Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha . . .
ROCK ON!!!
Inuyasha padded down the stairs, his stomach rumbling. Time for a midnight snack, he thought happily.
He snuck down the dark hallway, his heightened sight showing him the way to the kitchen without any light. Ramen sounds god right about now . . .
The hanyou turned the corner, about to rush to the fridge when he ran into something soft. "Oof!"
He jumped back, startled. Did the wall just talk?
"I'm not a wall, boy! Now help me off this floor!"
Inuyasha rolled his eyes when he realized it was old-man Higurashi he had run into. He helped the man up before feeling his hand against the wall for the light switch.
"What are you doing in the dark in this hour?" the hanyou grumbled, pulling him up into a chair. Seiji winced as the bright light blinded him temporarily. "I could say the same for you, Inuyasha."
The dog demon blushed, turning his face away. "I couldn't sleep, so I thought a midnight snack would calm me down." The old man grunted as he hoisted himself up in the seat, reaching across the table for the quart of ice cream he 'snuck' out.
"Are you sure you should be eating that?" Inuyasha raised an eyebrow.
"And vhy vot?" Seiji retorted, his mouth full of rocky road super creamy ice cream.
"Isn't that a little bad for your health? Eating ice cream in the middle of the night?"
"Hmph." The older man swallowed the contents in his mouth, shaking his silver spoon at his face. "I am not sickly, boy, and for your information, I have been eating ice cream every night for 20 years."
Inuyasha's eye twitched. "Every night? What does your wife say when she sees you're not in bed?"
Seiji's sweat dropped. "Um . . . maybe not every night . . . more like . . . when she's out of town?"
Shaking his head, the hanyou went over to the cupboard to fish out a cup of instant ramen. He pulled open the wrapper with a flick of his claws and poured water into it before setting it in the microwave.
"Did you just have that for dinner?" the old man inquired, licking the utensil.
"Ramen makes the world go round," Inuyasha said happily, his eyes glazing over with delight as the smell of ramen wafted into the kitchen.
The old man chuckled, leaning back into his seat. He was about to plunge his spoon into the ice cream once more when he stopped in midair. "By the way, what did you and Kagome do today?"
Inuyasha's eyes went wide, his eye beginning to twitch. Seiji watched as the hanyou with his back turned tensed, his fists clenching and unclenching. "Inuyasha?"
A BEEP filled the air as the microwave announced that Inuyasha's food was done. Quickly grabbing the tasty food, Inuyasha pulled a couple of chopsticks from the drawer before sitting down beside the old man.
"Oh, you know . . . she went to class, then to her archery lesson, then to the mall with Sango and Miroku . . ."
Seiji glanced at him sideways. "I see; and the day went well? No unwelcomed guests popping in front of my granddaughter's face?"
The hanyou shifted slightly in his seat, staring at his steaming noodles. "Inuyasha?"
"A wolf named Kouga approached her in the mall," he replied grimly, swirling the contents of his food around in the cup. He winced as he heard the spoon clatter on the table and the chair scrape across the floor as Seiji stood.
"What?!" he roared, his face turning red.
In a flash, Inuyasha quickly clamped his mouth over with his clawed hand, looking around. "Be quiet, old man!" he hissed. "Do you want to wake up the entire household, including Kagome? She'll never forgive us if she knew we were meeting secretly behind her back!"
The man in his grasp slowly grew limp, and slid back into his seat with Inuyasha's help. The hanyou sighed, taking a swig of the hot soup.
"Did she tell you about him?" Seiji asked softly, pushing away the ice cream. He rubbed his forehead in worry.
Inuyasha nodded. He told him about the little rendevous they had, and Kagome's reaction. He quietly explained that he was worried for the young woman, and how he took her to the beach to clear her mind, and how she tearfully explained her encounter with Kouga in the past, which happened to lead into the frightening event.
"And that is all? She didn't tell you anything else?"
The dog demon shook his head, inclining his head to take a bite of ramen.
Seiji let out a slow sigh, before leaning back into his seat and closing his eyes. "Then she has told you as much Sango and I know."
Inuyasha tore himself away from his food. "Really?"
Mr. Higurashi nodded. "That was about as far as she explained to the both of us. Any time we tried to press further, she completely broke down into sobs."
"Well you gotta let her talk on her own!" Inuyasha snapped, glaring at the old man. "You can't expect her to spill everything when you tell her to; apparently she's been traumatized!"
Seiji was startled at the younger man's reaction, turning his eyes to the growling hanyou. After a moment, he chuckled. "You care for her, don't you?"
The hanyou gaped. "What are you talking about?"
"You're defending her. I believe over the past few hours my granddaughter has softened your heart," he said, a twinkle in his eye. "Remember, Inuyasha, I hired a body guard, not a boyfriend."
Inuyasha turned a faint red before looking down at his ramen. "Don't be senile old man," he grunted. "She doesn't let a man get anywhere within 5 feet of her."
"That maybe so, but I can't say the same for a certain hanyou."
The dog demon turned redder, before downing his ramen in one gulp as a means of escape. "Go to bed; apparently all that ice cream is going to your head."
Seiji shook his head before smiling sadly. "I trust you, Inuyasha. I want you to help her. My granddaughter's state a few years back made my heart break. She's alive when she's around you, even though she did come back a bit exhausted today."
Inuyasha stood at the sink, dropping his chopsticks in. He turned and walked past the old man and the table, but paused at the doorway. "Get some sleep," he grumbled, before disappearing.
Mr. Higurashi leaned back into his seat. He'll realize soon enough . . .
Inuyasha stomped up the stairs, half furious and half dazed. He couldn't believe that Seiji was trying to set him up with his granddaughter! The nerve of that old man . . . didn't he see that Kagome was still hurting? What was wrong with him?
He shook his head, passing the many portraits as he stumbled up the steps. Then again, why was he feeling like this? Why did he feel the need to protect her from anything and anyone?
I must be taking this body guard job thing too seriously, he thought reaching the top of the landing and walking down the hallway. He walked past five doors and opened the sixth, stepping inside. He leaned against the door, taking a deep breath and closing eyes. Stupid wench . . . so helpless and broken . . .
The hanyou walked across the room when he heard a whimpering sound. He turned, his gaze falling on the bathroom door. Kagome?
He opened the door, and crossing the bathroom, put his ear against the door connecting to the heiress' room. At first it was silent, before another whimper came to his ears, followed by a "Stop!"
Alarmed, Inuyasha opened the door to her bedroom, expecting to find an intruder molesting her. His eyes went immediately to her figure on the bed, and stared at what he saw.
Kagome's body was bathed in a strange, white light. She was tossing and turning, her hair drenched with sweat, her face showing pure terror. "Please, stop!"
Inuyasha rushed over to the bedside. She was still asleep, her eyes closed shut as she continued her cries of help. The hanyou frowned, considering whether or not to shake her awake. I've never encountered anything like this . . .
With another cry of help and a tear falling down her slumbering face, he decided to wake her. He grabbed her by the shoulders, slowly shaking her. "Kagome! Wake up!"
What happened next caught Inuyasha by surprise. As he made contact with the young woman, her eyes snapped open, her eyes dull and unseeing. The dog demon tried to jump back but looking down, saw his own body drenched with the white light that covered her.
His body froze as he saw darkness, before a scene flash before him. It was Kagome, cowering beside a bush, her face bloody and cut. He saw her left arm hang limply by her side, her eyes wide with fear. Inuyasha's eyes widened, wondering what in the world where was he. As he looked closer at Kagome's face, he noticed that it wasn't the same woman he had seen earlier that day.
She was younger.
Inuyasha gasped as he realized that he was in Kagome's thoughts. I must be in her dream . . . and this must be the night . . .He heard noise behind him, and as he turned around, a figure jumped out of the trees behind him. From the looks of his body structure, it was a man.
"Who are you?" Inuyasha demanded, taking a step closer. But the scene slowly faded away and he was back in Kagome's bedroom, still holding onto her shoulders.
The hanyou, startled, pushed the young woman away as he stumbled back. Kagome, who had been 'asleep' for the whole time, slowly stirred from her slumber. "Inuyasha?" she slurred, her voice heavy. "Whaat's wrrong?"
Inuyasha stared at her. She seemed back to normal, save for the sweat covering her body. "Uh, nothing," he said gruffly, straightening himself. "You had a bad nightmare and were yelling in your sleep."
Kagome stared at him, before nodding dumbly. "Oh."
"Go back to sleep," he gruffed, walking over to the bed and tucking her in. "The old man said you have a busy day tomorrow."
The young miko sighed, before responding with a soft "yeah" and drifting back to sleep.
Inuyasha backed away from the bed, and rushed back into his room. He closed the door behind him and sank into the carpeted floor.
What the hell was that?
AU: dun dun dun! Inuyasha saw a glimpse of the past . . . literally. What in the world happened? What was the strange white light? strange yet exciting, ne?
thanks for all the reviews!
ugh, school is starting again tomorrow . . . you know, I didn't even get to enjoy my weekend on a count of the moutain of homework they piled on us . . . three papers, a whole mess of worksheets, a reading assignment, algebra, a poster thingy for chemistry . . .ack! I'm using my breaks to work on my stories . . . so I'm sorry if the chapters arent' really as good as the ones before . . . I'll try to update as much as I can . . .
stay tuned!