Chapter Eleven : Three Things
AN: I want to take this opportunity and apologize for my lack of updating. Due to recent events, I have had to move across an ocean to lovely America, Michigan to be exact. It's been really hard on me, and I just haven't had the time to write in my story. I have most of it down in random notebooks scattered throughout my…space. I don't even know the people that I'm living with…they're aunts and uncles that I've never met before. But I don't really want to get into that right now. The point is, I don't have any friends any more and I think it's pointless to try and make some my senior year. No one wants new friends their last year of High School, things don't always work out like they do in the stories, folks. But, as quoted by one of my favorite movies (James and the Giant Peach): "Try looking at it another way." Now I have tons of time to work on my story…
Woohoo.
Thanks again for the reviews, it kept me going.
Listening choice: Download the song "The Spider and the Fly" by London after Midnight.
Special Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN THIS SONG! Do not sue, please.
The world almost seemed to be putting itself together piece by piece that damp gray morning at the base of Lake Yamanaka. First the spruce and white pine trees that cover Mt. Fuji materialized from the heavy fog, then the rocky tip, and finally, the lake itself, as if the mere watching had drawn them all into existence.
Inuyasha sat on the sandy beach, his toes toying playfully with the cold water of the lake and Kagome sitting neatly in his lap, her head resting perfectly on his shoulder. The palms of his hands dug into the sand behind him for support as he sat up gently, giving Kagome the perfect view of the rising sun.
A smile graced her lips briefly as she stared at the orb floating above them, warming her face and giving life to the world. She felt as if she had stepped into a painting—there was no way that beauty like this could exist in the world.
"Inuyasha?" she asked, slightly turning her head from the sun.
"Hmm?" he answered half-heartedly, his gaze still focused on the scenery in front of him.
"If you could…" she began, but stopped with a short giggle. This got his attention and he nudged her slightly to continue. "Nevermind, it's a stupid question."
"There are no stupid questions, only stupid people," he chuckled, quoting his favorite episode of South Park.
"So, does that make me a stupid person?" she teased.
"Of course."
"Whatever," she smiled. There was a comfortable silence for a few seconds, both of them just reveling in the other's presence. "Okay, so I guess I'll ask it anyway…" she stopped and giggled again before continuing. "If you were stranded on a desert island, and you could only have three things, what would you choose?"
He thought for a moment, running through the list of necessities he had categorized in his mind, trying to place them in a short order of importance.
"I guess I would have to take," he said after a moment, "one of those nifty new iPods with an unlimited battery supply, a really good book, and…a lifetime supply of ramen."
"Oh," she replied, expecting him to say something else.
"How about you?"
"I don't know, I never really thought about it before."
"How could you not have an answer to your own question?" he laughed.
"I don't know…" she leaned her head back once more, placing it in the crook of his neck. With a deep breath she inhaled the scent of the shampoo he used and quickly identified it as Garnier Fructis. "I love your hair."
"You can't change the subject…" he teased, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her against him.
"Alright, alright. I guess, if I was stranded on an island, I would take…a really long sketch pad, some pencils, and…pictures of everyone I loved."
"Would you take a picture of me?" he asked with a coy smile, not really expecting her to answer.
"Of course," she smiled.
"We better get going, your mom might get worried," Inuyasha smiled, pulling Kagome to her feet. She took another glance at the lake before turning to him.
"What about your parents?" she asked.
"Don't worry about that." He looked away from her, his bangs falling over his eyes. For a moment she thought she saw something flicker across his face, but it was gone before she had time to think about it. "Hop on."
Doing as she was told, Kagome climbed onto his back—this time a little less hesitantly. Once she had her arms wrapped around his shoulders, he crouched down and took off at a blinding speed.
The trees zipped past them and Kagome could feel the morning dew splashing upon her face as they rushed toward the front of the park. Within minutes they were standing in front of Inuyasha's motorcycle.
"Listen, I had a really nice time with you," Inuyasha smiled as he pulled out his keys, turning his head away to hide the blush that painted his cheeks.
"Me too, Inuyasha."
"I'm glad," he tossed her the helmet and climbed on, starting the ignition and revving the engine. Looking to his side, he noticed that Kagome still hadn't climbed on. "You coming, or what?"
"Yeah," she put the helmet on slowly, pulling a few stray hairs from her face. Climbing on to the bike, she wrapped her arms around Inuyasha's waist. As they sped off toward the exit, a thought passed through her mind.
"You know," she shouted, "this isn't nearly as fun as riding you." As soon a she said it she realized how dirty it sounded. "I didn't mean it like that!"
"Are you sure about that?" he asked smoothly, knowing that she couldn't see the blush on his cheeks.
"Yes!" she cried, burying her helmet-covered head in his shoulder. "You know damn well what I meant!"
"If you say so…" he smirked.
They pulled up outside of Kagome's house a little after seven in the morning, Inuyasha cutting his engine a few houses down so not to wake her parents.
"You don't have to worry about them, they've probably left for church already," she said as she climbed off the motorcycle.
"Don't they take you with them?" They began walking to the front door together; Inuyasha grabbing her hand is his.
"Nah, they said I could choose my own religion. So far, I haven't…but they don't make me go to church with them." She pulled out her house key and began to open the front door when she stopped. "Do you want to come in?"
"Nah, that's okay…I should be getting home, anyway," he declined, running a hand through his windblown hair.
"Oh, all right then," she sighed halfheartedly, hoping that he'd come in and stay a while.
There was a moment of silence then, something drawn out between them that had them each standing on their heels, desperate for the other to break the ice. Inuyasha briefly thought about coughing to break the tension, but quickly decided that he wanted Kagome to be the one to end the silence.
As if reading his mind, she pushed forward and placed a soft kiss on his cheek—a simple sign of affection that meant more than anything else in the world to him at that moment.
Before he could even register it he was wrapping his arms around her and allowing a huge smile to spread across his face. Nestling his face in her neck for a short moment, he realized that he was happy just to be holding her.
"I had a great time last night," she whispered into his shoulder, repeating herself from earlier.
Opening his eyes, Inuyasha peered into her face. "You have no idea what that means to me."
"I think I have an idea," she smiled.
He smiled back at her then and she could've sworn she saw him glowing. "I should probably be going…"
"Oh," Kagome seemed to snap out of a trance and looked down at her watch. "It's almost seven thirty. Yeah, you might want to get home."
"Yeah," he said he was going to go; yet he couldn't get his feet to move from her porch. Swallowing the lump that seemed to magically form in his throat, he stole another glance at the girl that changed his life, before sticking his hands in his pockets and walking off.
Kagome watched him turn his back from her, but knew that it wasn't the end. She knew that this was only the beginning.
Inuyasha strolled up to his house with a bounce in his step and a whistle on his lips. Twirling his keys around his index finger, he opened the back door and headed straight for the refrigerator. He pulled out the milk and sniffed it once to make sure it was fresh before sauntering over to the cupboard and grabbing a box of Count Chocula and a clean bowl.
Twirling around on his heel, Inuyasha planned on climbing the stairs to his bedroom when he dropped his bowl and let the milk splatter to the ground.
"You're in late, eh?" Sesshomaru spoke calmly from his position in the doorframe. He was clothed in a blue and white silk robe and his hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail, in his hand was a cup of coffee. If Inuyasha didn't know any better, he'd say that Sesshomaru had just woken up.
"You shouldn't sneak up on me like that," he tried to joke, bending over to pick up his spilt cereal. "Besides, shouldn't you be in at work by now?"
"I figured I could use a day's rest to make sure my dearest brother wasn't in harm's way," he replied coolly, walking over to the kitchen sink and dumping his coffee.
"Feh," Inuyasha scoffed, grabbing some paper towels for the milk. "Since when did you care?"
A mock look of pure alarm crossed Sesshomaru's face, "Me not care? I don't know where you get such ideas."
"Whatever," Inuyasha put the now dirty bowl in the sink and turned to head upstairs.
"No breakfast this fine morning?" Sesshomaru called to Inuyasha's retreating form.
"Fuck you," the sound of a bedroom door slamming closed immediately followed Inuyasha's response.
With a sigh, Sesshomaru decided to do the responsible thing and climbed the stairs after him. Knocking on the door twice, he patiently waited for Inuyasha to answer. What he got, rather, was a fairly angry yell somewhere along the lines of 'go the fuck away.'
"Inuyasha," he called, "open this door right now."
He heard a bit of shuffling and then a grunt, assuming that it was out of exasperation, before the door opened a crack and Inuyasha stuck his heat through.
"What do you want now?" he asked in a bored tone, stifling a yawn.
"Care to tell me where you were last night?" Sesshomaru asked, placing his hand on the doorframe so his younger brother couldn't slam it in his face.
"Care to tell me who your hair stylist is?" Inuyasha mocked.
"Fine," he sighed. "Be that way. I'll be downstairs if you need anything."
Without even a flinch Inuyasha slammed the door, giving it the finger before climbing into his oversized bed. The sheets seemed to swallow him up and provided the comfort that he needed. Burying his head into a pillow, he closed his eyes and let his mind wander.
Kagome was extremely tired but she couldn't sleep. Every time she closed her eyes she was consumed by a sudden rush of energy—she need to move around, she need to do something.
Figuring that she wasn't going to get to sleep any time soon, she walked over to her CD player and picked a CD at random—a habit she had been getting into as of late. Pulling out the fated CD, she popped it in and listened to the beginning chords of "The Spider And The Fly" by London After Midnight. It was a CD that she had burned a few years ago, but it never got old to her.
Empty hearts I can hear them talking
I close my eyes and I keep on stalking
My love
My love
The heavy-hitting goth rock under-toned with an eerie romanticism seemed to fit her mood perfectly as she fell back on her bed and allowed her mind to take in the song in it's entirety for the first time in ages. The music drifted to her ears and her mind couldn't help but wander to Inuyasha.
No one's aware of the hunger I feel
It's something you or time cannot heal
I need someone to help me rise above
That's when it hit her—she was feeling so antsy because of him. She was craving Inuyasha like a hunger, and it felt as if she needed to see him that very instant. She realized that she had never felt this way about anyone before; he was the first one.
'Is this love?' she asked herself, staring up at the ceiling. 'This wanting? This need for another person? Am I in love with Inuyasha?'
Eternal bliss is something I can show you
Spread your arms and let my wings enfold you
My love
My love
Kagome felt happy…she felt more than that, actually. For the first time in a long time, she felt like she was doing something right. She felt loved. Reaching for the remote on her nightstand, she turned the volume up on her CD player.
The volume increased and she could feel the bass reverberating in her chest as the chorus kicked up once more.
In the darkness shades of crimson rapture
The world is ours alone to capture
My love
My love
Come over here and let me tell you something
Nothing ever comes of nothing
We pay a price for all our choices made
Come along now and take my hand
I'll lead you to a promised land
The morning after may never come again,
It may never be the same
May never be the same...
The song ended and Kagome felt a little bit more relaxed. A feeling of understanding washed over her then and she smiled before closing her eyes and rolling over. Just as she was about to drift off to sleep the piercing sound of her phone rang through her head.
With a groan she rolled back over and picked up the dreaded receiver. Not even bothering to ask who was on the other line, she mumbled a quick, "what the hell do you want?"
"Kagome?" a male voice sounding equally as tired called over the line. Immediately her heart began to race as she placed a name to face. It was Inuyasha.
"O-Oh, sorry about that, Inuyasha," she laughed meekly. "What's up?"
"Is this a bad time?" he asked suddenly. "I can call back if you want…"
"No!" she quickly yelled, trying to keep him on the line. "I mean, I was going to go to sleep, but that's okay."
"You sure?" She smiled at his concern and told him to continue. "Well, I just wanted to call and tell you that I changed my mind."
His voice sounded serious and Kagome instantly felt a surge of dread rise up in her soul. 'Is he trying to tell me something?' she thought, nervously biting her nails.
"About what?"
"About…the island thing," there was a moment of silence on the other line. She could hear him breathing and practically see the blush on his face. "Well, if I really was stranded on an island, the only thing I would want with me would be you."
Her heart skipped a beat just then. With her mouth hanging open and a stupefied look in her eyes, all she could manage was a quiet 'uh-huh' as she practically drooled over the phone.
"Kagome?" she heard him ask. "Kagome, you there? It's okay, I get it…"
"Inuyasha! Wait!" she could tell he was about to hang up and crossed her fingers when she didn't hear the click. "I just…I don't know what to say…"
"Just tell me that you're happy."
"Of course I'm happy, Inuyasha. I'm happy because of you."
Well there you have it! I hope it wasn't too short…nor too mushy…nor too crappy. Oh boy, I hope it was all right! I've just been so stressed. Please review, I hope I did okay!
It may be short, but I think it's pretty cute…
Tell me what you think!
