A/N: I've updated my website with a new section! Since some have asked me about some of the Japanese words I use (and the ongoing "Why do use 'Tessaiga'? It's 'Tetsusaiga'!") I've put up a glossary. Right now, its just terms that you find in my fanfiction, but soon I hope it'll have a few terms and fun phrases in Japanese up there too.
Oh no! Rin! So, once they kill off Kikyou, it seems everyone starts to go, as now Rin is in mortal peril. I don't think she'll die. (Come on, Sessy's there to save her, and when Kohaku said she stopped breathing, Sessy had this priceless "Oh Snap!" look on his face.) The funny thing is, many I have talked to in the Inuyasha fandom are inclied to believe that Kohaku as the Jessica Fletcher curse--First his village, then a couple humans, then Kagura, then Kikyou, and now Rin! Everyone he gets near dies!
(Maybe they could defeat Naraku if Kohaku poked him. Would certainly be an interesting ending.)
And Sessmom (We FINALLY see her! And she IS alive!) called Jaken 'Little Youkai.' tee hee.
Chapter 23: In the Lovers' Glade
Inuyasha never said a word to me about what Sesshoumaru had told him after I left. I never brought it up either, slightly afraid of what he would say if he knew I had been listening the whole time.
But I also didn't bring it up because I was slightly afraid of what he would say if I told him I heard Sesshoumaru tell him that he knew Inuyasha wanted to mate with me. I didn't want to talk to him about it, I realized. After all, ever since I heard Sesshoumaru tell that to him, I found myself thinking about…that…more than I should.
To go the next step with him so soon wasn't something I was planning on…after all, I was only sixteen! Though that year was waning fast, and I soon found myself close to my seventeenth birthday. And though I was a young girl, I lived in an age where stuff about those types of relationships was easily found. I knew what Inuyasha wanted, and I began wondering if I wanted it too.
In Inuyasha's time, girls younger than I were already married and had children. I had to take into account that what felt like rushing things to me was only natural to someone like Inuyasha. So every time we kissed or came close I wondered if that would be the time that he would finally ask me that one question that I was dreading…and wanting.
I won't lie and say that I didn't want to be Inuyasha's mate—to be with him forever, and to always be by his side…him loving me for as long as we lived, the promise that it would always be me in his heart, and never anyone else. And I won't lie and say that my body didn't betray me when things got a bit too far between us…I wanted that too…but that didn't mean that I wasn't scared about it, either.
There were so many worries when I thought of such things; what if Inuyasha thought I was ugly, or if I wasn't good enough? Is it possible for someone to be bad at it? I had no experience whatsoever, and I only knew what went where through health class and from other things I had accidentally stumbled upon.
I shouldn't have worried so much then, but I would soon learn that I wasn't the only one worrying when Inuyasha and I came to the Lovers' Glade…
Things went on as they always had between Inuyasha and Kagome, but it was clear that something was troubling both of them. Inuyasha seemed to be thinking of other things a lot more often lately, and Kagome felt a bit nervous around him at times.
At other times, however, things were about the same. When he held her in his arms, she responded as she always did, but when Inuyasha looked at her in the eyes, lit with such a passion…it was almost too much to keep from looking away. He hadn't been more forward than usual, but Kagome always expected that he would one day go too far, and she wouldn't be able to stop herself.
But one night, as Inuyasha held her in his arms, kissing her to the point where she would almost beg him to stop, she thought, But…do I really want to stop?
Maybe…am I all right with this? she wondered, as Inuyasha finally pulled away, looking her deeply in her eyes. I love him…and though I am slightly nervous about what would happen when we…I'm not afraid of him. Would if be okay if we both…
"Kagome…" Inuyasha murmured, leaning his forehead against hers. As his fingers traced her cheeks, making her unable to pull away from his eyes, her heart pounded rapidly in her chest.
"Inu…Inuyasha…" she breathed, knowing once and for all she never wanted this feeling to stop.
He was about to respond, when suddenly Kagome's eyes went wide pointing out to the distance. "Inuyasha!" He turned; overhead were the same youkai birds they had seen before. "Where are they going?" she asked, as Inuyasha pulled away to glance up at them.
"Only one way to find out!" He pulled Kagome on to his back and headed towards their camp to alert their companions.
Though they followed after the birds at great speed, the birds were faster and soon disappeared from their sight. However, they soon found information in a nearby village.
"Youkai birds? We did see a flock of unusual looking birds fly over in that direction." The village headman pointed towards the east.
"Right…" Inuyasha glanced up at the setting sun. "We'll set out tomorrow. I think even they'd need to stop for a rest once in a while."
"You may stay in this village, if you wish," the headman told them, making Kagome glad that this village didn't seem to mind Inuyasha, as others did.
Before Kagome could tell Inuyasha that they should accept his offer, she heard villagers speak, "Who are they?" one woman asked.
"I think they're exterminators. Either that or mercenaries…" another whispered back.
"Exterminators? Are they here to try to break the curse of the Lovers' Glade?"
Kagome gasped when she heard that, and Inuyasha's sharp hearing seemed to have heard it too. "Wait a minute!" he turned around and faced the two village women. "What's this about a curse?"
"The curse of the Lovers' Glade." The headman spoke, "It has become somewhat of a legend in our village." He turned and walked towards the edge of the small village. "Come."
They followed, each wondering what this curse was about. Since the youkai birds had not landed or taken any interest, it seemed it wasn't connected to the Curse of the Shikon no Tama at all, yet… Inuyasha and Kagome both wondered why this curse gave them a bad feeling, not quite like the feeling the Curse of the Shikon no Tama gave them, but similar.
As they continued walking towards the village shrine, Kagome hugged herself tighter. I feel…so cold… Why do I feel like I'm freezing? And then she felt it; the pain. The tormenting pain from inside…despair…like all hope had been lost. She shut her eyes as she felt the pain start to consume her, and suddenly a word floated into her mind. "Takai!" she heard a woman scream in despair. Such heartache…she had never felt it before…
"Kagome? Kagome!" She felt a hand on her shoulder and snapped her eyes open, to meet Inuyasha's. "Are you all right?"
As she looked into his eyes, it seemed that all pain she had felt disappeared. That terrible feeling that had held her suddenly dispersed. Kagome nodded, "Yeah…I just, didn't feel too well for a minute, that's all."
Inuyasha eyed her suspiciously, before they continued on to stop before two graves lying side by side. "These are…?" Miroku asked, noticing the large quantity of flowers placed before the two gravestones.
"It was ten years ago," the headman said, kneeling down before the graves, lost in memory. "Our village was one of the ones caught up in strife and battle, and many men were called away to war. One such man was one that had just barely come of age. He had a lover, no older than himself, and they should have been very happy together; yet the war changed everything."
Kagome found herself staring at the two graves, knowing where that terrible feeling of sadness came from. The wind whistled between Inuyasha and Kagome, while they kept their eyes upon the headman, as he continued, "The night before he was called away, he and his lover met in the glade in the forest close by here. That was their last time together, for in the morning, he left, never to come back. When she found out, she couldn't handle the pain in her heart from being separated, and threw herself into the river, to join him in death. It was only after we had found her that we realized the full extent of her suffering."
The first one to speak after the headman finished was Sango. "What do you mean?"
Turning back to them with sad eyes, the headman spoke, "When we came to her hut to prepare her for burial, we found bloody cloths lying on the floor. She had been with his child, but her grief was too great, and she had lost it."
Kagome couldn't help but gasp. This poor woman…she suffered so much with him already gone…and then to…
"What were their names?" Miroku asked, as the village headman stood up.
"Takai and Aiko."
Kagome instantly shivered. That name…?I just heard it, in my head! She glanced at Inuyasha, and he too, looked like he was shocked about something. What's going on?
"So what is it about this curse?" Sango asked, looking like she was thinking it over.
The headman sighed as they made their way back to the village. "Sometimes, if a man and a woman who are together make their way into that glade, terrible things happen to them. They all seem to have a tragic end that leads to the death of both of them…and one who followed one such couple said that the spirits of the tragic lovers took over the two and repeated that night."
Kagome regained her voice and spoke, "And…it keeps happening?"
"Many young couples that were engaged or the like had been found in that glade mornings after they went missing, but they don't remember what happened. Soon after, a tragedy will befall them. That is why this village is so small, only those who have no one dare live here…Because of this, it hasn't happened recently, but we are always afraid it will happen again…"
While they walked back to the village in silence, each thinking about the story and the curse, Kagome noticed Inuyasha was deep in thought. "What did you think about the story, Inuyasha?"
He glanced at her, as if he had forgotten she was there, and then replied, "Keh, it seemed to me that they were both wimpy cowards instead of this 'tragic lover' nonsense."
Considering how he had been looking earlier, that was not the response she thought he would give. "What do you mean?"
Rolling his eyes as if it was obvious, Inuyasha told her, "I mean, look at that girl. So her lover dies, big deal. Yeah, she's sad, but if she was stronger, she could have lived without him anyway."
"She missed him, Inuyasha," Kagome explained. "She felt like she couldn't live without him, how can you blame her? She lost the one she loved, and their child, the only thing she had left of him, so there was nothing left for her in the world."
"It proves that she was weak."
"No, it proves that she loved him so much, she couldn't live without him!" she glared. He could be so insensitive sometimes! "And besides, if he wasn't such a coward, he could have stayed behind with her, instead of leaving her alone."
Once again, they were in the middle of an argument. "Sometimes a man's got to leave her behind for her own safety. Maybe he was thinking of her when he went to leave her."
"If he really loved her, he would have taken her with him so they'd never be separated."
"Only to let her die by his side when he could have left her behind to protect her?"
"If it was either dying by his side or dying without him all alone, which do you think she would pick?"
"Like I said, if she wasn't so weak, she could have learned to live without him!"
Kagome was about to retort when she noticed everyone was looking at them. With her silence, Inuyasha noticed it too, and they both turned away, blushing slightly. But though the argument seemed to be over, it didn't matter what the other thought, they both believed that in this matter, they each were right, and would never agree.
I don't care whatInuyasha says, she thought, He shouldn't have left her behind, and that's that.
Night came upon them, and they decided to rest before heading out in the morning. Kagome and Sango shared a room while the boys had another, and late after Sango had fallen asleep, Kagome couldn't stop thinking about that curse and the fates of the two. It was horrible, what happened to them…she wondered. And they said this curse possesses two people if they were doomed to tragedy…
Unable to get to sleep, she sat up, hugging her knees to her chest. I wonder how many people, like us, passed through here and heard of this legend…and how many had already been possessed. Kagome shivered in disgust. She had already been possessed once, and had no desire to repeat the experience.
Groaning slightly, she flopped back down on the bedding. I can't think of this now! I have to get to sleep! Sighing as she closed her eyes, she added, And I have got to stop thinking of Inuyasha in all of this…
"…Kai…"
Kagome instantly shot up. She could have sworn she heard a voice just outside of her door…a voice that sounded lonely. And there it was again! "Takai…"
Her eyes opened wider. Takai…the name of the man who…No, this can't be…it can't be their ghosts, can it?
Though she knew it was a bad idea, Kagome couldn't help herself. She stood up and slowly walked to the door. She paused for only a moment before sliding it open, and glancing into the hallway. No one.
She sighed in relief. It was only my imagination. I've got to stop being so paranoid—
"Takai!"
Kagome jumped when she heard it again. Maybe not… The voice this time sounded like it was crying…sad. It's coming from outside… Taking one last look at Sango sleeping peacefully with Kirara curled up beside her, Kagome started following the voice as if something drew her to it.
I'm getting a bad feeling about this…but I have to know… The sound of the voice led her outside of the village, and to the forest. She's going to the glade…I see…it's what happened ten years ago…
"Takai, please, don't leave me!" she heard the woman cry again out of desperation as Kagome followed into the forest, she felt that feeling inside once more. It's breaking my heart…
She felt her heartbeat begin to race as she got closer and closer to the glade, that feeling of immense pain filling her up once more. With it, she saw flashes of visions, not of what happened years ago, but of Inuyasha…him turning and leaving her behind…herself collapsing to her knees crying in despair…the feeling of being so desperately afraid that he would never come back…
No…Kagome fought the feeling that the glade was inflicting on her. No, he wouldn't do that! Inuyasha wouldn't leave me behind! I promised him I'd always be by his side…and he promised me he'd never leave…He won't leave me!
Her eyes snapped open, and she looked around. She was in the middle of a forest, with trees high overhead, shielding herself from the view of the stars. A small waterfall and pond lay close by, the bubble of the water adding sounds to the night, while a large, ancient tree, stood before her…and someone was underneath it.
They turned, and Kagome gasped, "Inuyasha!"
He seemed to be surprised that she was there as well. "Kagome?"
And then a bright while light filled their vision.
"Takai?" Kagome asked, timidly. "Takai, what are you doing here?"
"Aiko…" Inuyasha murmured, looking at her with resolved eyes. He wished she didn't come here, he wished he wouldn't have to tell her.
Walking closer, Kagome continued, begging, "Please, Takai…what is going on? Why were you so secretive today? Why won't you talk to me? Tell me! What is happening?"
After a pause, Inuyasha glanced away, towards the pond. In the water, he saw the reflection of a village girl with her hair put up in a bun and curious deep blue eyes. A man stood across from her, with short hair and brown eyes now looking away from his beloved. "Aiko…I came here because it is our special place…I just wanted, to come here one more time before…"
"Before what?" Kagome begged, feeling tears in her eyes. "Takai, please…"
He sighed, clenching his fists, wishing he didn't have to hurt her. "Tomorrow, I have to leave with the soldiers…to fight in this battle they are brewing."
A single tear fell down Kagome's cheek. "No…please…don't go…not now!"
Inuyasha glanced back at her, his own eyes looking like they were on the verge of tears as well. "Aiko, you have to understand…"
Kagome ran into his arms, more tears falling down her cheeks. "No, you can't go! Takai, please don't leave me! I need you…"
He lifted her face to look up into his. "You know I can't do that. I'm not just thinking of my honor, but I'm thinking of you, too. If we win this battle, then our village will be safe. We'll be able to live in peace without fear of being raided or plundered by samurai anymore."
"Let me go with you," she begged. "Please…I want to stay with you forever..."
Inuyasha hugged Kagome to his chest, whispering, "That's not an option. I won't risk you getting hurt. You'll have to stay here."
She clung to him, unable to stop crying. Takai was leaving her. Her beloved was going away…and there was nothing she could do to stop him. "Why does this war have to tear us apart?" she cried, tears falling on to his haori.
"Aiko, I promise, once I return, I'll marry you, properly…but please, wait for me."
Kagome glanced up into his eyes, whispering his name between little sobs. "Takai…"
He didn't waste any time in meeting her lips with his, a kiss of tragic lovers that would be parted by fate. When they pulled away, Kagome still clung to him, despite how much Inuyasha tried to protest. "Aiko, please, let me go. I have to be at the camp by morning."
"No," she said, hugging him closer. "Not now…If you cannot stay with me always…" she met his eyes, a small, half-smile forming on her face. "Then stay with me tonight."
Inuyasha's eyes widened. "Aiko, are you sure?"
Standing on her tip-toes, she reached up and planted a small kiss on his lips, when she pulled away, she murmured, "Yes."
She was captured in a head-swimming kiss once more as Inuyasha held her tightly, as if to take her whole body into his. And she welcomed the feeling as her heart began to race. No matter what became of them, tonight she was his, and his alone.
The soft grass became their bed as they fell upon it, Kagome accepting Inuyasha's weight readily as the kiss became deeper, and more passionate. They didn't quite know what they were doing as they were lost in a dream…kissing and touching without control. "Takai…" she moaned as she felt Inuyasha's hands run along the soft skin of her belly.
Inuyasha continued kissing her, loving everything that there was about her, but suddenly, a far away voice filled his ears. "Inuyasha…Kagome…"
He paused for only a moment, pulling away slightly from his beloved Aiko. Who was that? Why did those names sound so familiar? "Inuyasha? Kagome? Where are you?"
"Takai? What is it?" Kagome asked, wondering why her beloved was hesitating.
"I don't…" He didn't hear the voice again, so why should he be bothered? He leaned back down and kissed her again, but he heard that name in his ears once more. "Inuyasha! Kagome!"
Wait…Kagome…he knew that name from somewhere…and Inuyasha…wait a minute, that was his own name! And Kagome…Kagome!
In an instant the spell was broken as both of their eyes snapped open, to come to a shock to see what position they were in. Both Inuyasha and Kagome sprang apart and stared at each other from opposite ends of the glade. Inuyasha's haori had been discarded, and his white shirt was almost off, exposing his chest. Kagome on the other hand, was much less disheveled, but she knew she had felt Inuyasha's hand under her shirt somewhere.
And then came the realization. "Inuyasha…" she gasped, a hand covering her mouth in shock. "Did we almost…"
"Inuyasha?" the same voice that had broken the spell called. Inuyasha recognized that voice instantly.
"Miroku!" he whispered in terror, diving for his haori as he pulled his shirt back over him. The monk walked in seconds after Inuyasha finished pulling his haori on.
"There you are!" he said, sounding exhausted from his search. "When Sango and I found you both away from your beds, we were worried."
The hanyou turned slightly pink. "We…we were just…"
"We were curious about this legend," Kagome finished quickly.
The monk glanced from one to the other. "I see. Nothing happened, did it?"
"No!" they both yelled at once, each hiding small blushes.
Shrugging, Miroku continued, "Well, come back soon, we have to go seeking out those youkai birds tomorrow, after all." He turned and left them alone, with silence once again in the clearing.
After the monk's disappearance, the problem of what had almost happened once again lay before them. Inuyasha spoke first, "Kagome…that…that shouldn't have happened…"
She didn't look back at him, but continued nodding. "You're right, we shouldn't have been so stupid as to come out here and get possessed."
He stepped closer to her. "That's not what I meant."
Kagome glanced back at him, looking slightly surprised. "You were talking about that?"
"Of course I was talking about that!" he growled at her, before sighing once more and looking away. "What I'm trying to say is, I'm sorry for what almost happened. I never meant for it to go so far…"
"We couldn't control it, Inuyasha," she reminded him. "Besides, it's probably a good thing anyway that we were pulled out of it, we don't want to end up like the tragic lovers anyway, and…" A blush appeared on her face. "I really wouldn't want our first time to be while we're possessed, would you?"
His blush also returned. "Wait a minute, what are you saying?"
"What am I saying? What are you saying?" she yelled, fed up with this roundabout conversation.
Glaring at her with fierce intensity, the hanyou roared, "What I'm trying to say is that shouldn't have happened! Not now, not ever!"
With his last statement, Kagome was taken aback. But, like always, she was quick to snap back with a sharp retort. "What do you mean by that? Are you saying that we should never even think about it?"
"Damn right!" They were yelling in each other's faces now, so close that they could kiss, but they didn't seem to care.
Now she was confused. She knew he wanted to, but now he was saying they shouldn't? Not ever? "Well, why not?"
"Don't you understand!" he growled clenching his fists in anger. "Sure, a little kissing's fine here and there, but if we do that, it's forever! No going back until one of us is dead!"
She had a general idea of where this was going, but she didn't want to believe it. "And why should that bother me?"
"Because I'm hanyou, that's why!" Inuyasha roared. "This isn't some thing like you humans think, where you can back out at any time! We'd be stuck together forever!"
Kagome felt the anger start to build in her once more. "I thought we already had this conversation Inuyasha! I thought I already told you that I didn't care what you were, that I thought of you the same!"
"Keh! I'm just waiting for you to come to your senses and realize that I'm not worth it!"
Slap!
Inuyasha stumbled back with a bemused expression on his face, his hand touching his cheek where Kagome had slapped him. When he looked into her eyes, he saw that tears were building amidst the rage. His heart sank. Sure, she had her sit command, but somehow, this felt so much worse.
"Do you really think I'm that horrible of a person Inuyasha?" Kagome said softly, her voice a bit soggy from the tears building in her eyes. "I told you that it doesn't matter to me what you are…I told you I loved you. And…I thought you loved me."
It was as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped on him as Inuyasha saw her pain. No doubt about it now, he had really screwed up big time. He tried to reach for her, trying to say the right words that would get her to understand…but how could he? He had known that she loved him, but…he knew he would never quite get rid of the scars on his heart because he was born a hanyou. It was natural for him to be nervous about taking the next step, but perhaps he didn't convey that in the right way. "Kagome…I…"
She turned around sharply, walking away, and he smelled her tears. "No! No, I don't want to hear it, Inuyasha!"
He marched after her. "Kagome, wait a second, you don't understand…"
Kagome turned back, the tears streaming down her face, but the intense anger still in her eyes. "Oh, I understand plenty! I understand that no matter how much I say I love you, or how much I tell you I love you as a hanyou, you still don't trust me!"
Now he was beginning to get angry again, where he should be apologizing, "Oh for the love of—" He tried to grab her, to will her to understand, but she pulled herself out of his grasp.
"Let go of me!" she shouted, running back.
"Kagome, you idiot, let me explain—"
"Sit!" Kagome yelled, sending the hanyou down to the ground once again. When he finally pulled himself from the crater, he folded his arms and sat on the ground, pouting.
It seemed as if the mysterious power in the Lovers' Glade was whistling in the wind, telling him to go after her and make her understand. His rational side wanted to do just that, but his irrational, quite worked up at the moment, side told him that he didn't give a damn right now.
Go after her… the wind whistled once more. Inuyasha turned around to see the large tree, the one that had possessed them in the first place, and he told it exactly what he thought, "Piss off."
He then stood up and marched off, leaving the Lovers' Glade behind in the distance.
