A/N: I hate flying, I hate flying, I hate flying...Anyway, besides that, I'm going to be leaving today, so I won't get an update in until Sunday, if I'm not too tired to update after I get back. It's only one day later than I usually would have updated, so no big deal, I hope.
Some of you have asked about the Pirates of the Caribbean oneshot, and if you would like to view it, I posted it on my deviantart becauseI didn't have the courage to do so here. It didn't turn out as well as I would have hoped, but its up there if you're curious.
Also, I would like to thank you guys again because Lie to Me has progressed to the second round in the nominations! That's better than I would have hoped, as Heart of a Youkai and Chocolate never made it past the first. You guys sure know how to brighten up someone's day (especially someone who has to fly later and has a slight phobia against planes), so I would like to thank you and the Fanguild for this honor. Without you guys, I don't know what I would do.
So thank you again, hope to see you soon!
Chapter 21: Winter Dreams and Nightmares
Kagome's eyes still looked sparkled over despite that it had been many years since the scene occurred. At first, she thought it would be hard to even hint at her and Inuyasha's relationship, especially with Sango and Inuko in the same room, but that simply was not the case. It was not painful, as it first had appeared, but made her oddly happy for some reason, remembering the love they felt for each other at the time.
Sango too, looked like a woman lost in thoughts of love. Hearing Kagome speak of her relationship with Inuyasha like this was so different than her usual melancholy attitude when thoughts turned to that time. But she knew the story still had a long way to go before it reached the point in which everyone's life took a sharp turn for the worse.
And Inuko…looked disgusted. Truth to be told, it was what Kagome had expected. Inuko was a young boy, after all, only interested in battles when she told her stories, not interested in romance. But he bore it only for the sake that he knew the story would get good soon.
"How much longer 'til the good part, Mama?" Inuko asked, pulling his mother out of her memories.
Kagome sighed; her son was very much a boy, not liking where the story was at the moment one bit. "But Inuko, I have to tell you about all this stuff or you won't understand the rest."
Her son made no reply other than, "Ugh."
Sango and Kagome both giggled at his reaction before the former exterminator glanced at her friend. "That part of the story is getting closer, right?"
Kagome's face fell. "Yes. After that night, the Hanyou and the Miko were together for what was left of the year without interruptions. In winter, they didn't do anything more than stay in the village, as youkai attacks slowed down because many youkai hibernate. She was happy, because the Hanyou was always at her side during that time, and even as the year turned anew, nothing seemed to break their happiness."
Kagome paused, her eyes lowering as a flood of memories hit her at once—Inuyasha and herself sitting under a snow-filled Goshinboku, Inuyasha holding her, both looking into a warm fire, him kissing her underneath a beautiful snowfall… Her hand fell over her heart, where she felt the seashell necklace she had never once taken off still around her neck, a constant reminder of her love for Inuyasha.
Taking a deep breath, she continued, "But the Hanyou and Miko still had troubles. The evil youkai, Naraku hadn't done anything for months, which was unusual. Lost in their love, the Hanyou and Miko didn't notice, but they should have…they should have known he was watching, and waiting, for his opportunity to destroy them, and all they held dear. And with this new year, the Hanyou and the Miko would make the ultimate, terrible mistake that would lead to a tragic end…"
Kagome shivered as she walked through the snow around the village. Despite the fact that she had worn a longer, wool skirt, a sweater, and scarf, and had a coat around her, she was still freezing. She thought once more that she probably should have worn pants instead of a skirt, but it would be a long cold walk back to the well, so she decided against it.
She would have liked to have stayed in the nice, warm, hut, but Inuyasha had left to get firewood, and hadn't yet come back. The hanyou was in for the sitting of his life when she found him.
Kagome wrapped her arms around herself, trying to keep warm. "Inuyasha so help me…if you don't have a real reason for being out here so long…"
She trekked across what was left of the open fields and towards the snow-covered forest, her breath coming in little clouds in front of her. The snow crunched under her shoes and the soft sound of the chilling breeze filled her ears. With every frigid step, she mentally cursed Inuyasha once more. Finally, when she could take it no longer, Kagome snapped.
"Augh! Inuyasha, I hope you're nearby to hear this! Sit, sit, sit! Do you hear me? Sit!"
No sooner had she said the word then there was a loud crunch off to her right and the sound of cursing. Running towards it, Kagome found her hanyou face first into the snow, muffled curses coming from him. By the time Inuyasha popped his head up, he found an angry Kagome looking right back at him.
"Where were you?" she demanded, her arms folded and her feet tapping.
The hanyou sat up growling. "I just went to get some stuff!" He looked back at the ground and shook out what he had been carrying, "And now look! You got them wet!"
Kagome didn't even look at whatever he had. "You said you'd be gone for a few minutes! You were gone much longer than that!"
"I only went back to your time to get these!" he snapped, tossing them at her. Kagome stared at what he had brought.
"Blankets?" she asked, her eyebrow raising.
Folding his arms, letting Kagome know he was in a tight spot, Inuyasha muttered, "You were shivering in your sleep last night, Kagome. I went back so you wouldn't be cold like last night."
Kagome stared. Inuyasha had gone all the way back to her world just to get blankets for her? Any anger she had before evaporated in an instant. "Inuyasha…"
He glanced back at her, noticing that she was sitting in the snow, and beginning to shiver once more. "Keh, pathetic woman." He muttered, pulling a blanket out of her arms and wrapping it around her.
She didn't know what to say other than to pull the blanket tighter across herself and whisper, "Thank you…"
Inuyasha helped pull Kagome to her feet. "Come on, you're freezing out here. You need to get inside."
As they began walking towards the village, Kagome leaned closer to him. "But I'm warmer with you."
At first, Inuyasha blushed for a moment, but then he smiled and pulled her closer. "Me too."
They walked in silence for a while, enjoying the beauty of the snowfall, before Kagome said, "Geez, Inuyasha, how can you walk around barefoot in this cold?"
Inuyasha snorted. "Keh. Hanyou, not pathetic human."
Kagome elbowed him in the side. "Well, then you're lucky for not being a 'pathetic human.'" She shivered once more, and Inuyasha pulled her closer, warming her with his body heat.
"Where would you be without me, woman?"
Rolling her eyes she said, "Still inside Kaede's hut, nice and warm, without having to come all this way chasing after you. You, on the other hand, without me, would still have your butt stuck to that tree."
"Keh. And you'd be centipede food. Face it woman, you need me."
Kagome leaned closer to him, not denying it,and replying. "And you need me."
Inuyasha said nothing, but let his actions speak for him by smiling at her, his amber eyes sparkling, and pulling her against his side. They stopped walking at the edge of the forest, turning towards each other, the looks of longing being mirrored within each other's eyes.
As he stepped closer to her, Kagome's heart raced within her chest. "You know…I don't feel so cold anymore…" she said, her misty breath mixing with his. "In fact…" Inuyasha's fingers traced her cheek. "I feel kind of warm…"
"You're not the only one…" he murmured, leaning down and closing his eyes, with Kagome's sliding shut, his lips a centimeter away from hers…
Smack!
Inuyasha jerked away from her as he felt the cold wetness hit the side of his face. "Hey!" he turned to see a widely grinning kitsune, tossing another snowball up in the air and then catching it.
Kagome, blushing profoundly, ducked behind Inuyasha as Shippou cackled, "Couldn't help it, Inuyasha, you two didn't even notice!"
"And you're dead!" the hanyou roared, charging after Shippou as the kitsune raced back to the village, with Kagome, once again, left behind. Inuyasha chased Shippou to right in front of Kaede's hut. Sango and Miroku, heard him, and had stepped outside just as Shippou jumped for their cover.
"Stop hiding and get back here, runt! I've got to kill you!" Inuyasha yelled, stopping in front of Sango and Miroku, who both looked slightly intrigued.
"What did he do this time, Inuyasha?" Sango asked, rolling his eyes.
"This!" Inuyasha growled, pointing to the snow covered side of his face.
The monk couldn't help but have fun with this as a grin popped up on his face. "But Inuyasha, don't tell me that it in any way harmed your superior hanyou body, did it?"
Growling, Inuyasha yelled, "Of course not!"
Miroku's lecherous grin widened just as Kagome came running in, carrying the blankets that Inuyasha had dropped. "Ah, I see. Did he catch you at a bad time?"
The hanyou made no move to kill the monk, but with his insistent growling, it was clear that he dearly wanted to. Sango glanced at the blankets in Kagome's arms. "What are these?"
Remembering her and Inuyasha's previous conversation, Kagome blushed. "Er…supplies. That's what Inuyasha went to get, because this winter is a lot colder than normal."
When Kagome went to go dump the blankets inside, the one she was already wearing like a cape flapping as she walked, Miroku leaned closer to Inuyasha and said, "Cold winter we're having, huh? Though, I suppose you and Kagome-sama don't notice it too much…"
Inuyasha gave a roar of fury, diving at the monk who jumped behind Sango, Miroku grazing her behind with his hand in the process. That caused the exterminator to shriek, and knock the monk so hard that he fell back into the snow.
When Shippou saw the potential for fun, he threw a snowball at Inuyasha, changing the hanyou's target. Sango pelted Miroku with snowballs, yelling about inappropriate touching. But when one of Shippou's snowballs accidentally hit Sango, she started aiming for him.
When Kagome pushed back the curtain, her eyes widened at the scene before her, a four versus four snowball melee where snow was being tossed everywhere. Sighing and deciding to be peacemaker once more, Kagome began to step in-between them to put a stop to it…
When a snowball came out of no where and hit her on the side of her head.
Everyone froze as the watched Kagome clench her fists while an almost red glow floated around her. Everyone backed away, especially Shippou, who had thrown the snow.
But Kagome's anger seemed to subside as she slid down to her knees and brushed the snow off herself. "Shippou-chan?" she said calmly.
"Y-yes?" he asked, still afraid of what might happen.
Suddenly, a white ball whizzedthrough the airand hit the kitsune smack dab in the face to the surprise of everyone else. "Got you!" Kagome laughed, before the snowball fight ensued once more.
As Kagome was fending herself off from a snowball assault from Sango, another one hit her from behind. She turned, and Inuyasha was grinning behind her. "Inuyasha!" she cried, chasing after him as he bolted, heading towards the forest. None of the others seemed to notice very much that they had gone missing, caught up in the fight.
Kagome chased Inuyasha until they were inside the forest, when she, tired of running and trying to chase a hanyou full of stamina, yelled, "Sit!" And down he went.
When the hanyou rolled over, Kagome promptly straddled his stomach and started picking up fistfuls of snow and pelting him with them. "How do you like that, huh?"
Inuyasha covered his face for a moment, waiting for her to lower her guard. The second he felt a hesitation, he grabbed hold of her arms and with one roll, pinned her underneath him.
"Inuyasha!" she yelled, as he pinned her down. "What was that for?"
Snickering, Inuyasha told her, "Like saying 'it' do you? Well, here's my version of it."
Kagome pouted, hating the fact that she had been defeated. Check and mate. "Cheater."
He leaned closer, reminding her of that night of the new moon months ago when they found themselves in the same position. "Do you surrender?" he asked again.
After pausing for a moment, as if to thinking it over, she grinned, "Not quite."
"Oh yeah? What do you have up your sleeve this time, woman?"
Sneakily, she replied, "This." And then jerked her arm free, pulling his head down to meet her lips in a kiss.
And oh, what a kiss it was. It had started out on that position on the ground, but soon Inuyasha relented and sat up, pulling her with him, never breaking their contact. Their arms pulled each other ever closer, as if to melt together and become one. The cold air vanished around them as they both felt warm in this heated embrace, not knowing a single thing but each other.
Inuyasha began to lift his head, but Kagome pulled him back down. "Don't…" she pleaded, before his lips crashed against hers once more. Whatever they had, it wasn't enough. The kiss became deeper, more intimate, while fires of lust lit deep within them.
The only thing on Kagome's mind was Inuyasha when he pulled away for only a second, her eyes opening to slits to see him looking at her with such love in his eyes before coming back down again, this time his lips brushing her neck like he had done before. Kagome let out a gasp, her fingers running through his silver hair as the incredible sensations went through her. Without meaning to or knowing what she was doing, she gasped once more, this time words leaving her lips, "I love you…"
Inuyasha froze, amber eyes popping open and pulling away blushing ridiculously. When Kagome noticed he was no longer kissing her, she opened her eyes to stare into his bemused ones. "What is it?"
Somehow, Inuyasha found his voice. "K-Kagome…" But his voice soon left him.
She looked at him confused for a moment, before she remembered the last thought that had been in her head when he was kissing her. Her eyes shot wide open. Did she say that out loud?
Looking back into his, she guessed she must have. Oh well, it wasn't like she had been afraid to tell him it was just…the opportunity never arose. Her expression softened and she murmured, "I love you."
The hanyou could only stare in shock. Yes, he knew Kagome must have felt that way, but…a year ago, he would have never expected someone to one day say that to him. And yet, she had. Hanyous were never supposed to have love, yet…every day, he thanked the gods for giving him this wonderful, beautiful woman. His expression was still one of shock, but he was able to speak once more. "You…you actually…"
Kagome reached up, fingers brushing her cheek as her chocolate eyes twinkled. "Yes, Inuyasha. I love you. I think I've been in love with you since the day we met." The memory of him trying to kill her popped into her mind. "Well…not quite."
A small chuckle escaped him as he, too, remembered that day. "That had to be the best day of my life."
Kagome giggled, tugging slightly on the kotodama beads. "But that was the day I gave you this."
"Yeah, but that was the day I met you, you beautiful, wonderful woman." His lips met hers a second later , pulling Kagome into his lap once more as she tugged on his neck, pulling him ever closer. When he pulled away once more, leaving both of them breathless, he muttered, "Even if you do sit me a lot and are annoying as Hell."
Kagome raised an eyebrow. "What are you saying?"
The hanyou grabbed her by the arms and gave her a slight shake. "I'm trying to say I love you, you idiot!" Despite it all, there was still a blush on his face.
The only response Kagome gave to his proclamation was a smile. "I know, Inuyasha." And once again, they fell back into their passionate embrace, and the cold that had plagued Kagome earlier in the day was all forgotten.
Kikyou walked through the snow, but felt nothing due to her body made of clay. She suddenly stopped and turned, feeling a presence she would rather not have. There, standing in a tree above her, was Naraku himself, once again clad in his trademark white baboon skin.
"What are you doing here, Naraku?" she demanded, tightening the grip on her bow.
An evil chuckle came from him as he said, "Kikyou…I want to show you something very interesting…" Kanna suddenly appeared next to him, holding the mirror before the deceased miko.
"It is about Inuyasha…" Naraku explained, as the mirror began to focus on an image. Despite that Kanna was far away from Kikyou, it seemed like the image grew bigger in her mind, so she could see it clearly. She saw Inuyasha and Kagome, sitting in the snow, arms wrapped around each other and looking content.
"I'm trying to say I love you, you idiot!" the hanyou yelled at Kagome, shaking her slightly.
All Kagome did was smile. "I know, Inuyasha." And they suddenly came together again, kissing desperately and passionately as if it were their last moment alive.
Kikyou's eyes narrowed as the image disappeared, and she looked back at the evil hanyou. "Did you have a purpose in showing me this, Naraku, or was it just a passing fancy?"
He laughed again. "I wonder, Kikyou, how much you valued your little doggy's loyalty. Did you ever wonder if he would begin to stop loving you and find that his heart lay with someone else? Someone alive?"
To Naraku's surprise, Kikyou chuckled. "You assume too much, Naraku. Inuyasha informed me that he could no longer keep his promise to me himself, and I knew long ago that he was infatuated with my reincarnation. If your goal was to anger me, then you have failed. I have no more feelings of either of them."
The hanyou chuckled once more. "I see. So it would not phase you in the least if Kagome and Inuyasha managed to die unexpectedly?"
When Naraku held out the tainted Shikon no Tama for Kikyou to see, a smirk came on her face. "I see. So that is why you have really come here. But the Shikon no Tama will not respond to me as you would wish, Naraku, I have already been killed by the Curse of the Shikon no Tama, I cannot be killed by it again."
Though he said nothing, Kikyou knew she held the upper hand. "Yes, Naraku, I know of the Curse. I learned of it many years ago when I wanted to learn the origin of the Shikon no Tama. And Inuyasha told me you were planning on using the Curse to destroy them."
Giving a chuckle, the miko continued, "But you have failed, Naraku. You cannot kill me as you were planning to continue the string of deaths connected the jewel. The curse does not discriminate between friend and foe, and unless you find someone else eligible to give the blood the Curse needs to continue, it will turn on you. After all, Naraku, who is more eligible than the one who has carried most of the Shikon no Tama for the longest time?"
With a growl, Naraku suddenly disappeared, his last words to her, "Damn you, Kikyou…" as he faded out of sight.
Kikyou smirked at where he had been, before turning back and continuing on her way.
