In the Beholders Eye

Written By Sarga

May/June 2006

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters, I'm just taking a theme and running with it...

Chapter 26: Glowing Hearts

Inuyasha pointed out the entrance to Kagome.

"There!" Kagome nodded, seeing the tall doorway. "We'll have to make a break for it. I can get over the wall in a few seconds, but..." he looked at her in a sidelong glance. "You don't climb well enough yet."

Kagome, slightly annoyed, acknowledged his assessment of her abilities with a curt nod.

"I can carry you up, but you'll have to shoot anything down that comes after us."

"Um," Kagome interrupted. "How am I supposed to hold on and shoot a bow?" Kagome crossed her arms in amusement.

"You have two legs, you can hold on with them." Inuyasha gave her a puzzled look as if what he was saying was the most obvious solution in the world.

Kagome thought about her new strength. He was right, she could do it fairly easily. Loosing her amused smirk, Kagome nodded. "Fine." Kagome detached her bow and quiver from her pack and secured everything to her body. She crouched low, ready to make a break for the outer wall. "Ready whenever you are!"

Inuyasha crouched low, whispering the countdown. "3...2...1..GO!"

In a flash the pair were racing across the open expanse. Such was their speed that the demons did not even notice them until they were half way across the field. By the time they reached the wall, Kagome had fallen just slightly behind, having taken the time to shoot down two of their attackers.

Catching up within a couple of seconds, Kagome jumped to Inuyasha's back and wrapped her legs about his stomach. Leaning forward, she rotated her body to the left, the unnatural twisting of her spine leaving her with the sense that she would be feeling this in the coming morning. Picking off two more of the demons who dared to approach, they made it to the top of the wall. Jumping onto a convenient platform near the wall, the pair stopped to catch their breaths.

Strangely enough, they were not followed. Either by training or by choice, the flying demons did not venture forward to pick off their former prey. Indeed, the creatures seemed to avoid the air above the compound entirely.

Inuyasha took a look at their surroundings. There was a single building in the center, and it acted as a hub of sorts, each section of the compound splaying from the central building. In the far garden, almost hidden by the building, a man worked the land, oblivious to their intrusion.

"I guess we'd better make ourselves known to the locals," Kagome said smartly, leaving a confused Inuyasha in her wake. Seeing the odd look on his face, Kagome chuckled. "It's a saying from my time. It means we'd better go introduce ourselves."

Failing to spot a ladder, the pair leaped from the platform to the ground below. Kagome landed with a distinct whoosh of air as she tumbled on the ground. Inuyasha landed gracefully, showing his experience in such matters.

Helping Kagome to her feet, Inuyasha paused for a moment as the wind shifted, revealing a formerly hidden observer.

"Good evening, Lady Kagome." A beautiful young hanyou maiden bowed deeply as Kagome looked at her with startled curiosity.

"Um, hi," Kagome managed uncertainly, returning the bow.

"My name is Momoko. Your friends were here almost two weeks ago. I was expecting you sooner," she peered behind her shoulder anxiously. "But I was unable to keep an eye out." Momoko turned her gaze back towards her startled guests. "I welcome you here on behalf of my family, and I think I know what you are going to request."

"But how?" Kagome asked, confused by the fact that this stranger knew who she was and seemed to even know what she was going to do.

The young woman smiled sadly at Kagome. "I, like my mother before me, have certain gifts, the ability to divine the past being one of them. With knowing of the past, one can usually discern the course of the future, at least to some degree." Momoko smiled warmly. "I knew you wouldn't leave your friends to fight for you, not so long as you were able to aid them. You'll want to know where they went." Momoko felt her smile falter slightly. "And I also know that if I ask, no, beg you to bring me with you when you go, you'll most likely agree." Momoko's eyes pleaded with Kagome's. Kagome only nodded in response.

Momoko bowed deeply to Kagome. "Thank you so much," she whispered from her lowered position. Rising up, a glimmer of hope in her eye, Momoko smiled once more. "I shall go inform Father and my sister that you are here. In the meantime you can make yourself at home in the outer room of the north west corner. I've prepared for your arrival so you will find the bedding already placed." Turning, Momoko ran towards the far end of the compound, towards the man they had seen gardening.

"Well that was weird," Inuyasha grunted.

"Yeah," Kagome agreed, a small blush tinging her cheeks as she looked shyly at Inuyasha. 'So we'll be spending an entire night in the same room, and he doesn't hate me any more...' Kagome felt her heart quicken at the thought of the two of them finally being able to be open with each other. They would finally be able to talk about their relationship, whatever it may be.

Inuyasha brushed past Kagome and she was overwhelmed by Inuyasha's intoxicating scent, much as she had been in the battle with Kouga. Kagome quickly followed behind, anxiously preparing questions she wanted answers to, hoping that he would be willing to answer her.

The pair reached the room and were greeted by a warmly decorated room. Flowers decorated the two low tables, their fragrance lightening the atmosphere, making it seem almost airy. Kagome paused in the doorway, admiring the comfortable looking sleeping mats. Several nights of sleeping in trees had made her appreciate the comforts of modern living, even if the current 'modern' was still archaic by her standards.

Kagome walked to the room and sat on her mat, which was located about two feet from Inuyasha's. Inuyasha followed suit, facing her with a look of apprehension on his face.

"What did you mean, when you told me that you weren't afraid of me, Kagome?" he asked her, the hopeful timbre of voice breaking through, despite his best efforts remain unreadable.

Kagome smiled, her golden eyes looking into his, showing her sincerity. "I meant that I wasn't afraid of you, I afraid of our future, of what it would mean to remain here by your side," Kagome paused as she saw Inuyasha's eyes widen in realization. "For the rest of my life."

Inuyasha felt himself turn red from the waist up. The creeping blush spread down his arms and up his neck, enveloping his entire face in its warmth. He seemed flustered, his mouth flapping open and closed like a fish lying on a river bank.

Seizing the opportunity, Kagome continued onward. "I love you, Inuyasha. I have for quite a while now." Kagome reached her hand forward, her palm coming to rest on his cheek. His eyes closed and his hand raised to hers, holding it there in a gentle caress.

"Kagome," Inuyasha whispered into the cupped hand, the word like ambrosia on his lips.

"Ahem," a very guttural voice broke their intimate moment.

Kagome felt Inuyasha pull away from her hand so she let it drop. He did, however, keep her hand clasped in his own. The pair stood, hand in hand, to face the interloper.

"I take it you are friends of the monk, Miroku, and the demon slayer, Sango?" an older monk stood in the doorway, his expression one of annoyance.

"Yes, we were told that they were sent to speak with a monk named Iyouko," Kagome responded.

"That would be me," Iyouko responded shortly.

"We were hoping to catch up with wherever they had been sent. It seemed, for a time, that they had solved our problem. I was a human for three days. But...we think something went wrong. Where did you send them that they might have broken the magic of a powerful wish?" Kagome waited for the monk to respond. A blush worked its way up her neck as she felt Inuyasha draw closer, his arm slipping around her waist protectively.

"I sent them no where. It seems that the answer they sought from me was the same as the source of their troubles." Iyouko crossed his arms across his chest. "I could only offer them the tale of the Shikon Jewel."

Kagome gasped. "But, they never returned, and I was human for so long," Kagome felt herself grow panicked at the thought of her missing friends. "I was sure they had done something. Oh no, Inuyasha!" Kagome turned to Inuyasha, seeing the same concern reflected in his eyes. "What if something happened to them when they left here?"

"Nothing of the sort happened," Iyouko replied impatiently. "My daughter sent them on another path, one that leads to another storyteller." Iyouko's face told that he did not approve of this other 'storyteller', but Kagome decided to leave well enough alone.

"You're not human, are you?" Inuyasha asked suddenly, a small gust of wind blowing his scent inward.

Iyouko smirked wryly. "How perceptive. I'm a hanyou, much like you. My blood, however, is more human than hanyou. My father was a hanyou, my mother human. As a result, I remain human for the majority of the time, turning pure demon only when the need arises. I have spent many years perfecting the control of my demon form." Iyouko looked haughtily at the pair. "I used to turn full demon during the full moon, unable to control the changes that took place. That problem does not plague me any longer and I am able to call upon my demon power when I need it."

Inuyasha looked disgustedly away from the arrogant monk.

"I suspect that your highly developed miko energy enables you to become human for a longer period of time than a natural born hanyou. Momoko is able to remain human for up to five days at a time and she has only been training her miko powers for a few years. It makes it easier to blend in when you can look like they do." Iyouko turned from the doorway. "I will have Momoko describe the route to you in the morning. You can leave after that." Iyouko closed the door behind him as he left.

The monk gone, Kagome once again became acutely aware of the close nature of her contact with Inuyasha. Her blush returned full force as she gently shifted in his arms, placing her own on his shoulders in front of her.

Not to be deterred, there was still one more question that she needed the answer to, and it was not necessarily one he would give willingly.

Locking her hands about Inuyasha's neck, Kagome braced herself for him to pull away.

"Inuyasha, what did you wish, that day that I changed into a hanyou?" Kagome felt him flinch and was glad she had such a firm hold. It did not, however, stop him from looking to the floor.

"I..." Inuyasha began hesitantly. Kagome could smell the shame, the guilt. "I wished for you to feel the same as me."

Kagome blinked. 'He wanted me to feel the same as him? Well he did get that wish in the literal sense.'

"Wait, what do you mean, 'the same as you'?" Kagome was confused. He had been angry with her for so long, surely he didn't mean...

Inuyasha looked Kagome in the eyes, his golden-honey gazing deeply into hers.

"I love you, Kagome."

Kagome felt herself being drawn towards Inuyasha, his eyes entrancing her. Her eyelids flitted shut as his lips met hers in a delicate kiss. She heard him groan as she pulled back, her eyes fluttering back open in a look of amusement.

"You know, we should talk more often," she said with a playful smile. "Imagine what would have happened if you had told me this before you made that wish."

End of Chapter

- - - - - - - - - -

Okay, so the name of the chapter is a bit lacking but, well it is Canada day, so why not a tribute to Canada's national anthem?

For all you Canadians out there, Have a good one!

More reviews will make me post more frequently. It's a simple as that. No reviews, and I become a broken, uninspired shell. Broken uninspired shells don't write very quickly (I'd estimate only one chapter a week)...hint hint...

- Sarga