What? No real author's note? Well, the short version is that things are still rough here in Tessenland, but I managed to scrape together chapter 6 of Silhouette and 21 of Inuki. That's right guys and gals, if you missed it, Inuki is off hiatus. Is about damn time, too, cause I was about to just kick him in the head until he stopped twitching. Bratty little reincarnation that he is...
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. Plain and simple.
Silhouette
Chapter Six : Stretching the Gap Between Us
Once the rains had begun, it seemed that they would never end. Just downpour after downpour spilling from an endless concession of black clouds, until the little town was sick of it. On the third day of rain, Kagome couldn't wait anymore, and decided to go back into the forest.
"Do you want me to ask Kohaku to go with you?" Sango asked as the miko prepared herself to head out into the severe weather. Kagome shook her head, checking again to see if her quiver hung properly against her shoulder. She looked up at Sango.
"I should do it alone. I know Kohaku-kun wouldn't mind, but it's not really his job."
After a moment of silence, Sango asked, "Do you want me to come with you?" Kagome looked up, her expression one of mute wonder. Sango kept her jaw locked, but it was obvious she was becoming emotional.
Kagome shook her head. "No. You said it before. This is my job. I'll go see him. By myself. And I'll get the Hourglass." She smiled, looking optimistic for the first time since she had returned. "We'll go from there."
And with that, Kagome adjusted her bamboo hat, took a deep breath, and then walked out the door.
.n.
Kagome swallowed as she turned about in the forest, a vaguely perturbed frown on her face. Maybe ten or twenty minutes into the trip, a thick fog had drifted in, sinking low between the trees and sticking around for the past few hours. And while the rain was lighter than it had been this morning when she left, it was still falling.
It's not like it matters now, the miko thought, I'm soaking wet. She looked much like a wet cat, drenched from head to toe, wearing a death glare underneath frizzy hair. Her shoes were sopping wet, squishing muddy water between her toes each time she took a step, and her socks were clinging to her legs, the wetness mixing with dead leaves and small twigs until her legs were itching so badly she kept having to pause to scratch at her calves.
Underneath this annoyed, itchy exterior though, a deep worry was giving way to fear. I should've been there by now. It didn't take this long to get there when I went with Shippou-chan… Kagome turned to her left, peering through the mist in hopes she might catch a glimpse of something familiar. There was nothing but trees, and no matter where she turned, the never-ending brown and gray trunks fading into the fog was all she could see, and the eerie sound of pitter-patters against the leaves above were all she could hear.
"Oh…" The girl couldn't help but let out a small wavering breath, one hand going up to her mouth as she bit her lip. I'm lost…
What am I going to do now?
.n.
For the third time in the day, the shrill squeal of a child being manhandled broke Sango out of class; with a sigh she apologized yet again to her students and excused herself from the room. On rainy days, to prevent them catching ill, the youngest of the children were condemned to the bedroom in the back of the house, and they tended to get fussy if not harped at at least once every hour.
This time around, the twins Minoru and Satoru had stolen some thing or another from Suzuno. Misa, never the patient one, had taken the item from all three of them and refused to give it back so that she could study. Now all four of them were in the middle of the floor, pulling hair and calling names.
Sango rubbed the arch of her nose, already feeling the headache begin to pound in her temples, and wished ardently that there was another authority figure in the immediate vicinity: Kohaku or Shippou. Or their father, she thought glumly, wondering almost like an afterthought where in the world her wayward husband had wandered off to.
"Damn, it is soppy out there!" Sango looked and down the hall; like a godsend Shippou was standing in the door, shaking off the rain. Giving the twins and her eldest orders not to antagonize each other for the next ten minutes, she snatched up Suzuno and headed down the hall with the child on her hip.
"Shippou? Thank goodness you're back, I was wondering if you could help me with the children, because… I need.. to.."
Standing behind Shippou, his hair and clothes hanging drenched with the rain, his ears drooping heavily to accentuate the forlorn expression on his face, was Inuyasha.
When their eyes met, Sango stopped talking completely, one hand coming to her mouth to hide the gasp that leaked out. Inuyasha looked down at the floor and then back again, a husky half-laugh coming from his mouth. "Hey.. Sango."
"Oh, my God." The taijiya finally spoke, setting down her daughter and going to the half-demon. In a unusual display reminiscent of the close friendship they once had, she slipped her arms around his neck, sighing against his shoulder. She was both surprised and pleased when he hugged her back. After a long, silent moment she pulled away and looked him in the eye. "It's been so long. Are you okay?"
Inuyasha nodded quietly, strands of silver rustling around his face. She nodded, swallowing with relief and stepping back from him, the realization of how many years had passed not yet really sinking in. More and more, she was beginning to remember what it had been like to be with everyone, and seeing Inuyasha well made the feelings stronger. "You look different," she told him, giving him a once-over.
"So do you," he replied, "Last time we saw each other, I was the only one with silver hair." A titter ran through the class of students as Sango's face began to mutate into an expression that promised something dreadful. Shippou clapped a hand over his mouth to keep from bursting into laughter; the woman made an distinct annoyed sound and promptly erupted into a angry rant.
"You dog! It's been twenty years! Of course to you I look like an old woman. Damn you and your insane demon anti-aging!"
That garnered a sly smile from the dog, and Sango shook her head with a laugh, feeling light for the first time in days. "Would you like some tea? I'm in the middle of class, but I can put some on really quick--"
"Uh, actually Sango," Shippou interrupted, wiping tears from his eyes, "He's here to see Kagome." The light mood seemed abruptly fragile, and Sango's eyebrows knit in confusion. Eyes flitting to Inuyasha, to Shippou and then back again, she said, "But… she left."
Instantly she regretted her choice of words, because both of them went stark-white, Inuyasha seeming to shrink against the wall. "What do you mean she left!" Shippou demanded. Sango let out a little squeak of dismay, waving one hand frantically. "No she didn't leave leave, I mean she left to go see you. This morning."
A look of puzzlement crossed Shippou's face; at the door Inuyasha raised his eyes to Sango, shaking his head. The same puzzled expression reached Sango when he did. "You mean you haven't seen her at all today!" He shook his head again, and Sango went into full worry mode. "But… she's been gone for hours!"
The taijiya felt a pang of heartache, wondering if the miko had left them again, and a rising anger as that thought stewed. More than anything she felt discouraged from speaking this fear aloud; gods knew Inuyasha --all of them, really-- had been through enough of this. It must've showed on her face though, because quietly Inuyasha said, "I don't think she went home, Sango."
The ex-demon hunter caught her breath at his intuition, but she brushed it aside and went to the topic most prominent in her mind. "How do you know?"
"She left her stuff here," he said in a tone that suggested it was the most obvious thing in the world. Slightly stupefied, Sango turned to see Kagome's yellow pack still on the floor in the corner. I knew that, she told herself with mild reproach, a deep scowl forming on her lips.
"I'll go look for her," Inuyasha told them, and Shippou nodded.
"Don't you want someone to come with you?" Sango asked.
"No," Inuyasha replied, "It'll be faster if I go by myself. I'll be back in a little while." With that he turned and slipped out of the house. Sango felt her heart sink, not understanding why; she was acutely aware she was wringing her hands.
"Will he be okay by himself?"
"Sure, Inuyasha knows those woods like the back of his hand."
Sango looked out the corner of her eye at the kit when he answered. "You know that's not what I meant." Shippou crossed his arms, looking down at his foster mother through deep auburn bangs. His eyes took on a neutrality that she no longer consciously acknowledged; it was such a cold look and so unlike the child he'd once been but after twenty years, it was just Shippou.
"He wasn't okay three nights ago. I mean.. really not okay. He was acting the way he was when she first left. This whole thing is just really fucked up." He looked back out the door, towards the forest where Inuyasha had disappeared into the fog. Sango lowered her eyes to the ground, sighing. I wonder if what I told her was right… Is this even going to work? Those two being together again…?
"But," Shippou said, interrupting her thoughts, "that aside, I think he'll be okay… He proved something to me the other night, something I'd always thought but never been sure of."
"What?"
Shippou looked at Sango with a sad smile, locking eyes with hers. "He still loves her."
.n.
"HELLLLLLO?"
Kagome dropped her hands, looking around in the fog with a whimper. Her voice was scratchy from the screaming, but she couldn't help but continue with the hope that someone who knew how to get out of this labyrinth of trees could find where the hell she was and possibly, just maybe, get her back out.
"ANYONE? CAN ANYBODY HEAR ME!"
The only reply she received was the continued rhythm of raindrops on the canopy above, an endless cacophony of a sound that reminded her of steaks sizzling on a grill. Somewhere in the distance, twigs cracked, and Kagome felt a rush of fear. Against her will, her bottom lip began to quiver, and within a few moments her vision was blurry and hot.
I'm alone. I'm out here by myself and I'm lost and no one's going to come get me. Why would they? I'm not doing anything here but causing everyone trouble. With a sniffle she slumped to the ground, not caring that the wet ground was soaking into her skirt and that she was covered in mud. She just sat, holding her head in her hands and crying, the tears burning down clammy, cold skin.
I want to go home. I want to see Inuyasha. I want to have dinner at Kaede-obaachan's house and laugh at Shippou-chan's jokes about Miroku-sama getting slapped again by Sango-chan. I want to sit outside with Inuyasha and look at the stars.
"I miss him so much…" she sobbed, "Inuyasha, where are you?"
"Kagome!"
She gasped, the sound wet and hoarse as she sat up sharply, looking in the direction the voice was coming from. It was faint, in the distance, and all she could see was fog. For a moment, she thought she had imagined it. Until again, louder, she heard, "Kagome! Where are you?"
He came for me…
"Inuyasha, I'm here!" she hollered, standing up with a rush of adrenaline, not really sure what direction to project her voice and certainly not allowing relief to flood yet. She kept turning, looking about for any sign he was close, other than his voice which had quieted.
Then, through the fog, a thick red shadow faded into existence, slowly emerging into something that resembled human. She looked up at him as the fog cleared completely, leaving a thoroughly soaked, blank faced adult hanyou staring her in the face. She let out a deep breath she hadn't known she was holding, dismayed by the wavering, weak sound it made as she exhaled.
For a long time neither of them said anything, and the only sounds was the rain, the wind, an occasional wet bird chirping angrily at his drenched situation. Kagome couldn't look at him, afraid to see again what she saw in his eyes three days ago. The hate, the pain, the unbearable expression of vulnerability.
Finally, he spoke. "Let's get out of this rain before you get sick."
Something broke inside of her, and relief poured in buckets through her system. Kagome sobbed once and went quiet, nodding at him through tears and sobs too thick to speak through. Inuyasha just stood there, his hair clinging to his face and shoulders, face giving nothing away. When she had finally regained enough control to speak, she replied,
"Okay."
.n.
The cave was pitch dark as they slipped into it, even though it was mid-afternoon. The rain had lightened to a drizzle now, but the clouds hung low in the sky, shading away the sun. Without a word to her, Inuyasha pulled back the vines covering the entrance and receded into the darkness. Kagome stood at the entrance for a moment, wary that someone or something else was in the cave. It was in the open, an easy target for a bandit or a youkai to claim as its own, and it was so dark inside that if anything was in there, she would never know until it was on her.
"Inuyasha...?"
Scrrrap! Quite suddenly she heard a noise like rocks scraping together, and at the end of the cave she saw a small fire build. Reassured that Inuyasha hadn't been mauled to death by... whatever, she entered the cave and followed tentatively.
He was kneeling by the patch of ground covered with soot and blackened rocks, two or three logs on top of the slowly growing flame. Kagome paused behind him, unsure of what he wanted her to do. After a moment he gestured towards his bed. "Take off those wet clothes, and get under the covers."
She perked for a moment, not at all liking the idea of taking her clothes off in front of him, and outright shocked and outraged he even had the gall to ask. "Hey--"
"Just do it, Kagome, and don't fucking argue. Or get sick and die, like I give a damn." He looked up at her, his eyes glowing a deep yellow, his glare made evermore fierce by that fact. She felt the anger wither as quickly as it had appeared, and then nodded, removing her quiver and bamboo hat.
Then, with a blush as red as the tie on her school blouse, she pulled it up and over her head. Her skirt was next, socks and shoes slipped off and set near her quiver, and before Inuyasha had time to look up, she darted underneath the covers and pulled them up over her head.
"Are you done yet?" the hanyou asked, and she cleared her throat. "Yes."
He glanced up at her, and at the sight of Kagome, the covers pulled all the way up to her face until all he could see was a mop of black hair and a bright red blush underneath, raised his eyebrows.
"You're as ridiculous as ever," he remarked sharply, and Kagome scowled. "You're as uncouth as ever!"
"Keh," he replied, removing his fire-rat robe and arranging it on the line over the fire with Kagome's uniform. For a little while, nothing more was said; Inuyasha settled by the fire and stared at it. Kagome watched him, studying his features in an attempt to understand what he was thinking. But then, I never could when he was my age, I don't think I could now.
She sat up, wrapping one of the lighter furs around her, and slid off the bed, kneeling in front of the flames across from him. He followed her with his eyes, never moving or speaking, until she had sat down.
"Shippou said you had wanted something from me."
"Yes. What did you do with the hourglass?"
"Hourglass?" The hanyou tested the foreign word, confusion distorting his face for a moment. Kagome shook her head. "I mean, the sand bottle. Miroku-sama said it couldn't be destroyed and so they gave it to you to protect..."
"Yeah. The thing had so much jyaki that he had to seal it before I could take it. Even then, it was pretty hard on me," he replied, and for a moment Kagome wondered what he meant. Three seconds later it hit her. He's half-demon. If the jyaki was that strong, it would've corrupted him. He would've transformed into a full demon.
"So, you got rid of it?"
Inuyasha nodded, and Kagome bit her lip, contemplating the next move. I thought this was an open and shut deal. Inuyasha had it, I got it, we dealt with it. But now what? She frowned, leaning forward on her knees and gazing blindly into the fire. The flames crackled and popped, but she hardly heard it as she allowed herself to fall deep into thought.
"Oh..." It suddenly came to her that she was jumping ahead of herself, and she looked back up at Inuyasha. "What did you do with it?"
"Gave it to Myouga-jijii," he replied, "He said he knew a place to seal it permanently."
Kagome's eyes lit up. "You still see him sometimes, right?"
"Every now and then."
Kagome clenched her fists in a drastically sedated victory pose, mentally cheering for her good fortune. Things were finally beginning to look up, and she could only smile fondly at the thought of returning to her own normal time.
Across the fire, Inuyasha watched her silently.
Kagome was in her own happy fantasy of returning home, before this awful nightmare of an adventure had begun, when she suddenly heard him ask softly,
"Why did you come back?"
It stunned her momentarily. Then Kagome raised her eyes to his, and cringed inwardly. It was there again, those eyes wrought with emotions that she dreaded. She swallowed past it and rearranged the fur around her shoulders. "I never left."
"Bullshit. I waited for you. I waited for you for two fucking years, and you never came back!"
"I'm telling you, I never left. I went home for three days to take a test and when I came back, this was what I came home to!" Kagome grit her teeth. "Why won't you believe me! Do you really think I would leave you? After everything we had been through together? After I fell in l..."
She stopped short, biting back the words and shocked that she had been about to tell him that. I can't say that. What good would it do now to tell him I love him?
Inuyasha gave her an uncertain half-glance and then looked down, his arms half-folded in his lap, a depressed scowl on his face. Kagome hung her head, licking her lips. They were dry. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed the journal, carved into the wall. She smiled, genuinely happy with the thought of him writing down their adventures, of remembering the things they had done. Of course, it's not like I was written in, she thought miserably, recalling the niche with Tessaiga, and her molested name carving.
"I thought I would never see you again."
His voice was so soft, almost non-existent. She turned back to him, eyes wide. He was... talking, and to her. About his feelings. She had to practically haul him around by his ears before he would talk to her about how he felt about things, and that was when he was normal.
This Inuyasha, whom would be expected to stare holes into her face and grunt if asked any questions, much less speak first, was talking to her willingly.
"I was never sure how I would feel if you came back, but now I am." He looked up, his expression unsure despite what he was saying. "I have to tell you something. I've been waiting for a long time for the chance, but now that you're here..."
"Inuyasha..."
The expression changed suddenly, hardening into an icy glare. "I didn't want you to ever come back. I wish you hadn't."
Kagome felt the stab deep in her chest, and she bit her lip, killing the quiver before it got too far. Inuyasha stood up and went to the wall, settling down again and folding his arms. "Go to sleep. It's late and the rain probably won't stop until tomorrow. We'll head back then."
Kagome nodded, even though she knew he was no longer paying her any mind. She stood, crawling back up onto the bed and settling in, the previously happy thoughts replaced by those of worry and hurt.
Cheer up, Kagome. I'll always be with you, after all.
Kagome sighed, her feelings mixed as she remembered those words and the sound of his voice as he'd spoken them to her. The scent of his hair, the warmth of his back as he carried her through the streets from the school to her house.
I want that back. She opened her eyes, the dark brown orbs centering on Inuyasha, who was already sleeping. I'll get it back.
…To be continued
a/n : Meh. Not much to say about this one.
Thank yous! Because I love you guys!
Valdimarian (Awh, she's no Deus. ..Okay, so maybe she is. ;) Randomly flipping in and out of time and all. Muaha. I think its funny she reminds you of Shampoo, especially since I've never seen Ranma before. Wouldn't really have anything to base it on. )
Terrasina Dragonwagon (First: I love the name. So cute! Second: thanks for reviewing; I wanna hug Inuyasha too. Poor thing. The torture I put him and the others through!)
enriya (Thanks for the concern about my mom ;) And thanks for reviewing.)
Ryuu no Taiyo (:puts trampoline under the window: Jump away. As long as you dont die or get seriously injured, have a field day. ;)
Black Betty (Trying to update as quickly as I can! ;)
Damian 2.0 (Thank you much.)
sesshoumaru's-hot-date (You mean there wasn't already conflict between Kohaku and Misa? I must not be doing a good job. ;)
PadFootCc (Thank you! Making people cry is part of my job description, good to know I'm fulfilling it. ;)
priestessmykala (Thanks!)
jgirl79 (Thank you, thank you, J-chan! ;) It's always nice to get a review, and your comments always make me all "yay!" As for my deviantart, thank you again. I do what I can. ;)
SuicidelFreak (Thank you for the offer of cookies! ;) And I'm glad you like the story. Thanks for reviewing!)
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merkal (Thanks for reviewing!)
Kokoro-and-Rei (Thank you so very much for your prayers. And for your review; I am truly glad you love the story. ;)
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Tarinyo's Forest (Wow. Thank you so much for the compliment.)
I hope I didn't forget anybody:embarrassed: If I did, much apologies, and... and cookies! Cookies solve everything, right? ;p And I know it's been awhile since I updated, but if you guys aren't too pissed off, leave me a little review, okay? They make me oh-so happy.
;p
.Tessen.