Chapter 21: Back to the Castle

Soon after the pair starts out, they come upon a clearing where the horse they had started their journey on is grazing. Inuyasha gives Kagome an 'I told you so' look which she pointedly ignores while getting off his back and jumping on the horse's. Inuyasha gets on behind her and they're off again, the world silent except for the wind and the beating of the horse's hoofs.

After a while Kagome closes her eyes and leans back, safe in the knowledge that Inuyasha wouldn't let her fall. She thinks back over recent events, 'Today we got run out of town, yesterday I yelled at the village, the night before that Inuyasha and Koga fought, that day we came to the village and before that he saved me from being killed. Day before that I tried to be a hero and earlier we left the castle and met that creepy monkey dude.' She shudders slightly at the thought of the man before continuing, 'And the night before that was the blue moon. Let's see...that's one, two...wow, only five days?' She glances up at the half-demon who was behind her, 'Who knew a week could change the way you see the world?'

With that thought she leans back and closes her eyes, letting the steady sound of hooves on ground lull her to sleep, unconsciously snuggling up to him, who in turn blushes slightly. As they ride, the silver-haired prince takes the time to think, 'I wonder who the shape-shifter that masqueraded as Sesshomaru was, and thinking along a similar subject, how did Koga get that demonic power, and how did he get rid of it so quickly? I doubt a dope like that is literate, so it couldn't have been some kind of incantation from a book. Grr...well, no use wondering about it when I have nothing more to go on. It's all behind us anyways...' he looks down at the sleeping girl that is pressed against him, and his expression noticeably softens, 'Kagome...she gave up everything, her home, her town, her friends...why? Was it just so she could be with me?' he shakes his head, 'No, that can't be it. Her life was perfect before I came into it, with the exception of that idiot Koga. Why would she give it up for a life of near-servitude? I don't get it.' He moves an arm so that he can move a stray strand of hair from her face before replacing his hand on the reins, thinking 'I just don't get you Kagome.' while urging the horse faster.

The wind whispers past him as does a memory that seems age-old now, Kagome's smiling face as she says in his mind's ear "Inuyasha, would you like to be my friend?" as well as the memory of her laughter, which he'd heard for the first time not long after that. 'She wanted me as a friend. After all I put her through. Why? And why does it matter to me so much?'

They continue until around noon, when Inuyasha stops in a clearing and they have a short lunch with food he found hidden nearby. He lets the horse graze and water itself at the nearby stream as he and his traveling companion eat in peace. After that they get on again and start off, feeling refreshed. Not long after they start out Inuyasha looks down at her and mentions offhandedly, "We're making really good time. With any luck we'll be able to get back to the castle tonight."

Kagome smiles, "That's great. I'm sure the others are worried about us. Shippo is driving Miroku and Sango up the wall." She laughs a little. "Well I'll just make it up to them by keeping him out of their hair for a couple of days with stories from our adventure."

Inuyasha raises an eyebrow, "Excluding a few of the beginning parts, right?" he says more as a statement then a question.

Kagome nods, "Oh but of course. Shippo doesn't like anything outside of action-packed stories or ones that make him laugh, so I'm sure I can think of more then enough to suffice without going to the things that really wouldn't interest him anyways." With that she leans back a little, smiling slightly when she feels him shift a bit uncomfortably.

Hours pass unnoticeably for the duo, the sun sinking lower and lower in the sky, gradually being covered by clouds that look heavy with precipitation of some sort. Inuyasha looks up at the clouds warily, 'I really hope we reach the castle before the sun sets, and before these clouds decide to break. I'll be fine, but Kagome's just a girl.' He quickly changes the thought though. There was no way that Kagome could ever be described as 'just' a girl. Still, he hopes for the best, seeing as Kagome had slipped back into a slumber and if the clouds didn't hold then she'd be getting a very rude awakening.

The horse seems to know that a storm is coming as it seems to try to go even faster, racing towards its warm awaiting stable. Finally, as the dusk lights turn the clouds a dazzling display of reds, oranges and pinks, Inuyasha's horse crest a large hill and, in the near distance, his castle is visible. Almost as soon as he sets eyes on it, the clouds let loose all at once and the downpour comes, waking Kagome with a yelp. "Damn!" Inuyasha mutters before quickly taking off his red haori and wrapping it around her, muttering something along the lines of "I don't need a sick girl with a runny nose to take care of." before urging the horse forward again.

As they ride, he keeps his back to the wind, leaning slightly over Kagome, 'Come on, come on. Let's get there already. I may be hanyou, but I dislike being cold and wet as much as the next person.'

They finally reach the gates to the castle, which swing open quickly enough so that the horse doesn't even have to stop or slow down. Once they get close enough to see that the servants were waiting excitedly in one of the main windows, Inuyasha slips his coat off of her and back onto him, muttering, "Not...a...word."

To which Kagome just smiles before looking back to the castle and the awaiting forms, a strange yet calming feeling filling her as her heart finally accepts something that she realizes it hadn't in all the time she'd spent there in the months before. 'I'm home. This castle, this place is my home now.' she smiles as she whispers under her breath, so softly even the nearby half-demon's ears don't pick it up over the rain, "You know, it's not that bad."

A.N. Alright, they're back at the castle! Now for more Miroku/Sango/Shippo/any other household items/Inu character I can think of to incorporate lol. Oh yeah, wow, I have 99 reviews! That's almost 100! I never imagined that this would be that popular! I just want to take a second a second to thank all of the reviewers that have supported me! Alright, I'm out of stuff to say lol, so now onto Reviewer Replies!

Inuyashasonly1- Lol, yeah, I could see his face too. When the idea popped into my head it was just to comical not to put in, and it's not like it didn't serve a purpose lol. I'll be updating probably around every other night now, I think that works best.

Copperline Kitty- Actually, I've read your story, it's pretty good, I just have a bad habit of not reviewing. Eh heh, oops /sweatdrops/ I really mean too usually, but it just kinda, slips my mind. I'll try to get better about it. Anyways, I'm honored that you asked me for help and I'll do whatever I can to help you get over your writer's block. I look forward to your next chapter.

RebelWriter- Glad I was able to brighten your day lol. Thanks for the heads-up, sorry I haven't read it yet, I've been hard pressed to read much of anything on the site the last couple of days. I'm also glad that I've given you a bit more hope for the human race lol. The way I see it, there are a lot of good people in the world; we just ignore them because we're so worried about fixing the problematic ones. And so, being ignored, some of them decide, 'why bother?' It's really pretty sad. Oh well, I guess you can't really do anything about anyone but yourself. I'll continue to update as quickly as possible.

Neko-Yuff16- Thanks! I'll update asap! Promise!

ChibiSess- I'm not real sure what'll happen to him in the end. All I know is that he has a LOT more pain headed his way.

RoseMaiden- I hope your computer is fixed soon. Lol, don't worry, I don't plan on getting writer's block anytime soon lol.

Kikile- Yessir! Er...ma'am...umm...yeah...will do. Lol.

Alright, that's all for now! R&R please!