After the Battle.
Disclaimer: Don't own it.
Author's Note: Hi everyone, if there are still any readers after all the pain and suffering I must have caused you by not updating sooner... Ahem. Sorry it took so long, I've been really busy. School is starting up soon, August 22nd for me. That's like in two weeks! Gah! I've got English homework that needs doing! X.X That's why I've reached a painful but good at the same time decision. I'll be putting After the Battle, along with a few of my other stories, on a quick hiatus until I can get everything sorted out and promise regular updates. I hope you don't all hate me, I promise you these stories will be so much better and well thought out once I get myself together.
Just so you know, not ALL of my stories will be dead; I'll still be updating Fame and In Memory. The stories I'm putting on hiatus are After the Battle chapter 19, Not Pretty Enough chapter 13, Queen Nobody chapter 5 and the rest of those stories I have floating around that I haven't updated in a little less than a year. I hope you don't hate me forever, and I promise I may sneak a little update in every once in a while. I guess you can expect this to be over (for some of the stories) around the beginning or middle of September. My email is if you want to yell, curse, complain, whine, cheer, or argue at me and the reviews don't give you enough room... Ehehe. I also am on my screen name is strawberrychansansan. On with the show!
Chapter 19. (Or is it 20?)
"Hiroki. Answer me." Kikyou's eyes were flashing, a sure sign of the danger he was in. Usually her eyes were blank, and that suited him just fine.
"Hiroki. Why haven't you been around? Where have you been going?" She asked once again. Hiroki beamed up at her from his sitting position on a large moss covered rock.
"Well, are you going to answer me or not?"
He could tell he was testing her limits. Her usually expressionless face now had pink splotches on each cheek and she looked as if she was biting her lip.
"You really shouldn't worry. You'll get wrinkles or something." He said simply, the smile still stretched good-naturedly across his face. He saw her raise her hand to strike him and he easily blocked it.
"Insolent child. That is no way to talk to you master. I've fed you, clothed you, done everything for you. You should be grateful to me."
"And yet you still won't throw me from the village." He said pleasantly, ignoring the fury in Kikyou's black eyes. He liked how this was going. It usually took him a few days to work up Kikyou like this, and he wasn't going to say no to an opportunity to be thrown from the village for a few days. Quite simply, he hated it. Even though many of the inhabitants were young, beautiful women they were all the same to him. Quiet, intelligent, and plotting. None of them ever smiled very much, and they were always hard at work. He cherished the days when he was send on missions to the future or when he was booted for bad behavior.
The girls outside of his village were so... interesting. He couldn't explain it. Especially that one girl who said she was from the future... Kei. She had been in his thoughts for some time now, and it was her that was getting him in so much trouble from Kikyou. He was supposed to be helping her out, not flouncing around after some new attraction. He couldn't help himself. He assumed he was rather lecherous, but didn't really mind all too much. Whatever got him to the next sunrise.
"Hiroki, you will not be thrown from this village permanently, at least while I'm still here. I know you'd enjoy it too much." Kikyou said dully, her eyes never losing their electricity.
"You know me too well, old woman." He said teasingly, smiling at the way Kikyou opened her mouth, and then quickly shut it.
"Hiroki, just get out of my sight."
Finally, an order he was happy to obey.
"Yes ma'am!" He said sternly, and turned around, running off into the foliage.
"Stay in the village!" She heard him shouting behind him.
"Whatever you say!" He called back before bolting down the path that led to his little hut. Solitude at last. He needed some time to think about what he was going to have to do about Kei. Her parents would obviously be ticked. It wasn't as if he could help who his father was. It wasn't like he was in contact with Jyn-Xian any longer, and his mother was some nobody human. Even he didn't know who she really was, though some days he sort of wished that he had someone close to him. Anyone would do, really.
Kei was asleep at the time when Hiroki was being reprimanded for seeing her, but that didn't stop her from thinking of him. Her dreams were particularly sweet and peppered with happy thoughts of his bright hair and cheery smile. She awoke early with the rest of her company, both family and family friends. Inuyasha was looking grumpy and agitated and Kagome looked like she had been yelling recently.
"Morning..." she said awkwardly, walking closer to the little cooking fire they had for preparing breakfast. She wasn't too sure if Sango was still pissed off at her, and she never had seen Inuyasha's reaction. He had known Hiroki was sneaking around near her though, due to their midnight encounter. He hadn't acted angry then...
The only thing that really freaked her out about Hiroki was his ability to go back in the well. As far as she knew, her mother and her were the only other people able to do that. What if there was some weird loop in the system that allowed anyone who tried to go back? She decided that asking a few questions couldn't hurt.
"Hey Mom?" She asked, after confirming her mother wasn't going to jump over and bite off her head. She did look quite angry at the moment.
"Kei-chan, I don't think this is the time..." Her mother growled in response, narrowing her eyes at a certain hanyou.
"It will only take a few seconds..." She said, shooting a nervous look at the glare Inuyasha was giving her mother.
"Fine. Shoot."
"It's about the bone-eater's well. Why are you able to get through?"
"Miko powers from being the reincarnation of Kikyou, Kei. You're able to get through because you have my blood."
"What about Inuyasha?"
"He had a strong bond with Kikyou."
"Kikyou is able to get through?"
"She was until she started using souls from other people. They polluted her 'crunchy miko center'. Let Inuyasha tell you about how lovely it is. He knows." Her mother was clearly becoming annoyed by the questions as Kei could clearly tell. Her last comment left Inuyasha blushing and Kei decided she had no desire to find out what that was all about.
"One last question... Is anyone else able to get through?"
"No, Kei. Don't be stupid. They'd have to be directly related to me or Inuyasha, so that's just you, me, and him."
"Thanks Mom, bye!" Kei called, and after grabbing a bit of toast she walked to the edge of the clearing, listening as Kagome and Inuyasha began to argue about something or another.
"Stupid wench!"
"Dirty dog!"
"Ugly frog!"
"Bastard mutt!"
"Filthy human!"
"FLEA BITTEN HALFBREED!" Her mother's final cry sent the large birds from a nearby tree scattering in the air, making the sky go momentarily black from all their wings. Sango and Miroku were both covering their daughter's ears and looking at each other with their eyebrows raised.
"That's something I didn't miss about her." Kei heard Sango comment to Miroku, and they shared a smile.
Kei spent the rest of the afternoon lounging in the sunshine, occasionally watching after Sango's children when she disappeared with Miroku. Sango was grateful for her caring after the girls and she wasn't acting all that angry with her any longer. Maybe Kagome had talked to her later that night or something, but for whatever reason she was actually beginning to enjoy talking to Sango.
"So, how did you meet Miroku?" She asked finally when Miroku was busy running around after little Yumi, laughing just as loudly as the child. Sango watched them circling a few times until she finally answered.
"We were introduced on our quest after the sacred jewel. He was always after me... but he was after almost every girl at that time too, so I guess I didn't really think of his advances as serious. He was a complete pervert and even a jerk sometimes..." She paused, and again her gaze landed on her husband, who was now being tackled by the girls and tickled.
"He had a wind scar on his hand. He inherited it from his father, and it would have eventually sucked him in and killed him if he didn't defeat Naraku. He was always so strong about it even though I could tell it was really worrying him." Sango gazed at the sky, and let out a long sigh.
"I hope I'm not boring you with my life story or anything."
"Nope, not at all." Kei said quite honestly. It was interesting to see how these two people met, although kind of odd because even though they were from so long in the past they still acted like people in her times. "How did you actually become a couple?"
At this question, Sango began to blush, and a slightly lopsided grin appeared on her face.
"Well... It was one of the days after your mother left. A few years to be exact. Inuyasha had left for his little hideaway from life on the edge of the forest, leaving me alone in the village with Miroku, Kaede, and Shippou.
"Who is Shippou?" Asked Kei curiously. Sango's eyes lit up momentarily, and she looked surprised.
"You mean you don't know about Shippou?" She asked, smiling again. "Shippou was a little fox kit that was orphaned and we took care of him while he was younger. He's grown pretty big now, and come to think of it, I haven't seen him in a while. I know where he's staying though, and I'm sure Kagome would love to see him. Inuyasha and Kagome are starting to get at each other's throats like old times, so I'm sure the distraction would be welcomed." Sango laughed at this last part, although Kei didn't really find it all too funny.
"They always used to fight? Were they ever really close? The way they were yelling it sounded as if they hated each other..." Kei said quietly, finally voicing her fears to someone. She was actually wondering if Inuyasha and Kagome should have met again and if they even enjoyed each other's company. Sango didn't seem to realize she was being serious and laughed again.
"Are you kidding me? Your mother and your father are so much in love it's scary. Instead of showing their affection the way normal people do they tend to attack each other verbally and fight about everything. Sometimes it gets annoying, but hey, you're here. That proves they must love each other to some extent." Sango winked, and then cringed. "That was a pretty bad joke to say to you, considering you're their daughter, wasn't it?"
Kei nodded slowly, but a smile covered her momentarily disgusted expression.
"So we're going to visit Shippou today?"
"Let me run the idea by Inuyasha, I know Kagome will be positively thrilled." Sango said, and then got up.
"You'll tell me the story of you and Miroku some other day, won't you?" Kei asked, following her back to where everyone else was. Miroku was currently on his back and being jumped on by little girls. Sango nodded before running and pulling them off, again winking at Kei.
"I was wondering when you'd come to rescue me..." Kei heard Miroku say, laughing, to Sango.
Maybe she had misjudged Sango, because she sure wasn't fitting into the cruel, heartless monster slot she had originally put her in...
Author's Note: Okay, I was just thinking, and I think I might add another update before the hiatus if I get a good amount of reviews motivating me because I have some pretty good ideas for next chapter. So review or wait until September, which ever.
Oh, and while I think of it, I've been reading some pretty good stories on lately, and here are a few of them that I can remember off the top of my head.
Once in a Leap Year by Princess Kitten1 (I'm not too sure about the author's name, sorry!) It's about Inuyasha's half moon time falling on a leap year, so he stays human for a year and has to stay with Kagome! It's got humor, drama, suspense, angst, and a very, very, very sad twist. You'll love it. Believe me.
The World Through the Eyes of a Basket Case (From the Breakfast Club, if any of you have seen that movie)
The Inuyasha fic by SpiffySquee. I can't remember the title, but the story ownz! The Kenshin one is cool too. So is the Breakfast Club one. Basically, SpiffySquee just ownz. She's one of my good friends, so if you review her harass her into updating.
If you are a fan of Secret Window, check out Fractured Secrets by Neon Daisies. It is worth your time. Every time. :D
And, if you like Johnny Depp, Johnny Survivor is pretty sweet.
Our House by CrazyOldWoman. It's hilarious and enjoyable for those of us with a twisted sense of humor. If you're anything like me you'll be rolling on the ground laughing until you barf. It's fun.
I'm always looking for new stories to read too, so if you have read any good ones or know of some, I'm ready to take 'em on. w00t.