Reaching for the Stars

'Thoughts'

"Speech"

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha


She looked into his piercing golden eyes and focused in on what he was saying.

"Do you, Kagome, take me InuYasha, to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, to honor and cherish, through sickness and in health, till death do we part?" Kagome gave InuYasha the once-over to decide the answer. He was tall for his age, only three years older than her, had silver, straight hair that hung down in his face, and was as thin as a rail. He was lean and gangly, but all-in-all a good-looking man, in Kagome's opinion. Ever since she had first met him, when she was just born, he had always been nice enough to her, although he loved to tease her. Right now as she was contemplating her answer, his lovely gold eyes were twinkling merrily.

He knew she was wise beyond her years and always thought carefully about everything before she agreed to anything. He thought this was a great quality in a wife, as were all of her other personality traits as well. Her short, shoulder-length raven hair framed and partially covered half of her face. Inu smiled and reached out to push her hair behind her ears, revealing her extraordinary face. She was chewing on her lower lip, as was her custom when she was thinking. Inu wasn't worried about her answer, because he knew what her ultimate decision would be. He knew how to get her to agree quickly, if need be, but with a decision this important he wanted her to take her time. While he was waiting for her answer, he was happy just staring at her face.

She still had some baby-fat, but she was absurdly pretty, especially considering her attitude. She was as stubborn as a mule sometimes and usually got her way. But by no means was she cruel or cold-hearted. Quite the opposite, in fact, she was very loving and kind, with a sarcastic sense of humor that he both enjoyed and possessed. Whenever they came across an injured animal, she never gave up until they were nursed back to health. Quite surprisingly, she had never lost one, even in her early years. Inu was forced to burry more than a few dead animals they stumbled across while Kag said the last rights. She always cried, but calmed herself by saying that they were in a better place.

Kag hoped Inu wouldn't mind her taking so long to answer. Deep down in her heart she knew he'd understand. He always did. Whenever she was with him, she felt safe and loved. He understood her better than anybody else. She knew it was time to answer. Just as she was about to open her mouth, she was interrupted.

InuYasha cupped her chin in his hand and raised her face so that they were looking at each other. She held his gaze. He was lost in the heavenly universe of those twin blue-gray eyes. He couldn't help but be happy. He smiled, a wide smile revealing straight, pearly-white teeth. She smiled back, a smile of some missing, but still white, teeth. InuYasha was jerked back into the present suddenly.

"I do." His heart soared, he couldn't help it. Even though he was expecting this answer, he was still ridiculously happy. Now they would be together forever, and they would live happily and have lots of kids and- he was cut out of his pleasant daydream by Kagome. "Do you, InuYasha, take me, Kagome, to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, to honor and cherish, in sickness and in health, till death to we part?" She gave him a knowing look that said, 'you didn't think I'd let you off that easily, did you?' He replied without hesitating.

"I do." He then continued on with the ceremony. "I now pronounce us man and wife. I may kiss the bride." Which he promptly did, and which is also how their parents found them five seconds later.

Lady Higurashi and Lady Mori walked down the corridor to the children's playroom. They were chatting about the future happily.

"If the children will wait until they come of age, they can wed and live quite happily. Your daughter seemed to be absolutely charmed by my son," Lady Mori exclaimed.

"Your son seems quite smitten with my daughter," Lady Higurashi countered. They laughed and heard the children talking in the playroom. The Higurashi's and the Mori's were two wealthy families with titles, and had lived next door to each other since the birth of young InuYasha. Both families had only one child and were lords. They were good friends and hoped that their children would wed when they came of age. Until then, they hoped that the young lovers would keep their hands off each other. The talking in the playroom stopped just as the Ladies reached the door.

"Odd," Lady Mori commented. They pushed open the door and were shocked at what they saw.

Lady Mori rushed to grab InuYasha and Lady Higurashi did the same with Kagome. They pulled them apart from their clumsy kiss. Lady Mori took a look at both of them dressed improperly in their best clothing, took a guess at what had happened, and groaned. She addressed her son.

"Inu, explain yourself, and I hope for your sake that you did not just hold a wedding ceremony!" At the guilty look on her son's face, she groaned again. "Oh, Inu, please tell me you didn't!" InuYasha stared down at the floor and began to shuffle his feet. "But you know the law! If both of you say you're man and wife, then you're legally married!" InuYasha looked up hopefully.

"I know! That's why I did it!" Kagome looked confused, but Lady Mori couldn't blame her. She looked up, concerned, and asked,

"What's wrong, Mrs. Mori? Did we do something that we weren't supposed to?" Mrs. Mori softened and gently said,

"Kag, honey, I'm sure you didn't know what you were getting into. I don't blame you." She marveled at the child's wide-eyed innocence. She had been sheltered all of her life and wasn't aware of what had just happened. She spun around to her son.

"Now you, on the other hand, should know better! InuYasha, you're nine years old! You shouldn't take advantage of Kagome and convince her to marry you! You…you…you are in a lot of trouble, young man! Go to your room!"

"But mom!"

"No buts about it!" He walked dejectedly out the door and left his fuming mother to clean up his mess.

"We need to talk," Mrs. Mori said as calmly as possible to Mrs. Higurashi.

"Go home, Kagome. I'll talk to you later," her mother gently pushed her towards the door.

"Okay, mommy," the bewildered child said. She walked down the corridor and out of sight.

"What are we going to do?" asked the frantic Lady Mori.

Kagome did not go home, as her mother told her to. Instead, she went to InuYasha's room to get a better grasp on understanding what had just occurred. She reached the door and did something she usually didn't; she knocked.

"Come in," InuYasha mournfully replied, expecting it to be his mother or father. When he saw who it was, he was shocked. "Kagome!" he cried happily, "but how did you get here? I thought they'd never let you see me again!"

Kagome put a finger against his lips to stop the constant flow of words. "Shh…I'm supposed to be at home, but I need to talk to you. Did we do something bad?" asked the innocent six-year-old. "No," Yasha said, pilling her onto his bed with him. "Everything's going to be okay. I promise." She laid her head on his stomach and he tried to soothe her. Eventually, they both fell into a peaceful and contented sleep, trying to stay together for as long as possible.

Mrs. Mori and Mrs. Higurashi had decided the best course of action and discussed it with their husbands. Upon hearing of what their children had done, they readily agreed to the drastic changes they were going to have to undergo. The ladies were headed first to tell InuYasha, who could hopefully explain it to Kagome. When they opened his door, they found both of the children fast asleep. Lady Higurashi sighed.

"I feel sorry for them, but this is the best thing we can do in this situation." Upon hearing a voice, InuYasha woke up.

"Please don't wake Kagome," he requested quietly. The mothers agreed, but still talked softly to the guilty boy.

"Inu, you shouldn't have done that," his mother began. "Now we've decided what's best for your future, and we don't think you're going to like it." Lady Higurashi continued, seeing how much this was breaking her heart.

"You, your mother, and your father are going to move somewhere far away from here. You and Kagome will not be allowed to see each other anymore. We will see to that." She paused when she saw InuYasha's heartbroken expression. He wanted to protest, but was afraid of waking little Kagome up. 'Too bad this had to happen…he always was a sweet kid. He would have made a perfect husband for self-less Kag.'

"You cannot contact each other in any way, shape, or form. Just forget about Kagome, get married to a nice girl when you come of age, and live happily. We will find her a suitable husband. Do not worry about her. She will be well off. She is still young. Forget about your marriage; it never happened. Nobody besides us knows about it, and it will be our little secret. Kagome will be told to forget about it, and you, but God knows that she can be obstinate when she wants to be. Just forget about her. Someone will come along who will interest you far more than little Kag. This is just puppy love, not the real deal." She took a deep breath.

"Never." His mother looked over at him. Seeing Lady Higurashi was a little short of breath after her lengthy speech, she decided to speak.

"I beg your pardon?" The indignant child spoke as softly as ever, but his voice carried throughout the room and his words rang in their ears long after he was finished speaking.

"You can tell me to forget about Kagome, but your words are useless. Save your breath," he said, indicating to Lady Higurashi. "This is the real deal. I will wait for her until the end of time. I will not let her get married to anybody else either! You can separate us, but no matter what you say or do we will find each other again. True love knows no boundaries! We'll see each other again, and that's a promise!" Both mothers stood astounded. The ferocity in his voice told them that he meant business; he was determined. The Ladies did the only thing they could do in this situation: they left the room. Kagome opened her eyes, showing that she not only heard but understood the conversation.

"Do you really promise?"

"Of course I do! I'd do anything for you! Will you wait for me?" She gazed at him sleepily.

"Are you kidding? You must be stupid if you think I'd do anything else." With that being said, she promptly went back to sleep.

On moving day, the children were in their secret meeting place: a small clearing in the woods behind their houses.

"Kag, run away with me! We can be happy! You and me, together, with no one in our way!" She sighed.

"It's not that easy. We're too young." He knew exactly what she meant.

"Here, take this." He gave her a plain ring. It was silver and much too big for her, but carved on the inside of the band was the inscription 'Till the end of time.'

"Oh, it's beautiful!" She put it, ironically, on her left ring finger.

"Do you promise to wait for me?" he asked for the millionth time. In reply to this, she raised her hands, grabbed his head, and gave him another clumsy kiss. 'Well,' he thought, 'she always was a forward girl…' Their lips parted for the last time in a long while.

"InuYasha, it's time to go!" InuYasha and Kagome left the forest together, hand-in-hand. Just as they reached the edge of the woods, Kagome stopped InuYasha.

"What is it?" She was staring down at her hand and twisting the ring on her finger, a habit she used when she was nervous. She looked up and met his gaze.

"Are you sure you won't forget me? Are you sure you won't forget to come back?" she asked in a small voice with tears spilling out of her eyes. He wiped away her tears and made sure he spoke in a clear voice.

"I won't." And with that, they raced back to their parents.

It was a tearful parting, and both parties were sad. Finally, the Mori's got into their car and drove away, waving until they were out of sight. That day was etched into Kagome's memory. She distinctly remembered seeing InuYasha's normally happy eyes filled with sadness.

"There goes my husband," she monotoned, looking at the road long after the dust quit stirring.


First chapter. Sorry if any odd names randomly pop up...I wrote this as an original fic before I decided to turn it into a fanfic.

Kaa-san