A/N: Okay…sorry for the short previous chapter. So I decide to continue. Anyways, if you couldn't tell this is gonna be told from Inu's point of view. Change of perspective, and I'm not all that good at little kids' (esp boys) points of view, so gimme a chance to practice. Right, and if I haven't done a disclaimer, I don't own Inuyasha. I'm just a lowly fan.
Chapter 2:
The rain splattered hard on the roof, and Kagome slid closer to Inuyasha. The fire was crackling in the stone fireplace, giving off sparks of warmth and light and casting long, trembling shadows in the room. Inuyasha pulled Kagome closer and brushing her dark bangs out of her face, kissed her ever so lightly on her forehead. Kagome gave a happy sigh, and smiled. This was one of the best dates she had ever been on, even if it just included a late, rainy night by the fire.
"Is something wrong?" Inuyasha questioned worriedly, peering into the young girl's face. His thumb traced her arm in comfort.
"No, of course not…I was just thinking…have you ever been in love before?" Kagome asked quietly in a curious tone. Inuyasha stared into the fire, as if trying to revoke distant memories. The tapping of the rain was soothing, yet the longer he watched the dancing flames, the stronger the memories became.
Seeming to notice his distracted state, Kagome thought better of her request.
"Inuyasha? If you don't want to answer, it's okay. I was just wondering. I mean, don't have to know," she told him, placing a hand on his stomach and rubbing it affectionately. Inuyasha looked down on her face that appeared almost golden in the fire's light, and held his breath for just a moment, having finally decided. It might be a bit painful to tell, but it was a good memory.
"You want to know?" Inuyasha asked, as if for reassurance. Kagome nodded once. Inuyasha shifted into a more comfortable position and kissed her once again, contemplating how he would begin his story.
"Once…a long time ago, before I met you, there was this girl…"
"Inuyasha, are you ready?" Izayoi gently tapped on Inuyasha's door to find him attempting to stuff as many toys into his beach bag as possible. It was all in vain however, as several kept jumping out.
"Come on now, you can't bring all your toys to the beach. You can't carry them all," his mother told him, catching a deflated beach ball as it fell out of his bag.
"Yes I can," he grunted. "I want to bring them," Inuyasha said stubbornly, obviously having trouble with his load that seemed to weigh more than he did.
"Don't forget your towel, sweetie," his mother reminded him in a gentle voice. Inuyasha moved in that direction, but Izayoi went ahead of him and tucked the red towel underneath her right arm.
"It's all right. I've got it for you. Sesshomaru and your father are in the car already. It'll be hot out today, so can you please sit still this time long enough for me to put some sunscreen on?" she asked as she followed her eager son out of the hotel door and down the carpeted hallway.
"Yeah, okay mommy," Inuyasha said in an exasperated tone. As they traveled down the elevator, he struggled to keep his balance as the pull of the elevator threw him off a bit. Being a little more than three feet and weighing only forty-one pounds could be a challenge sometimes.
They barely hit the bottom floor, and Inuyasha immediately bounced impatiently as the doors open and he launched out of there as if he was a cap on an agitated soda bottle. H pushed the hotel doors open and tugged on the car door handle, but unfortunately for him, Sesshomaru had locked his door. Again. Inuyasha stomped his left foot, and crossed his arms, as his mother came up behind him.
Giving Sesshomaru an exasperated look, she motioned for him to unlock the door. Now. Sesshomaru smirked, but then his father told him he'd better unlock the door for his little brother, and with a scowl, he complied reluctantly.
Inuyasha climbed into the back seat next to Sesshomaru and Izayoi stepped into the passenger's. Her husband leaned over and kissed her gently on the cheek, which was received with a smile, before putting the car into drive and pulling out from in front of the hotel.
Inuyasha gave a disgusted sigh. "Why do you guys always have to do that in front of me…kissing's so gross." Inuyasha's father and mother laughed, amused at their son.
"Well…I really like your mother Inuyasha, and I like showing her," his father explained, glancing over at his wife and winking at her. "You'll understand when you get older." Inuyasha doubted he ever would, but that thought quickly passed through his young mind and was forgotten within seconds. He watched the passing scenes. As they passed a Sheetz, a McDonalds, a row of condos, and several pedestrians, Inuyasha thought about what he should do first when he got to the beach. He really wanted to straight into the water, but digging in the sand sounded like a lot of fun too. Exploring around sounded like a great deal of fun as well. Without noticing it, Inuyasha began fidgeting and shifting under his seat belt, excited to get to the beach and wondering why his daddy wasn't driving fast enough.
When they finally arrived, Inuyasha was bouncing so much, one would've thought he was about to wet his pants. Grabbing his bag, he hopped out of the car, but a smooth hand caught his.
"Hold on, Inuyasha. I've got something for you," his mother told him with a laugh at his eagerness. Inuyasha sighed. The beach…it was right there…the warm sand, the spraying, salty waters…
"I promise it'll be worth your time, sweetie. I've got something for you," she said, reaching into her own big beach bag that had a flower imprinted on it. She pulled out a foot-long fire truck, which made Inuyasha's eyes become as big as the dinner plates they ate their food on in the restaurant last night.
"Wow cool!" he exclaimed, instantly reaching for the toy. Izayoi smiles lovingly at her son and before she knew it, he had taken off.
Now he just had to get to the beach. Nothing and no one would stop him. As he sprinted off and eventually hit the sand it seeped over him hot and grainy. He dug his feet around in the sand but stopped suddenly when something sharp ended up in the bottom of his left sandal.
"Ow!" he cried out, and slumped down to pick dig the jagged stone from under his foot. Luckily it wasn't sharp enough to pierce the skin, but he spent several moments rubbing the sore spot in frustration.
"That's what you get for rushing, little brother," he heard a familiar voice taunt. Inuyasha didn't even look up, but pouted with his arms in his lap, knowing it was Sesshomaru. The rest of his family had joined him, and started to set up a spot. Inuyasha's father set up a blue and white umbrella for shade, and his mother laid out a couple bright-colored beach towels.
"If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go for a while," Sesshomaru informed then, in his I'm-too-good-to-be-here-or-be-seen-with-you-guys tone.
"Okay, but be back in time for lunch. We're all going out," Izayoi called after him. Inuyasha rolled his eyes. He did this every time. He knew he just wanted to meet girls. How stupid. Not two minutes later, Inuyasha happened to catch sight of his brother, and sure enough, he already had three girls hanging over him.
Sesshomaru hadn't even acknowledged Inuyasha's mother and he watched as his father put a reassuring arm around his wife's shoulders. Inuyasha didn't understand much, but really hated the fact that his older brother never liked his mother.
"Mommy…why does Sesshomaru hate you?" he asked scooting over to his mom. He saw the look of dejection on her face and wanted to make things better. Knowing he was worried about her, the look instantly vanished, and she scooped him up in his arms, embracing him in a secure hug.
"You're father and I will tell you another time. Don't worry, Inuyasha, I'll be okay," she reassured him, adding a smile to prove it.
"Now, why don't I apply some sunscreen on you, and then you can go play. Doesn't that sound fun?" she suggested. A bit unsure, Inuyasha hesitated, but then figured she would be all right. After all, his mommy was the bravest, strongest and coolest person he knew. Besides his daddy of course.
After sitting still for a good while, the dark thoughts had drifted away and when his mother finished rubbing sunscreen over his body, he was finally able to go out and play.
"Please stay where I can see you, okay, sweetie?" his mother requested gently.
"I will mommy!" Inuyasha said, before turning away and running off excitedly towards the lapping waves. Already the sun beat warm against his back, but as soon as his feet splashed in the water, it ran up his leg, feeling cool and refreshing.
For the next hour or so, he entertained himself with trying to stand up against the pull of the waves, exploring along the water's edge, picking up cool-looking stones, seashells and whatever else one might find, and digging a giant hole, ridges, mounds, and passageways in the sticky sand. Towards the end of that blissful hour, he went back and grabbed the new truck his mother gave him, and began rolling it over the bumpy sand. When it became dirty after the big save from the castle fire, he let the waves wash over it, making it sparkle bits of white and gold in the sunshine. Satisfied it was clean, he had it speed along one of his ridges once again. In fact…little Inuyasha was having so much fun, he didn't realize that a young girl had shyly approached him, until she was practically in front of him.
"Um…" was all she could manage. At the moment, all Inuyasha saw were her bare feet, but he could tell it was a little girl.
"You can play with here if you want," he told her. When she didn't move, he wondered why, and looked up at her to find her nervously fidgeting with a plastic, square, green bucket and shovel. He blinked. She was really…cute! She had perfect bangs that hung above big, brown eyes, and a white bathing suit on. Her hair hung blew in the breeze, and she nervously smiled at him. Finally her voice broke his trance.
"I like your truck. Can I make a road for it?" she asked. All Inuyasha could manage was a nod as he looked down at his truck.
At first, they were both really nervous, but that soon passed. Within five minutes, he and this new girl were chatting up a storm. Eventually even that ceased, and the sun passed through the sky until it began to sink across the watery horizon. By the time they finished, they had built and entire town to go along with the castle, as well as moat to match, and had created several adventures for that day. All too soon, it seemed, though, it was time for them to go.
"Inuyasha, I think we should head back now," his mother called to him, making her way down the golden beach.
"Already? Can we come back tomorrow?" he pleaded with a great big hopeful look. His mother shook his head.
"I'm afraid we had other plans. Our summer house isn't too far away. I'm sure we can come back another time," she told him.
"I see you've made a new friend though," she said, smiling at the young girl who bit her lip and fumbled with her bucket.
"How're you, dear? Did you guys have fun?" she asked her gently. The little girl nodded.
"I'm glad. I'm sorry, but we have to go now. What's your name?" she asked kindly. Inuyasha remembered. After all this time, he never asked her name.
"Um…it's Kikyo," she said quietly.
"That's a pretty name. Kikyo. We won't be here tomorrow, but would if you want, you could come to the zoo. That's where we're going. I hope to see you there. I think Inuyasha really enjoyed playing with you today." Kikyo couldn't help but smile.
"Bye, Inuyasha. I'll try and come tomorrow," she told him before she headed off in the other direction. Inuyasha couldn't help but watch her leave. She was definitely the cutest girl he ever remembered seeing. He didn't realize that his mother was watching him with a warm, knowing smile.
A/N: Sorry, if the ending was rushed…and if it's got spelling/grammar errors…it's kinda crazy around here. I won't update past this one for a couple weeks, as I'm off to vacation, which I'm hoping won't be as stressful as I think it'll be…don't ask. Anyways, enough of that. Don't forget to review! Arigatou!
