A/N: I've been so tired lately, that I almost forget to update periodically. But I never try to totally forget totally about this, thank goodness.
I'm also getting plotline ideas together for later stories. I know for a fact that there is a really long Inu/Kag (as always) fic I am planning for the summer, and there is also the possibility of another based off an episode in the sixth season.
I'll keep you posted as this fic comes to a close.
Chapter 16: Falling
"Kagome…" Inuyasha murmured sweetly, his face smiling as he gently beckoned her towards him. "I love you…"
"Inuyasha!" she responded floating into his embrace, his hands collecting her in a fierce hug, while his fingers ran through her black hair. A laugh escaped her, at finally being in the arms of her beloved.
"Kagome," he whispered one more time, his amber eyes sparkling in the depth of his love, before he gracefully bent her backward in a deep kiss. Fire coursed through their veins, while the kiss became more passionate, neither of them wanting to let go.
Their clothes seemed to melt away, nothing between them as they fell through the clouds…drowning in the desire they had for one another…
Inuyasha whispered her name one more time in her ear, his voice changed into that of a man satisfied. Looking down at her, a smile once more blossomed on his face, and he told her once more, "I love you…so much…" before capturing her lips in a kiss.
Kagome wrapped her arms around his head, pulling him closer into the kiss, not wanting him to let go. But suddenly, he pulled away, gasping as he twitched in inner pain.
Concerned, Kagome asked, "Inuyasha? What is it?"
Before she had a chance to react, he turned around sharply, his face changed back to his youkai one, with the purple stripes and scarlet eyes, growling at her. He pinned her down, and not letting her scream, he plunged his fangs into her neck, his eyes lighting up in delight as he heard her shriek with pain.
"No…" she whispered, as Inuyasha continued to bite her, her eyes swirling with pain, knowing he had bitten in to the fatal artery. "I'm not going to die…"
Feeling the familiar strength within her, rebelling against the pain as blood drained dangerously from her, she looked back at youkai Inuyasha with anger in her eyes, lifting her hands. "I'm not going to die!" she screamed, pink light erupting from her open palms.
Yelping with pain, her lover staggered back, the pink light absorbing him. Watching in terror as the purification powers entered into his body, ejecting his soul, Kagome desperately tried to get to him, crawling while her face turned pale.
"Inu…yasha…" she coughed, droplets of blood dripping from her mouth as she reached a shaky hand towards him. "Inuyasha!"
Finally, he stopped rolling around in pain, and looked back at her as she crawled slowly towards him, and to her surprise, he was back to being a hanyou. "Kagome…" he whispered, with a smile on his face. "I love you."
A grin blossomed on her face as well, against the tears that had recently been shed. "Inuyasha!" she cried, reaching him and grabbing for his hand.
But the instant she grabbed his hand, his face changed. The hanyou she loved turned into a skull's image, the empty eye sockets glaring while the jaw was fixed in a mocking grin. Dropping his hand in surprise, screaming, she fell back, she looked on it in terror.
"Who murdered me, Kagome?" an eerie voice said, from the space itself. Glancing around, Kagome gasped in terror as she saw his amber eyes, seemingly glaring from the darkness, looking straight back at her. "Who was the one that killed me?"
Grasping the wound on her neck, feeling blood pool in her hand, she cried, "I didn't mean to, Inuyasha! I didn't…didn't…"
Her strength left her; she had lost too much blood, and wouldn't last much longer. She fell on to the ground, blood forming a halo around her as she fell, landing hard on the ground. The last thing she saw as her vision went black was those empty eye sockets, grinning at her like an image from hell—
"Kagome, Kagome!"
A voice woke Kagome from her scary dream. Gasping, she shot up from her desk, where she had previously been sleeping. "Kagome-chan," Eri said, once she was awake. "You have to wake up. The bell just rang."
Rubbing her tired eyes as she glanced over at the clock, she saw that it was indeed time to go. Normally, she would have internally whooped for joy at the day being over, but after that dream, she didn't want to whoop for anything.
It's just like the one's I've been having…she thought. Only, it was so much worse…Clamping her eyes shut, trying to rid herself of the memory, she asked, When will I stop having these dreams?
"Kagome, are you all right?" Yuka asked, once they were out of the classroom. "You seemed like you were having a nightmare, you started twitching and muttering about something you 'didn't' do."
Thinking fast, Kagome explained with a fake laugh, "Oh, its nothing to worry about. It's just a side effect of the new back pain medicine I'm on!"
"Speaking of your back," Ayumi asked, "Do you think you'd be able to sit through a movie? While you were sleeping, Eri-chan, Yuka-chan, and I decided to go to the movies after school today."
Smoothing her blue skirt, Kagome replied, "I think I'd be able to manage." As they continued walking, and talking about the movie, Kagome took her eyes away from where she was going to rub a kink out of her back, only to bump into someone she wasn't exactly thrilled to see.
When she looked back to apologize, she was met with a smiling face to her surprise. "Higurashi!" Houjou said, smiling. "You're at school today. Is your back pain better?"
"Uhh…yeah." She replied, feeling a tad bit amused knowing that after all the feigned illnesses she had over the past year; this was the only excuse that she had used that was real.
Seeing opportunity, Yuka and Eri jumped on it. "Houjou-kun!" they practically squealed. "We're going to the movies today, want to come? Kagome might need someone to help her with her back."
Staring, Kagome decided to stop it before it got out of hand. "Really, you guys, you don't need to worry about me that much, I'm fine."
"It's no trouble, Higurashi." Houjou told her. "I've actually looked up how to give massages when I heard of your back pain, so I can help you if you need it."
"But…I…" How was she supposed to tell him and her friends she didn't really want this because she didn't like him, and the fact that she wasn't ready to get close to another boy so soon…not when she was still trying to figure out how to deal with Inuyasha and the curse and everything else on the other side of the well.
I don't have to worry about that today. She reminded herself. I go back tomorrow. Maybe I can enjoy myself for one day…and maybe being with Houjou would be nice…
I wouldn't have the dreams I get when I think about Inuyasha…
She sighed, "I guess." Hearing the slight squeals of her friends as she accepted. "But we're all going in a group…I…I don't want to spoil their plans."
"Fine with me." Houjou said with a smile, offering to carry her backpack.
She declined, the painful memory of a familiar memory offering her that several times cropping up in her mind. "Let me just call Mama first."
Inuyasha was in the living room, playing with Buyo, when he heard Kagome's mother answer the phone. Curious, he flicked a silver dog's ear towards the kitchen, picking up the sound.
"Hello?...Oh, Kagome, what is it?…Are you sure?...Well, I wanted to let you know, Inuyasha-kun came—It's all right, Kagome, he's not coming to take you back right now…He just wanted to talk to you…What for?...Oh…So, how long are you going to be gone?...Okay…Yes, I'll make sure Inuyasha-kun stays in the house, (a growl escaped the hanyou at that) …and I'll remind him that you'll sit him to the ends of the earth if he goes outside without his hat (more growling)…Okay, Kagome, be back soon, have a good time."
A second after Inuyasha heard the phone hang up, Mrs. Higurashi appeared in the living room. "Kagome's going to a movie with her friends." She announced. "She'll be back in a couple of hours, so don't worry."
Nodding the hanyou didn't let on that he was furious inside. Some friends? What about me? I know about those giggly, annoying friends of hers, and now she's out around people, where some guy could— He didn't realize that a fire of anger had sparked in his eyes, but Kagome's mother had.
"Inuyasha-kun, you could go pick her up, once the movie's over, if you want." She said, hoping it would raise the hanyou's spirits.
To her surprise, it did, the anger seemed to die from his eyes as he thought it over. Saying nothing, he turned back to Buyo, but with the determination in his eyes, she knew he would do it. The thought of how protective Inuyasha was brought a smile to her face, and she left the room, leaving a very confused hanyou behind.
"What did you think of the movie, Kagome-chan?" Eri asked her, as they left the theater.
Kagome rolled her eyes. The movie was some lame action/romance story, based in this fantasy land filled with monsters and other things out to get them. It was obviously made with a low budget, and several time she felt the urge to mutter about how she had seem more realistic looking youkai in the Sengoku Jidai rather than the computer graphics on screen everyone seemed to squeal about. If it hadn't been for the generic guy-gets-girl ending, I would have hated the entire thing. "It was really dumb." She replied. "You knew from the first minute that the knight would get the queen."
"But it was so romantic!" Ayumi defended dreamily, her eyes glossing over like they always did at any mention of romance. "I mean, that time where she said they could never be together because he was beneath her had me in tears!"
"Everything in that movie had you in tears, Ayumi-chan." Yuka teased. "I saw you crying during the sword fight."
Houjou, who was walking next to Kagome piped up, "I thought it was good, for an American movie. No matter what happened between them, the knight kept trying to win the queen's heart….He just never gave up." Kagome noticed his subtle glance at her when he said that, but it also caused her to remember someone else who never gave up no matter what obstacle was placed between them.
A silver-haired someone else…
Kagome felt a twinge of pain in her back, and stopped with a slight gasp to rub it. Houjou was by her side in an instant. "Higurashi, are you all right? Where does it hurt?"
Trying to shrug him off, she replied, "I'm fine, Houjou-kun. I get small bouts of pain all the time, don't worry about it."
But he was already trying to give her a massage. "It's okay, I can help." Kagome had no choice but to sigh and let him do it, unable to deny that it was helping, a bit. But…she couldn't help but think, The only one who really knew how to take away the pain was…
Suddenly, she heard Houjou gasp and step back. "Higurashi! What happened?" Her three friends crowded around, and Kagome turned and saw that her shirt had shifted…exposing a small part of the scar on her left shoulder.
In an instant, she covered it back up with her blue uniform. "Oh, it's nothing!" she thought fast. "Just…a scar from when I was younger! A, uh…dog scratched me when I was 5, don't worry about it!"
"Higurashi, it was bright red." Houjou said. "Is it hurting you? I might have to take a look at it—"
Suddenly, there was a loud growl, causing everyone to glance around, before Inuyasha jumped down from where he had been on the rooftop in front of Kagome, his arms out in a protective stance. The stupid baseball cap sat on his head proudly, like it always did when he left the house in her time. "Don't you touch her." Inuyasha growled in a warning.
"Inuyasha, what are you…?" Kagome asked, too shocked to finish her sentence.
Houjou could only stare. An unusual boy dressed in strange clothes had just jumped down from above and was now protecting Kagome, and Kagome seemed to know him. What was going on?
"That's Kagome's boyfriend!" Ayumi said in an excited whisper, causing Houjou to take his eyes off Kagome and look back at her three squealing friends. Did they just say boyfriend?
By the time he looked back at Inuyasha, Kagome was glaring at him. "What are you doing here?" she muttered. "I thought I told Mama to tell you to stay home."
Giving her an equal glare, he replied, "She said she wanted me to come pick you up. I promised her—"
"I don't care what you promised her!" Kagome snapped, her dark eyes holding a threat of 'sit' in them. "I told you to stay home, because I knew what trouble you'd cause—"
Unable to stand it any longer, Inuyasha grabbed her by the arm, and dragged her into an alleyway while her friends were still talking about him without noticing their fight, where they wouldn't be heard.
However, Houjou saw Inuyasha drag Kagome away against her will, and didn't like it one bit. Her friends had said that Inuyasha was her boyfriend, and yet he was treating her like dirt! Feeling the unfamiliar sensation of anger filling him up, he turned back to the girls, saying, "I think I'll head home now, seeing as Higurashi already left." The girls looked around surprised, not noticing that Inuyasha had left.
After they had hurried goodbyes, Houjou followed the path Inuyasha had taken Kagome, wanting to know what was going on. As the sun passed behind a cloud in the afternoon sky, he heard their voices talking in angry whispers. Peeking from behind a dumpster, he saw Kagome and Inuyasha standing on opposite sides of the small space, looking about ready to fight each other.
"What I do with my friends is my business, Inuyasha." Kagome glared. "And my business alone."
Coming closer, Inuyasha gave a small growl, "Doesn't matter, woman. I don't trust you out here alone. Especially with that guy all over you—"
"He wasn't all over me!" snapped Kagome. "Houjou-kun was just helping me with my back—"
Amber eyes flaring, the hanyou yelled, "Oh, were you planning to take your shirt off for him too?" As Kagome turned bright red at Inuyasha's accusation, Houjou stumbled back, with a shocked look on his face. Was Kagome really that shameless?
Kagome was still blushing a bright red when she retorted, "You know very well that I wasn't! Inuyasha, Houjou-kun is a friend, okay? It's not like he's proposing marriage to me."
Houjou felt his heart fall a bit at her mention of him being just a friend.
Giving her a sideways glance, Inuyasha said, "Unlike someone else we know."
Kagome glared. "Don't you dare bring Kouga-kun into this too. You can stop being so jealous, Inuyasha. I'm not interested in anybody." (Houjou felt his heart fall even more at that.)
Suddenly, Inuyasha's face changed from being angry to being sad. "You're not interested in anybody?"
She looked up in his eyes, holding his gaze. "Yes, I'm not interested in anybody."
Those amber eyes changed once more glaring, and then turning away, hurt. "Keh. Fine."
"Inuyasha, wait!" she said, realizing what was wrong. "Stop, I didn't mean that…It's just that right now, we're not anything—"
"Not anything?" he shot back, turning back to her, and coming so close it caused a frightened-looking Kagome to back into a wall. To Houjou's surprise, he showed her his right hand, palm facing her so Houjou couldn't see what was on it. "What's this, Kagome?"
Looking like she was about to cry, she pleaded, "Inuyasha…"
"What's this?" he asked again, gently grasping her left hand with his left, showing her palm as well. With his right, he gripped her left, both hands coming together. If Houjou didn't know any better, he would have sworn a golden glow came from their entwined hands. "What does it symbolize, Kagome?"
Looking at their hands, she replied, "I know what it means, Inuyasha, but…" she looked back up at his face, with tears in her eyes, and surprisingly tragic eyes. "We're not anything right now…We can't…the curse…"
She pulled back her left hand, just as Inuyasha interrupted, "Oh, it all comes back to the curse! But I don't care! Damn the stupid curse! It's making us go through hell, and you know it!"
Houjou couldn't keep his eyes off the couple now. They had begun talking about some kind of curse, acting like it was keeping them apart, but before he could fully wonder about it, Kagome spoke again, "But, Inuyasha…I don't want us to be…"
Suddenly, He grasped her by the shoulders and pressed her against the wall, his eyes wild, "To hell you don't! Kagome, if you didn't want us to be together again, then why did you kiss me the way you did a few days ago?"
That caused Houjou to gasp. What were they talking about? Kagome had already kissed him, like that? His image of her as the perfect, most virtuous woman in the world was shattering before his eyes.
Tears sprouted from Kagome's eyes as Inuyasha released her, and she buried her face in her hands. "Oh, Inuyasha, don't you get it?" she cried, trembling. "The reason I keep treating you like I am…the reason I keep ignoring you and turning away…It's because…" she glanced back up at him through soggy eyes. "I'm trying not to fall in love with you again."
That statement caused both Inuyasha and Houjou to stare at her, surprised. Inuyasha walked towards her, taking her in her arms, murmuring "Kagome…" while she leaned into his embrace, unable to stop herself from being comforted.
While Inuyasha held her, Houjou slipped away, feeling dejected. He knew, after that, he'd have to give up the chase on Kagome. She loved another, and he loved her. Kagome wasn't the perfect angel he had always thought her to be. She had a history, and a future, with Inuyasha, and not him.
Sighing, he kicked a can on the sidewalk. He'd mourn the loss of Kagome for a few days—or a few months—but in the end, he knew the choice was right. This "Inuyasha" fellow, whoever he was, would obviously risk anything to protect Kagome. It was something that no matter how much he idealized himself to be, Houjou knew he could never do.
A/N: Well, rejoice Miroku fans! He isn't dead yet, apparently. And though Takahashi-sama reminded us of his mortality a few weeks ago, this day's chapter showed that there is a while until he dies…plenty of time for them to defeat Naraku, I hope.
