Disclaimer: So this one girl comes up to me and asks "Do you own Inuyasha?" After a few minutes of careful consideration, I decided to confuse her by telling her no in Japanese.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Growling as the sun moved into his eyes, Inuyasha slowly sat up on the tree limb he had perched himself on. A few days ago, he had found another hopeful lead in his search and had decided to try not to sleep on his way. Boy, did he pay for it.
Yawning openly, he shifted so that the sun was on his back, grumbling and closing his eyes.
It had been six years now since Kagome had left him. Six, incredibly long, painful years where he had desperately been searching for her.
At first, it had all been a matter of finding out why the hell she had run off into the wilderness of the Feudal Era without anyone to protect her. Now, it had become a matter of heartbreak. He had been so sure that she would return at some point in time, but for the past six years, he hadn't seen hide or hair of her anywhere.
Another fact that haunted him was that she might be dead. After a few weeks of going into a deep depression, he finally rejected that notion unless he saw it with his own eyes.
So the only fact that remained was that she was gone and hadn't come back. For six years, nonetheless. His pride was getting the better of him at this point; he wouldn't give up until he found her, no matter how long it took.
Rolling onto his back, the half dog demon looked up at the sky, his thoughts drifting towards his goal. 'Kagome . . . why didn't you come back?'
Yawning again, he leapt down from the tree, rubbing his eye and walking through the thick forest, following a light path marked in the ground.
Truthfully, he had always loved Kagome. Always. Even though he did try and kill her, he still had loved her. Well . . . maybe not then . . . but as soon as he saw her dedication and loyalty, he had somehow, unbeknownst to him, fallen for her. Sure he had never admitted it to himself, claiming to still love Kikyo, but . . . Kikyo was gone now . . . and somehow, when she finally left the earth once again, he had felt nothing. That had clenched it for him. He did love Kagome, and now he was going to find her no matter what.
The wind slightly picked up, whipping his hair into his face. Wiping it away with an annoyed growl, he picked up an interesting scent in the air. Sniffing gently at it, he detected a faint trace of demon, but the demon scent was twisting around a much, much sweeter scent. Kagome.
His eyes opening wide, he broke out into a run. Running as fast as demonly possible towards the source. Coming over the edge of a hill, he saw a small village there; Kagome's scent seemingly radiating from it.
There was no mistaking it. She was there.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A small boy was running through the fields outside a village; his messy red hair whipping about as he ran as fast as he could. His eyes, the same color as his hair, darted nervously back behind him as he continued to run.
Suddenly, he was pushed face first onto the ground as a boy landed on top of him.
"We finally caught you, demon boy."
The boy looked up at the much older boy that stood up, almost daring him to stand up too. Timidly, he started to try to stand, but was kicked back down as the older boy's friends arrived.
"What's the matter, demon boy? Too weak to stand up?" The leader of the boys kicked him in the stomach, sending him rolling over in pain.
"I thought demons were supposed to be stronger than humans. Obviously not," said a girl as she rubbed her foot into his sore gut.
"That's because he's just a half demon!" said another boy, kicking the red-head too.
Whimpering in pain, the demon closed his eyes, trying to block out the misery they were causing him. The older children laughed as they continued to kick and mock him, enjoying his torment.
Suddenly, a low growl filled the air, immediately bringing an end to the children's laughter. Inuyasha leapt out of nowhere, growling his head off as the terrified children ran back to the village, screaming bloody murder.
Timidly, the hanyou boy stood up. "Th-Thanks . . ."
Inuyasha turned to him, smirking. "You shouldn't let those humans boss you around like that."
The boy silently turned his head to the ground, ashamed.
"Hey, what's your name anyway?"
"My name?" The boy looked back up at him with wide eyes. "My name's Jiko. What's yours?"
"I'm Inuyasha."
Slightly nervously, Jiko looked away again. "Wh-Why'd you save me?"
Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. "Can't you tell? I'm a hanyou too."
"Really?!" Jiko's eyes immediately shot back to Inuyasha.
"Really." Inuyasha suddenly picked up an odd scent coming from the boy. It was a demon's scent . . . wrapped around . . . Kagome's . . .
"That's amazing! Mommy always told me I wasn't the only one, but I've never actually seen another hanyou before!"
Smirking, Inuyasha continued to examine Jiko's scent. It soon became apparent that this boy was the source of the smell he had followed. But . . . how could that be?
"That's so awesome! I can't wait to tell Mommy about it!" He smiled brightly, then started to run towards the village. "Come on! I want you to come meet Mommy!"
"Listen. I'm sorry, kid, but there's someone I'm looking for."
"There is?" Jiko stopped and looked back at Inuyasha.
"Yeah. I really need to see her."
The little hanyou boy blinked at him. "Who?"
"Her name's Kagome. I wouldn't suppose you know her?" Hope surged through his heart as the boy's eyes flashed with recognition.
"Why do you wanna see her?"
"I just need to talk to her. That's all."
Jiko twisted his foot on the ground nervously. "Why do you need to talk to her?"
Inuyasha was getting a little fed up with the boy, but if he was gonna get anywhere, he had to keep calm. "We knew each other a long time ago. We were . . . friends." He practically choked as he said the last word.
Suspicion flashed on the boy's features. "She told me never to tell a demon where she was. She said that if a demon came asking for her to simply tell them to leave."
A little taken aback, Inuyasha started talking again after a few moments. "She'll want to see me. Trust me."
Still looking at him with deep suspicion, Jiko still just stood there, sort of sizing him up.
Just then, a shout broke through the air. "Jiko!!! Jiko!!! It's time to come home, dear!!!"
"Mommy!" Jiko said happily as he began to run back to the village, looking over his shoulder only as he was by the gates. "I'll see you later, okay?"
Inuyasha nodded, quite irritated that the boy wouldn't tell him. That only meant that now he would have to sniff her out. The only problem was that the scent he had picked up had been Jiko's. Kagome's was nowhere near this place.
'She must be hiding it,' he thought glumly as he leapt up in a tree on the outskirts of a village. 'But why would she do something like that? Unless . . . she doesn't want to be found . . .'
A sudden, horrible thought suddenly ran through his head. 'Could it be that she . . . that she's trying to get away from me? Is she trying to tell me that she . . . hates me?'
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A beautiful young woman in priestess clothes made her way down the street in the village. Her midnight hair, slightly messing, was pulled up into an elegant design on the back of her head, and her delicate hands were cupped around her mouth.
"JIKO!!! JIKO!!!" She looked slightly exasperated as no one answered. "Now where did that boy run off to?"
Just as the words left her mouth, a red-headed blur shot forward, tackling her in a hug. "Mommy!"
"Jiko . . ." Kagome smiled and hugged him back, glad that he had finally come. But the smile faded fast as he pulled away. "Your face . . . it's cut all over . . ."
Jiko immediately tried to cover up for himself as he saw tears start to form in his mother's eyes. "I just fell out of the tree I was climbing. That's all."
A tear slid down her cheek, but she quickly wiped it away, not liking to seem weak in public. "Come on. Let's go home."
Nodding, Jiko followed after the priestess, ignoring the occasional glares thrown his way.
They were both silent as they made their way home, the hanyou boy holding his mother's hand. After they finally arrived at their small hut, Kagome immediately took a bowl off the floor and started spreading the contents over Jiko's small injuries. His face contorted into one of disgust. Truthfully, the stuff had a very horrendous odor, even to a human, making it a thing worth despising among demons.
After finishing tending to her son's mild injuries, the priestess set the bowl back down on the ground and went over to her herb supply, preparing to make a few antidotes for some of the villagers' ails.
Curious as always to see how his mother made her powerful remedies, he sat down beside her as she went to her grinding tool, already mashing a few plants together.
"Mommy?"
"Yes, Jiko?"
"You'll never guess who I saw today!"
"Really? Who?"
"I saw another hanyou just like me!"
Kagome immediately stopped grinding. "You did?" She sounded a little nervous.
"Yeah! He was really nice to me. In fact, he told me his name. It was Inuyasha!"
A loud clank was heard as Kagome dropped the wheel. "Inu . . . yasha . . ."
Jiko, immediately knowing that something was wrong, put an arm on his mother's shoulder and bent down to see her face. "Mommy? What's wrong?"
The priestess was breathing hard and was perspiring slightly. Her voice was barely above a whisper. "Inuyasha . . ."
"You know him?"
Realizing that she was scaring her son, Kagome immediately straightened up, putting her hair behind her ears. "Yeah . . . I know him . . ."
"Then I guess I should've brought him here with me then. He asked me if I knew you. If I'd known he was your friend, I would've brought him to see you."
"That's okay, Jiko." Kagome patted him reassuringly on the shoulder, trying to make it seem as if nothing was bothering her. Looking out the window, she saw that the sun was setting, tinging the sky a deep red. "Why don't you get some sleep? You're gonna have a busy day tomorrow."
"I am?" Jiko asked as he laid down on his mat.
His mother only smiled.
Yawning, the boy curled up. "Good night, Mommy . . ."
"Good night, Jiko . . ."
"Mommy?"
"Yes?"
"Can you sing me that song?"
Kagome's eyes widened a bit. "Jiko . . . Mommy's a little tired . . . can't she sing it to you tomorrow?"
Jiko shook his head. "I want to hear it tonight. Please, Mommy . . ."
Sighing sadly, she gave in. "Alright, but you have to go to sleep . . ."
Smiling and nodding, Jiko closed his eyes.
"I don't want you to give it all up
And leave your own life collecting dust
And I don't want you to feel sorry for me
You never gave us a chance to be
And I don't need you to be by my side
To tell me that everything's alright
I just wanted you to tell me the truth
You know I'd do that for you"
By this time, Jiko was making quiet sleeping sounds, but not deterred by that fact at all, Kagome continued, trying to keep tears from falling.
"Cause I did enough to show you that I
Was willing to give and sacrifice
And I was the one who was lifting you up
When you thought your life had had enough
And when I get close, you turn away
There's nothing that I can do or say
So now I need you to tell me the truth
You know I'd do that for you"
Ending the song with a sad, soft voice, Kagome took a blanket from the corner and laid it over her son, tucking it in to make sure that he was warm. Smiling slightly, she stood and exited the hut, a single tear sliding gently down her cheek.
Once outside, she gazed up at the stars, seeing how clear they were on this cloudless night. Sighing, she leaned back on the wall behind her and slid to the ground, never taking her eyes from those stars.
It had been six years since she had seen him. Six long, painfully slow years, never once laying eyes on her beloved hanyou. She knew full well that he was looking for her, but she had to remain hidden from him. There was no way she could go back to him. Ever.
She shivered as a cold wind blew. Winter was coming, and the nights were already beginning to bring frost on the grass. Many people would soon be coming to her for their typical colds, and she was well ready for them. And yet . . . she didn't know if she would be here . . .
All those six years, she had been running. Running from him. Afraid. And now he had found her again. But this time he was closer than ever before, and he had even met Jiko. She would have to run again. Run away to the farthest reaches of Japan where he could never hope to find her.
A dark silhouette appeared on the road in front of her hut, and she finally turned her gaze from the stars to stare at the figure.
The man before her slowly was walking towards her, something familiar about his stance. It wasn't until he got into the dim moonlight filtering through the trees that she could recognize him.
Inuyasha.
Kagome's eyes opened wide for a minute before they turned down to the ground, trying to appear resolute.
Inuyasha walked forward; his footsteps inaudible as he padded on the soft dirt. When he finally reached her, he knelt down, staring into her eyes.
For a moment, she looked back. Her eyes meeting the beautiful gold for the first time in years.
Trying to suppress any signs of recognition, she looked away. Unbeknownst to her, with all her efforts, more tears fell.
"Here." His voice, more like a distant memory than anything else, drew back her attention as he held out a handkerchief to her. With trembling hands, she took it, but not wiping away the tears, merely holding it tight in her fist.
"Thank you . . ." Her voice was almost inaudible and raspy, but all the same, he heard her anyway, a very small, almost non-existent smile creeping onto his face.
Hearing something, he stood, and walked back the way he came, occasionally sniffing at a hut he passed.
Kagome stared after him. What the heck could he be thinking? Maybe . . . he wasn't even there . . . and it was all a trick of her mind . . .
Looking down at the small cloth he handed her, she clutched it tighter. No. He was real.
She watched as his silhouette disappeared back into the darkness. More tears welling up in her eyes, Kagome held the handkerchief even closer. 'He didn't . . . he didn't recognize me . . .'
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So I updated. I'm sure you're all glad that I did so seeing as there are so many of you. I'm glad you all like the story.
Oh btw, if ya'll are wondering why he couldn't tell that was Kagome: she's changed a lot over the years. Not only that, but she is masking her scent. So basically, she looks, acts, and smells completely different. Well . . . maybe not entirely the smelling part but that's for a later chapter . . . Review please and tell me if you're ready to kill me or not!
And here's the shout-outs!
Kagome's-Dieing-Love: Jiko means 'accident.' Unfortunately, you're gonna hafta wait to find out more about him. blinks innocently
ChibiKenshin6490: Yes. This is an Inu/Kag story, and I'm proud of it!
Guardian of the Hell Gate: Thanks for the tip! I'll remember that if I ever think people don't like my story!
Leona: Yep. Kagome has a son. And he's really her son too. But you're gonna hafta wait to find out more about him. Sowwy! smiles innocently
And Thanks To: Ayame (my first reviewer!), j baker (hanyoupup ), Black Witchy (love the name!), brigurl (did it really rock your sox?), kagome2009 (thx for reading! Talk to ya soon! ), topgal2882 (99 Really?), animefreak321654 (Boy can I relate to the name!), Sarcasm Girl8 (Now tell me. Did you really mean that or were you being sarcastic?)
