorrow."
Kagome nodded, looking him up and down. Even though she was used to it by now, she was always amazed at the physical transformation that took place every new moon. The hair, the ears…everything was completely different, well, everything except for his personality. She knew in her heart that that would be the only thing that would never change, and for that she was grateful. It was always his personality that made her happy, it's what made her come back to the Feudal Era day after day. Sure it seemed he was tough on the outside, but on the inside, she knew, was fragile and vulnerable. He would never hurt an innocent person, despite what the neighboring villages might think of his half-demon blood.
His half-demon blood…Now that made Kagome think. He had always said that he wanted to become a fully transformed demon.
'Is that what he really wants?' she thought.
She had seen his demon side before and, to say the least, it frightened her. Once he had almost attacked her, blinded by his own desire to kill. Did he really want that? There was a time where he had considered becoming completely human, but because of Naraku's trickery, that never happened. Whatever the case, she liked him as he was, whether half-demon or human, it made no difference to her, just as long as she could continue to travel with him.
"Kagome."
Kagome turned her head at the sound of her name.
"Thank you," muttered Inuyasha.
This had caught her off guard. Why was he thanking her?
"For what?" she asked.
"For listening to me…for always being there…for everything," he whispered in a soft tone.
Kagome gave him a small, but tired looking smile and leaned her head against his shoulder. Trembling slightly, Inuyasha picked up his arm and gently put it around her shoulders.
"You're welcome…"
A/N: And that concludes Chapter 2! Please keep reviewing, thanks guys!