Chapter 32: Aftereffects of the Fight
Slowly his eyes blink open and he is temporarily blinded by light that streams into the room, "Huh? Wha…?" he mumbles confusedly, his mind still jumbled from sleep.
"Hey there," a soft, familiar voice coos "you're finally awake. Welcome back to the realm of the living."
He simply groans, "Uhh…Ka…Kagome?"
Finally she comes into focus, smiling softly as she sits on the edge of the bed he'd been sleeping in, "I'm right here, don't worry, okay? Everything is alright now, you don't need to be afraid. Kouga's gone, I promise."
As his eyes finally lock onto her, they tear up "Kagome!" he calls before launching himself into her chest.
She seems surprised at first, but then comfortingly wraps her arms around him, "Hey, shh…it's alright, everything's fine. Hey now, come on, where's the big strong man of the house I'm always hearing about, huh?"
He smiles slightly, getting control of himself and leaning back a bit, "Oh Kagome, I thought for a minute there that I was never going to see you again!"
She chuckles "Never see me again? Honestly, you should know by now that I'm not that easy to get rid of." She says, ruffling his hair a bit, "But really, you don't have anything to worry about, you're safe here Souta."
"Safe…here…" He looks around, for the first time realizing that he doesn't recognize his surroundings, "Where are we Kagome?" he asks, slightly frightened at the prospect of the new environment.
She simply smiles, "We're at Inuyasha's place. After the fight, it was clear that you weren't safe staying in the village, so we brought you and Grandpa back here."
He could tell she was holding something back, but decides to leave it for another time to go after what he sees as even more exciting information. "We're really in Inuyasha's castle! Where is he? Is he alright? Ah man, I missed the fight didn't I? Did he kick the crap out of Kouga? He did, didn't he? He's so cool there's no way he lost to a wimp like Kouga!"
Kagome can't help but laugh at her little brother's rapid-fire questioning, "Hold on for a moment Souta, not so many questions at once. Yes, we're at Inuyasha's, he's resting right now as far as I know, he's fine, just a little wiped out with a few minor wounds, and yes, he most definitely kicked the crap out of Kouga." She seems a bit sadder then she should at this last piece of information, but he doesn't even realize it as he jumps out of the bed and rushes out of the room, intent on finding his hero, and completely forgetting that he had no way of knowing where anything in the place is.
He's not three feet away from the door when he trips over something, falling forward suddenly so that his hands barely have time to brace him against the floor. After he recovers from the shock he turns to see what tripped him up, only to see what looked like a very old candlestick slowly picking itself up and dusting itself off. Needless to say, he gives a yelp of surprise.
The yelp seems to bring him to the attention of the possessed candlestick as it looks to him and smiles, "Ah! You must be Lady Kagome's younger brother, Master Souta. It's good to see that you're up and about young Master."
Despite the friendly demeanor of the animated candlestick, he's still a bit frightened, and so he calls for his sister "Ka…Kagome!"
Quickly she makes an appearance, "It's okay Souta, really, it's alright. This is Miroku, he's one of the head servants here. He won't hurt you, he was just being friendly."
Souta looks at the candlestick a bit suspiciously, who tries to put on his best, most charming smile, "You're sure?"
Kagome nods, "Positive."
Souta sighs, "Alright, if you say so. So," he says, his one-track mind reminding him what he'd rushed out of the room for in the first place, "where's Inuyasha, huh?" His eyes lit up like the Christmas tree that was still up downstairs in the main hall.
Kagome bites her lip, looking a bit hesitant, before saying "I bet after what you went through you're really hungry. Miroku, would you please take him down to the kitchen, Grandpa's already in there."
Miroku bows, "But of course Lady Kagome." Before leading the protesting youth towards the stairs.
Once they're out of sight she sighs heavily, letting her shoulders sag and a frown to cross her face. She couldn't allow Souta to see Inuyasha, not in his present condition. She walks quietly towards the hanyou's room, silently opening the door before slipping inside. When she turns to look at his bed she has to keep from bursting out into tears. It had been a full two days since the fight, and still the wound that Kouga had dealt him hadn't completely healed, not to mention that he was still suffering from blood loss.
He lays there, prone, unmoving and mostly covered in layer upon layer of bandages, even as she walks over to the side of the bed and sits down lightly. She pushes some of his unruly bangs out of the way, letting her hand travel down his furred cheek before coming to rest on his rosary, which she had given him such a short time before now. "Oh Inuyasha, please wake up. I don't think I could bear it if you don't." She whispers quietly before breaking down, crying her heart out there on his still shoulder, her sobs heard only by the walls, but the sorrow echoed in some small part by all those in the castle that know of the Prince's condition.
A.N. Sorry this took a bit longer to get out, had a very slight case of writer's block added with the lazies striking once again. Poor Kagome, so sad! I would've ended this happier, but it was just one of those things, the chapter screamed for me to stop there. To be perfectly honest, I have no clue what the next chapter is going to be like, so I guess that puts us in the same boat lol! Now, onto Reviewer Replies!
Rebel Writer- Lol, I can't wait for Kouga to get what's coming to him either. Thanks for the compliments, I'll continue to do my best!
RoseMaiden- Lol, sorry to disappoint you, but no Kouga or Naraku in this chappie. Thank you for the compliments, I'm glad you enjoyed it.
glenlightarrow- Thanks for the compliments, I'm happy that you find it so worthwhile. I will continue to update as quickly as possible.
silveryuki06- Thank you very much and I'll do my best to update as soon as possible. A bit of fluff there at the end, sad, but a tad fluffy nonetheless, and don't worry, there's plenty of fluff and romance to come, I didn't place this under the romance category for nothing you know!
Neko-Yuff16- Inu-chan's demon side is cute…well there's a comment I've never heard before lol. I guess I did make it kinda cute though, didn't I? I'll continue updating as quickly as I can, though the lazies have been pretty nasty here lately. But I'll do my best to fend them off, you guys are the reason I write, and I'd not want to disappoint you lol.
animekat- Lol, thanks for the review. Don't worry, I know how it is (I read fanfics when I'm in my computer class too.) Yeah, the gentle side of his demon blood was pretty easy to like.
kool-kcc- Lol, thank you very much for the compliments. I'll continue updating as quickly as my inspiration allows me to. I hope you continue enjoying it as much as you obviously have been lol.
Kiara-Star- Well, technically Kouga's pretty much Naraku's lackey, but it doesn't really matter, yeah their working together. Yeah, I almost felt sorry for the idiot myself, I probably would've, if I wasn't having such a ball writing it lol. Thank you very much and I'll continue updating as quickly as I possibly can.
galaxy guardian- Bloopers eh? Interesting. No, sorry, I've never seen Pretear, so I can't really read any of the fanfics. As for the blue moon, full demon, 'his female' thing, yeah, I was pretty much thinking of doing that. On a regular, day-to-day basis Inuyasha may act slightly different towards Kagome now, but nowhere near as protective as his full-demon form does. Thank you for the compliments and I promise to update asap.
Ameku Kanitsuki- Thanks for giving me your thoughts on that subject and for the compliments.
MeMe- Thanks, yeah Inu-chan's great. Thanks for the compliment, but really, the story writes itself out, I guess I kinda just provide the medium so that it can get itself onto the comp. and ultimately, to you guys lol. I'm glad I was able to make your day a bit brighter, I'll put up my next chappie just as soon as I can get it written.
ThatOneNerd- Thanks, that's what I was going for really. Yes he most definitely is, and we wouldn't have it any other way.
Ame-sama- Really? Well I'm just glad that you've been reviewing lol. No problem on the cussing thing, cursing isn't something that comes naturally to me, so it's not that hard to pull off. Yeah, that's pretty much what goes through a dog's brain, at least, that's what I think lol. And don't worry, I don't write stuff like that, and I don't plan on starting anytime soon.
Inu Youkai Gurl- Thank you once again for the compliments. Good luck on your story, all I can give as advice is that if you get frustrated with it, do one of two things, do something else for a while, then come back to it, or just sit down and start writing. Let the ideas just flow, don't try to direct them or anything, just let them flow. You might end up with rubbish, you might end up with something entirely different, or you might come out with a new chappie. You won't know until you try, but hey, you never know until you try, and it's not like you have anything to lose lol.
Kylria- Lol, sorry, but chappies have to end somewhere. I'll continue to update as quickly as I can, promise.
NewSalemWitch- Alright, I'm gonna combine all your reviews into one, just cause it's simpler that way. First off, don't worry about not reviewing for a while, I'm just glad you found time to now. Also, thank you for comments, I'm always happy to hear of ways that I can improve on my style. I can sympathize with your schoolwork plight as well, being in school can suck, big time. I'm glad you're feeling better though, even if it means that you have a pile of homework to get through lol. Yeah, Kagome had been planning on staying the whole fight, but after seeing her family, it kinda took precedence over seeing the whole fight. Besides, I think she realized that the best thing she could do for Inu-chan was stay out of the way. Yeah, 'Inuyasha loves Kagome' is really fun to say.
Icantspell22- Yeah, Koga is really annoying. Well, now you know what she meant, and she has a point. The village isn't exactly the safest of places. I promise to update as quickly as possible.
anglgurlseara- I plan on continuing this for as long as the story is not complete, I'm not sure what you mean by sending it to you, but it's always here on the site for you to find. Thank you for the compliments.