A/N: looking at angry reviewers nervously Ummm....I'm SO SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT! bows a couple of times I'm really sorry, but I have good reasons for the long wait! One! I just moved to.........dundundun.........university! University of Guelph to be exact, so I had to adjust to my classes for a couple of weeks. Add forth week, a week without a computer, and writer's block. Well then, we got a grumpy writer and even grumpier reviewers.
BUT NOW I'M BACK!!
Review Responses:
jammies2000: Thanks for the review. I'm glad you like my story and sorry for the long wait! I hope to hear from you again. Plus, og you so know that Kagome is going to give them a piece of her mind when she does meet up with them again.
Kawaii Houshi: ::blushes:: For real, you like my other story too! Thanks and thanks for reviewing. What of Inuyasha you ask? Well right now there are to possible outcomes for this story and I really don't know, so you'll just have to wait. Review again!
evilblackcat: Well, if you find out which episode it was tell me! Anyways thanks for the review. Yuki is going to be a very interesting character and the confrontation between him and Houjo isn't over here, in this chapter. Come on I wouldn't do that to all of you. I'm sure some of you out there would just love to hurt him, right? Review again please!
Soramiko: ::sniffsniff:: You read and reviewed all my chapters! THANK YOU so much! I know this chapter is sort of late, very late, but here you are. I hope it doesn't discourage you from reviewing, I'll try to update as fast as possible.
chrisy12: O.o!! Hurricane! Glad to know that you and your comp are okay! Anyways thanks for the review and of course Inu and Kag will meet each other or else they'll just drive everybody else crazy with their mopping! I hope to hear from you soon!
Aznish: Not write anymore you've got to be kidding me. I would never do that to my readers, to leave them hanging with an unfinished fanfic, that's just wrong. Have no fear aznish, this story will continue! (Was it just me or did I sound like a superhero! lol)
Chapter 12: Stronger
A fire burned in a small clearing. It gave heat to the figures sleeping around the fire pit and it kept the dangerous animals and demons away, not that they really needed to worry about THAT!
The reason for them to not to worry about being preyed upon was because of the red-clad hanyou that was settled on a tree above them.
Inuyasha gazed over at his sleeping companions, confirming to himself that they were all sleeping. His acute ears gave a twitch as he stretched his senses for any signs of danger. Feeling as there was nothing to be worried about, he settled himself on the tree branch with his back to the trunk.
He gave a frustrated growl as he thought of the day he had. Just that morning they had set off from Kaede's village, though the others wanted to stay and rest for a couple more days. It was only a day after.........Kagome went home. He couldn't have stayed a couple of extra days in that village, with the well so close. It was impossible! He had been grouchy and was cursing and swearing at everything around him, but that was before Sango went on her tirade of the bouzo!
Inuyasha sighed as he looked up at the stars, wondering if Kagome was looking at the stars 500 years into the future. His hand slipped under his haori, enclosing on the item he desired. He delicately took the item out and held it out in the moonlight.
It was the picture of Kagome that he had taken without her permission. The picture that showed that smile.........the smile in which she used just for him.
Looking at the picture, Inuyasha felt the tension in his muscles retreat as he continued to stare at the picture, but then again, any thoughts, sight or sound of Kagome always calmed him down.
Some would call it a curse or a gift, but Inuyasha considered it both. He hated it when she used her 'powers' on him with Kouga around. It made him all relax and not want to fight. He would usually end up cursing to the gods in his head when that happened.
Inuyasha was still gazing at the picture even though all the frustration of the day had disappeared. Now, he wasn't looking at the picture to relax, but to remember.
It was in his eyes.
His eyes held much sadness, and if one had looked into those sadness-filled eyes, they would see into his soul. They would see desperation, loneliness, and a soul torn in two.
The soul of a man who had lost his soul-mate.
That was who Inuyasha was and how he felt.
This was the Inuyasha with all his barriers down and in his most vulnerable position.
This was how he was without Kagome.
"Goodnight Kagome," He whispered to the picture before placing it back beneath his haori. He settled himself onto his branch and fell into a light sleep with thoughts that at least Kagome was safe in her time from demons.
Kagome stared out of the window in her room. The night sky glistened back at her as she leaned out of her window.
"Tomorrow.........tomorrow's the day that I start my training, Inuyasha." Kagome wistfully said as she stared at the God Tree from her position. She sighed giving the tree one more longing glance before going off to bed.
"ONEE-SAN!" A voice hollered into Kagome's ears frightening her from her sleep.
"AHHHHHHH!!" Kagome screamed as she fell off her bed, her bed sheets falling with her.
"Onee-san? Are you all right?" Souta asked his sister, trying to control his laughter. A moan was heard underneath the crumpled bed sheets as Kagome tried to untangle herself. She managed to get out and steadily glared at her snickering brother who was standing in front of her.
"Souta?" Kagome said with a creepy voice and a dangerous glint in her eyes (she had picked the voice up from all the badass demons she had encountered). Souta, catching onto his sister's strange behaviour, abruptly stopped his snickering and was slowly backing away from her.
"Come here, otouto," She whispered in a grave voice, waving him towards her. Souta shook his head before fleeing from his suddenly crazed sister.
As soon as Souta was out of sight, Kagome let her façade slip and let out a giggle.
"I guess meeting all those creepy demons did come in handy for something." Kagome laughed out as she walked to the bathroom to get ready for the day ahead.
One hour later, one could find Kagome just finishing getting ready in her room. She was dressed in a pair of track pants and a short-sleeved white tank top. She was after all going to train with Yuki. Over her tank top, she slipped on a zip-up black sweater. She took out her runners from her closet, slipped them on and went over to her dresser. She pulled her hair up in a high ponytail and the put on the necklace that she had gotten from Inuyasha for her birthday. Opening up a drawer, she took out the pouch containing the shikon shards and slipped it around her neck as well, tucking the pouch under her tank top.
After taking one look at herself in the mirror, she grabbed the piece of paper from her dresser with the address of Sesshoumaru's residence. She then descended down to the kitchen to meet her family for breakfast.
She passed the clock in the hallway and glanced at it to find out that it was already nine before shuffling into the kitchen.
As she walked into the kitchen, Souta looked up from his plate, gaping at her before averting his eyes back to his breakfast.
"Good morning!" She called out to her family. They returned the greeting as she settled herself between her father and brother. She looked over at her brother, who was trembling slightly and avoiding eye contact. She let out a giggle, making Souta look at her. He looked into her laughing face.
::Blink Blink::
Comprehension dawned upon Souta before he pointed at Kagome with an accusing look.
"You did that to scare me and to pay back for screaming into your ear." He yelled at her. Kagome carefully picked up her chopsticks before digging into her breakfast.
"I have no idea what you are talking about, Souta. You should finish up you breakfast, it's getting cold." Kagome answered in a cheery voice.
Souta just huffed as he settled back onto his chair, before crossing his arms and glaring at his breakfast, taking on a stance quite similar to his hero. Kagome picked up the stance right away and couldn't help but replace Souta with the red-clad hanyou.
She mentally sighed before going back to her breakfast.
'It's only been two days since I've last seen Inuyasha. I have to be strong! I won't be seeing him for quite some time and I can't keep getting depressed over how much I miss him. I have to get stronger for Inuyasha, I will get stronger, for Inuyasha and for myself.'
The clattering of plates broke Kagome from her thoughts as her father and brother got up from the table. Her mother and grandfather were almost finished and Kagome looked onto her plate, which was surprisingly almost empty. She quickly finished her breakfast before taking her plates and washing them.
As the last of the plates was washed, the doorbell rang. Footsteps were heard making their way to the door, so Kagome set her sight on drying the dishes. Before she could make her way to a dry towel, she heard familiar voices coming from the front door.
"KAGOME! Your friends are here!" Mr. Higurashi's voice hollered throughout the house. Kagome's eyes widened at the statement.
'Oh no! No matter how much I love my friends, I can't hang out with them today. I have to go train with Yuki.'
Her father's voice called for her again and Kagome slowly made her way to the front door.
"Hi guys!" Kagome called out to her three friends, Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi. They called out a quick greeting before Eri and Yuka grabbed Kagome and pulled her out the front door, saying farewell to Mr. Higurashi who was waving goodbye to them.
"You guys! What are you doing?" Kagome asked while being dragged by her two friends, with a patient Ayumi holding up the rear.
"Kagome, we are taking you to the mall!" Yuka told her as they made their way to the mall.
"Why?" Kagome asked, receiving a sigh from Ayumi.
"Well it's because we heard from Sakura, who heard from her boyfriend Takuya, that Houjo-kun was going to the mall today." Eri cheerfully answered. Kagome looked back at Ayumi who had an 'I'm sorry' look. Kagome gave her a reassuring smile, which Ayumi accepted.
"WAIT!" Kagome called to her two friends before planting her feet firmly in the ground, stopping her two friends.
"What is it Kagome-chan?" They asked her innocently. Kagome took a deep breath calming herself down.
"I can't come with you guys today. I'm busy doing something else." Kagome calmly answered her friends.
"What could be more important than Houjo-kun?" Eri asked.
"Kagome-chan, are you going to see that two-timing boyfriend of yours?" Yuka suspiciously asked. A pang in Kagome's heart silently responded to that question. She gently placed her right hand over her heart, as she got lost in her thoughts.
'Two-timing boyfriend? How could he be my two-timing boyfriend when he never was my boyfriend to begin with? He was.........is my best friend. But maybe, just maybe, we could be more than best friends.'
::FLASHBACK::Kagome didn't look back at them or say anything. She felt betrayed and she wanted to go home before she started to cry. She jumped into the well and took the risk of glancing back up.
There stood Inuyasha, looking at her with a look of remorse, guilt, and was that love? However, before she could question it, an intense blue light surrounded her and all she heard before she landed in her time was the faint whisper of:
"I love you........."
Kagome sat there in the well crying as what her friends had said to her ran through her head. She had never felt so betrayed in all her life. 'Was this what Inuyasha felt when Kikyo had betrayed him and sealed him on the God tree?' Kagome thought.
She didn't know how long she was in there before she calmed herself and ran through what just happened to her in her head. It wasn't until she remembered when she had jumped through the well did the strange whisper came into her mind.
".........But who said 'I love you?'" Kagome asked herself as she pondered in the well.
Darkness, only darkness could be seen and it stretched for all eternity. Kagome rocked back and forth, her knees drown up and her arms around them. Her knees muffled her face. She didn't know where she was and didn't know what to do. She had never felt this helpless before, and she gladly admitted it that she hated it. Suddenly a voice broke out through the darkness, a light was seen. Kagome didn't recognize the voice, but she felt herself being lifted out of the darkness and she was filled with warmth.
'Kagome, you can't leave me here alone.'
She was getting closer to the light.
'I love you Kagome.'
She still couldn't recognize the voice.
'You can't leave me, we still have our lives to live.'
The light's intensity increased, blinding Kagome in the process.
'Come back to me Kagome.........I love you.........'
Kagome heard this as she escaped the darkness. She was out of her a coma and now her mind waited until her body was rested to wake up. She fell asleep, the words of the strange voice she heard still going through her mind.
::END FLASHBACK::'All those voices that I heard, the voice that brought me out of the darkness, my coma, and the voice that said 'I love you' were all Inuyasha. HE had said he had loved ME, Kagome. And I love him.........'
"Kagome! Yuka to Kagome! Do you copy?" Yuka called to Kagome. She jumped as she left her thoughts and turned to her friends.
"What?" Kagome asked them. Yuka and Eri looked at one another before both pointing their finger at Kagome.
"You are going to see that two-timing boyfriend!" They shouted in unison. Ayumi gave a sigh at her eccentric friends and gave Kagome a sympathetic look. She was the only one who understood that Kagome loved Inuyasha.
"You guys, I'm not going to see my boyfriend. I actually can't go see my boyfriend, since I don't have one," Kagome calmly explained, walking in the opposite direction of the mall. However, her two friends stopped her.
"You mean you broke up with him to get together with Houjo-kun?" They asked happily. Kagome glared at them before shaking her head negative.
"That 'two-timing boyfriend' that you two like to call him is only my best friend and was never my boyfriend to begin with. He's just very protective of me because of the sicknesses that I get." 'or the fact that he loves me or that there might be a demon after me.' Kagome added in her head. Yuka and Eri had a thoughtful look upon their faces before a big smile crept over their lips.
"So that means you're still single," Eri hinted at Kagome.
"I've always been single, but that doesn't mean I want to go out with anybody," 'except Inuyasha.' She answered.
"Nonsense! Houjo-kun is waiting!" Yuka said before pulling Kagome to the mall with Eri pushing her too, all the while Ayumi just shook her head and followed them.
"Here we are!" Yuka called out as they made their way to the food court. She looked behind her to see Kagome looking at her wristwatch while biting her lower lip nervously, a giggling Eri and a worried Ayumi.
"What's wrong Ayumi?" Yuka asked her worried friend. Ayumi looked between her two friends, Eri and Yuka before turning to Kagome, who now was looking at Ayumi as well.
"I don't think we should push Kagome to see Houjo if she doesn't want to. I mean, she has already told us so many times that she doesn't like Houjo-kun and I think she was going to see a friend."
'Ayumi, always the most sensible and perceptive out of all of us,' Kagome thought as she smiled at her.
"Ayumi?" Eri and Yuka looked at one another guiltily before giving Kagome an apologetic look.
"Higurashi?" A voice rang through the food court. The four young women turned their heads to see a young man heading their way.
"Konnichiwa Houjo-kun!" Yuka and Eri called out simultaneously before sending an apologetic look at Kagome. Kagome gave them a watery smile before turning to Houjo who had made his way to them
"How are you Higurashi? How's your summer going? Have you been sick lately? Since school had let out and I started my summer job, I haven't got anytime to call and ask your grandfather." Houjo asked giving Kagome what appeared to be a charming smile.
"Ahhhh, I'm fine and I've been fine........." Kagome slowly said, trying to keep a cheerful smile.
"That's great! So if you're healthy, then how about a date tomorrow?" He asked Kagome.
'Oh great! How am I supposed to get out of this one? Kami help me!'
"Coming to the mall just to drop off Mom's broken watch to get it fix was a waste of time. I'm supposed to train Aunt Kagome today, not do errands!" Yuki mumbled as he walked passed the food court. He stuck his hands in the pockets of his black jeans. His white t-shirt made his silvery locks stand out more than usual, but luckily for him, he was wearing a baseball cap so he wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb.
As he walked past the food court, a peculiar scent tickled his nose.
"Aunt Kagome?" Yuki whispered before following where the origin started. He stopped as he saw Kagome with three other girls and a young man who appeared a couple of years younger than him.
"That's great! So if you're healthy, then how about a date tomorrow?" He heard the man ask Kagome. A strong scent of nervousness and unease oozed out of Kagome as she clearly put on her façade.
'Ha! Like that guy is ever going to get the chance to go out with Aunt Kagome. No way! Since Uncle Inuyasha isn't here, I guess I'll have to be the one who comes to the rescue. Nobody messes with anybody from our family.' Yuki thought as he growled internally.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Yuki asked as he stood in front of Kagome, blocking her from Houjo's sight. The trio of girls to the side of Kagome stared exquisitely at him for a second.
"Are you that two-timing boyfriend of Kagome's?" Eri asked.
"No Eri, it's her two-timing friend!" Yuka told her.
'Two-timing boyfriend? Two-timing friend? Uncle Inuyasha? They can't call him that!!'
"Hey don't call my uncle that!" Yuki shouted at the two girls. Kagome gave a groan as Eri and Yuki's mouths fell open at the word 'uncle'.
"Kagome? Exactly how old is your friend?" Eri asked a very stressed looking Kagome.
"Half-uncle! And he's younger than his half-brother by a lot." Kagome explained.
"Ya, my uncle is only a couple of years older than me." Yuki told them. They all gave him a wary look.
"Okay, but why did you interrupt us? Houjo-kun was just asking Kagome out, weren't you Houjo-kun?!" Yuka asked, turning to Houjo who nodded and in return turned to Kagome. Before Kagome could answer, a cold voice interrupted her.
"She can't go out with you," Yuki said in a cold and chilly voice. They all turned to Yuki who was glaring at Houjo like he wanted to gut him.
"Why not?" Houjo asked, not noticing the dangerous gleam in Yuki's eyes.
"Because you don't ask an engaged woman out, do you?"
"ENGAGED!" The trio of girls and Houjo yelled before turning to a flustered Kagome.
'Engaged? What is Yuki talking about? I'm not engaged.........wait a minute!' Kagome thought before looking at the necklace she was wearing around her neck; the one that Inuyasha had given to her. 'Yesterday.........yesterday Sesshoumaru told me that this necklace was an engagement necklace. So, I guess that would mean that I'm engaged to INUYASHA!' Kagome realized with a start. Her eyes widened and her face slowly began to turn red right to the tips of her ears. While Kagome's friends and Houjo looked upon Kagome for an answer, Yuki was having an amusing time seeing how red Kagome could get.
'Ha! She didn't even realize that she was engaged to Uncle Inuyasha when dad told her about the necklace. Now the question is does Uncle Inuyasha even know that the necklace is an engagement necklace?' He mused before a hand clutching his wrist broke him out of his thoughts. He looked up to see a very red Kagome tugging him in the direction of the nearest exit.
"Well, I gotta go now! Busy, busy, busy! Maybe I'll see you guys later, bye!" Kagome shouted as she pulled Yuki to the exit leaving her three friends and Houjo standing in the middle of the food court.
"Umm.........I think that means she is engaged." Ayumi slowly said.
"But I thought she said that they were friends." Yuka responded.
"So, you mean she was lying to us and has been going out with him?" Eri shrieked out.
"I don't know guys. Maybe Kagome had a very good reason not to tell us. Maybe they hadn't made it official so they were keeping it a secret." Ayumi explained.
"Ohhhhhhh," Eri and Yuka drew out, all the while forgetting about Houjo who was staring at the spot that Kagome had resided in with a confused look.
"I can't believe you said that!" Kagome yelled at Yuki who was grinning like a madman while they walked towards the mall's parking lot.
"It's true. Besides I know for a fact that if Uncle Inuyasha was here that he would have stopped that guy too. I learned from my dad that Uncle Inuaysha is very protective of you." Yuki responded. Kagome stopped her rant and smiled wistfully remembering memories of her and Inuyasha.
"I know, I know. Let's not worry about engagements or anything else. I need to train and become stronger." Kagome said with determination. Yuki gave a chuckle and started walking down the parking lot to where his car was.
"Well then, let's go home and we'll see what you've got Aunt Kagome!" Yuki responded before walking to his car, Kagome following with a very Inuyasha-ish smirk on her face.
A/N: O.o'' Well, it's a filler chapter, but it's better than nothing. 10 pages is a lot! Well, I hope you guys liked it.
P.S. Concerning reviews that stated if I was going to do a sequel. Well, I do have an idea for a sequel, but it'll be based on what kind of response that this story gets.
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