IZON SHŌ

Chapter XLIII

Forty third session

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"I wanted to believe the world despised me, and I comprehended I myself was my world."

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The house in which InuYasha had grown was modest, and big enough for two or three people to live in. It was also decorated with the warmth of his mother, a warmth she seemed to emanate, naturally so. Kagome confirmed as such when she was received with a smile and a hug, filling her with the calm she so sorely needed.

"Welcome." She said while embracing her.

Then, she looked into her eyes, her smile still present.

"Thanks." Was all Kagome managed to say.

Next, she turned to her son, and her smile visibly widened, as she put her cheek for him to kiss.

"My name is Izayoi." She said then, once again addressing her.

"Kagome." She pointed at herself.

"I know. InuYasha made it quite clear during the first twenty times he mentioned you." Her smile seemed incapable of leaving the features of that woman, who looked to be at least fifty years old. She was short, lean and beautiful.

"My mother is exaggerating. Terribly." He ironized, then threw an arm over the woman's shoulders. "Kagome and I wanted to invite you to eat out, for dinner."

Kagome looked at her, expectantly. She needed to show how thankful she felt.

"If you two want, I'd be delighted." Izayoi accepted, then added, "Although I have already invited Myoga to dine with us."

"He can come too." InuYasha encouraged, observing Kagome to know if she agreed.

"Sure! Of course." She nodded. The man was almost part of the family to InuYasha, or so had he described him.

"Alright then." Izayoi accepted. "My boy, help Kagome with her bag and leave it in your room. It's ready."

Kagome stayed silent, slightly wondering if they would sleep together or not.

"Right away." He obeyed, his voice joking before being ordered.

"How funny." His mother knocked him on the shoulder, understanding his humor. "On your way, do bring the extra futon out; you're going to sleep on the main room."

InuYasha's face was quite the show as it went from surprise, to confusion, to stopping at something resembling indignation.

"Mom, we are not fifteen." He clarified, referring to both, Kagome and he.

Izayoi smiled.

"I know, yet while in my home, you'll behave as if you were." She determined with a sweet and motherly tone that left no room for retort. "If you don't want to sleep on the main room, I'm sure Myoga will have you."

Kagome held back her sudden urge to laugh.

Once InuYasha was out of view, up on the second floor with both, her bag and his backpack, Izayoi invited her to enter a bit more in her house. She showed her where the small bathroom on the first floor was, the kitchen, and a door that gave to an inner garden which was well organized, with enough meters to compose a pleasant space for one to relax their mind.

"InuYasha mentioned you once had a flower shop." She brought up, once they were a step inside the garden.

"I used to, yes. I'm fond of plants, and the way in which they seem to bring harmony to a place." She explained, stepping a bit more inside the garden to do away with some dry leaves from a fern which decorated the lower part of a stone lamp.

"It's really pretty." She attempted to compliment, which was also true.

She could see the woman smiling as she lifted a pair of scissors towards her, so that she would help.

"Oh, no. I couldn't dare, I may just make a mess." She tried to apologize.

"Mistakes are necessary. How else are we to know how to do things right?" Izayoi said, trying to encourage her, this time looking at her eyes as she offered her the scissors.

Kagome felt the weight of insecurity, suddenly on her shoulders. Despite it, however, she still accepted the tool.

She got closer to the plant and took a leaf as if it were the most delicate crystal, feeling a creeping anxiety before the idea of cutting it, and damaging it as result.

In that moment, Izayoi spoke to her.

"Focus on the life surging through the plant. Observe it like something that is, and then tell it you'll take a part of it so that it can keep growing strong."

For Kagome, it was strange to think about that, and even more to even begin to say it. It was as if some other person was the one talking.

"I'm going to strip you of some leaves. I hope it doesn't bother you, I believe it will do you some good."

Izayoi interrupted her. "You can just think it, if it's easier for you. It's not necessary for you to say it." She sought to give her some room for relief.

Kagome took some air, and this time, without fear, thought about the plant and the way it found nourishment from the earth and the sun. Then, she caressed the leaf she was going to cut, with the tip of her fingers, and thanked it for its beauty. All of that, but in her mind, and emotion. Finally, she cut the leaf, then took another, then another.

"Have you felt it?" The woman asked.

Kagome smiled, and nodded. In that instant they were interrupted by InuYasha's voice.

"Everything is in the room." He was resting his body against one side of the door's frame, and she couldn't help but ask herself...

How long had he been there?

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The way to the place they were going to eat at was quite enjoyable. Myoga had decided to take everyone to a place specialized in soba noodles, made with a special flour, and whose owner was an old friend of the elderly man. When Myoga had proposed it, InuYasha had just laughed, then shrugged. As for Kagome, she didn't really care where to go.

When coming out of InuYasha's home, Myoga had been waiting for them, and it was then when Kagome finally met him. The man was short, with grey hair even in his light mustache, which gave him a certain air of wisdom. He had introduced himself with a polite, silent bow she hadn't known what to think about. First, she had thought the man didn't think her worthy of InuYasha, maybe in the same way her own mother had thought InuYasha not for her, yet all of her fears faded once the old man had smiled at her, and expressed how glad he was to meet her, and to know who was the one responsible of the smile the boy had.

Maybe it had been that last phrase what made her heart take a turn, filling it with warmth, helping her feeling more at ease and to be able to enjoy the view on their way to the restaurant.

They made the way by walking on pairs. Myoga and Izayoi were casually talking to each other a few meters ahead of them, and the scene made Kagome wonder if solitude could link two persons. By what InuYasha had told her, his mother hadn't been with anyone since the death of his father, yet not all relationships had to be romantic. She looked at InuYasha, by her side, and couldn't help realize how hard it was to imagine a relationship with him in which sex wasn't involved, and the orgasm they shared. However, for a moment she visualized him older, with an ungainly look that was but a consequence of time, and she discovered herself thinking she wouldn't mind. That made her afraid as much as it made her happy.

"Those two. They are each other's company." She heard him say, without looking at her, as she felt his fingers seeking her hand, which she gave willingly, releasing a sigh as subtly as possible.

In that moment his golden gaze met hers, telling her of fragile feelings that couldn't find echo through words, and Kagome managed to read them, albeit she didn't feel prepared to understand how, nor why.

"We are almost there." Myoga announced with enthusiasm, taking a look back.

Kagome had the urge of letting go of InuYasha's hand, yet he had another idea.

"Thanks, Myoga." He answered, before lifting their hands and placing a kiss on her fingers.

Kagome couldn't but become aware of the way in which her heart stopped, only to beat again, starting a new cycle.

The place Myoga led them to had the look of a traditional Japanese home. The tables were arranged one beside the other, in a way the customers could eat together while not invading each other's space. Kagome couldn't help compare the customs of now, with those of the past. Maybe things could change in the world, yet one could always find something to rescue from old practices; for her, it was clearly that respect that such a thing entailed.

"This way." They heard a woman said, dressed with a traditional yukata, nothing too ostentatious.

InuYasha helped her, gently guiding her through gestures with his hands, on her waist, on her elbow, or simply by signaling in the air. Kagome felt herself cared for, and, even if it was hard for her to admit, valued.

The food was enjoyable, beyond of what they actually asked for or ate. Myoga seemed to her a curious and interesting man, with an air that resembled her own grandfather, yet he was full of anecdotes far naughtier, that he didn't hesitate to share. As for InuYasha's mother, she seemed to emanate a certain kind of air that didn't fit at all with the place she lived in; her spirit felt as if it was much more elevated that the average of people Kagome had met, and even so, she could connect with others easily. Maybe it had been the sake the four of them shared, yet Kagome found herself thinking about the legends speaking of gods being incarnated.

Then, she looked at InuYasha.

"Ok, let's make things clear. Are you saying the asteroids are sent from heaven to repopulate the Earth?" InuYasha asked, unable to hide the smile under his words.

"Think about it, boy. We can't be here by mere coincidence. We are a kind of lab for other civilizations to spring from." The man expressed, full of conviction.

"I don't deny the possibility of other civilizations existing, Myoga. What I do, however, is think it a bit extreme for them to see us as nothing more than lab rats." InuYasha was trying to hold back the laughter burbling inside his chest.

"What else could we be?" The old man vehemently inquired then.

A couple, eating by one side of their table, looked at them, curious.

"I think we've run out of sake." Kagome commented, as a way to produce a pause, or hopefully finishing their conversation.

After that, everything flowed with ease. Another bottle of liquor made Myoga's cheeks turn red, much like InuYasha's. As for Kagome, she preferred another kind of beverage.

"Want a coffee?" Izayoi asked her, sitting in front of her.

"I'd love one." Kagome accepted.

Soon after that, they came out of the restaurant with their stomachs full and a fulfilling sensation. As for InuYasha, he felt free to smile before a Kagome, by his side, whose cheeks were now slightly rosy. On the horizon, the sun had set, leaving but a few lingering streaks of orange light above the mountains, giving way to the first hours of the night.

Their way back was made in the same pattern they had followed on their way here, with Myoga and Izayoi walking a few steps ahead of the couple. InuYasha could still feel that wish to make this moment last, and to share that fulfilling sensation with Kagome for a little longer, and maybe because of it, he recalled a certain place for young people, that he used to talk about going with his friends, back during his high school days, and that once he moved to Tokyo, the intention ended up fading into oblivion.

"Want to come with me to a place?" He asked his partner. Kagome looked at him, her eyes widening by surprise and joy, then nodded. He smiled. "Mom, Myoga." He called. "Kagome and I are going to go drink something."

His mother wore a happy gaze.

"Alright. Will you be back home?" Izayoi asked, and InuYasha understood she was referring to the place he'd sleep at. It felt absurd to him not to share a bed with Kagome, yet he couldn't go against his mother, at least not yet.

"Yes, to the futon on the main room." He seemed to begrudgingly accept.

The woman smiled, and Myoga wished them a good night.

It wasn't until they took the first turn away from that street, and got away from their gazes, that InuYasha placed a hand on Kagome's waist to pull her close, and into a kiss, taking advantage of the seemingly absence of people around. Tongue against tongue, he was reminded of the flavor of the spices they had consumed. He heard her sigh, and noted the way she softened in his hands. He needed her, out of pure yearning, and also because he wanted the perfect ending for a perfect day.

"I have to sleep with you tonight." He confessed her, and heard her chuckle.

"Sleep?" The question came with a sway of her hips, reminding him of the way his body was beginning to wake to desire.

"Well, maybe a little." He accepted, before taking her lower lip between his teeth.

Her sigh, once again, came through his ears as her fingers found the skin of his belly, right underneath the belt of his pants.

The sound of faraway steps forced them to shake that spellbind they were under, and made them recall they were sharing an intimate moment in the middle of the streets. InuYasha pulled away just about enough for their distance to be acceptable by any onlookers.

"Let's continue." He invited her, not lifting his gaze more than necessary, as to not meet the young man's, who was now walking by them.

They resumed their way, and a few hundred meters later, they found an izakaya which seemed quaint in comparison to the traditional air covering the whole town Kagome had seen until now.

"I like it." She voiced, as soon as they entered the place.

It was ample, just like the previous restaurant they had been at. It was pleasant to her, that spacious sensation one could find in a small town, which one could not see in Tokyo. She wondered if life in a place like Nakano was a comfortable one.

"Come in." A young man welcomed them.

They accepted, and he asked them if it would be just the two of them, to which they nodded. Next, the young man led them to a table which was just by a window, and let them alone so that they could choose what to order.

"I don't want anything too strong. What are you going to have?" Kagome asked.

"We could ask for a couple of beers." He simplified, and could see her nodding, convinced.

They waited a short moment before the waiter appeared once again. In that time, InuYasha extended his hand over the table, asking for hers; Kagome observed the gesture, it felt strange to her, yet she still answered it.

"I like this place." She commented, trying to not think too much about how InuYasha was caressing the knuckle of her thumb.

"I like it too. It belongs to an old high school classmate of mine." He told her, and then Kagome showed interest, fixing her gaze on his golden eyes, partially veiled by the ambient light.

The young man from before returned then, and asked for their order: two blond beers.

"Something to eat?" He asked, and they exchanged a brief look before refusing.

"My old high school classmates think their greatest achievement to be someone's girlfriend, and be on their way to marriage." Kagome resumed their conversation.

InuYasha smiled before her bitter tone.

"I don't think it's all, all of them though." He made a joke about her absolutism, which caught her by surprise and made her smile.

"Well, not all of them." She conceded. "One of them is an elementary teacher, and she likes her job, so she is not focused on finding a husband."

InuYasha felt tempted to ask if she had ever felt some sort of romantic interest of that kind, yet stopped himself in time, understanding he'd get nothing worth out of the question. Right now, Kagome felt close, receptive, and with that, he was content.

"Well, look at that. That's alright." He concluded instead, receiving a smile from her.

He was about to inquire if she felt comfortable with his mother and Myoga, yet they were interrupted by the waiter bringing their order.

"Two blondes here." He heard the man say, and InuYasha immediately recognized his voice.

"Jinenji!" He said, joy evident in his voice, tapping the arm of his friend as he placed the cold glasses on the table, and proceeded to pour the beer.

"I'm glad to see you!" The other expressed in a deep voice. The man was tall, and strong, wearing a cooking apron tied to his waist. "It's been more than a year since last time."

He left the bottles on the table, and placed between the two customers a porcelain plate with some snacks of vegetables in tempura, which if Kagome hadn't already been full from their previous dinner, she would have appreciated.

"Nah!" InuYasha smiled. "There are still two weeks to the year mark."

Kagome understood it was a sort of inside joke between them. Once their laughs subsided, the man looked at her, allowing her to discover the intensity of his blue eyes.

"Forgive my discourtesy." He gave her a light bow. "I am Jinenji."

"Kagome." She introduced herself.

She then caught the look the man gave InuYasha, a question waiting to be answered about the place she fit in his life.

"I am her Thursday's girl." She finished her previous phrase.

Jinenji returned his gaze to her. It was full of sympathy. InuYasha, on his part, smiled widely before the memory of their first titles.

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To be continued.

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A/N

I love, love, love this story. I guess it's because of the subtle shades it has, and because of how much one ends up loving one's characters.

I hope you've enjoyed the chapter, and that you tell me in the comments.

Kisses!

Anyara.

This text is possible thanks to the translation of: Dezart