All's Fair in Love and War
Chapter Twenty One
Belong
Friday had come so fast, he didn't even know where the rest of the week had gone. So he sat in his tree, holding his sketch book, drawing his dreams.
His ammonia incident had left him sick (literally) as a dog for a day. He couldn't even get himself to school because he felt so sick and dizzy. Had the ammonia not been diluted with some water, he wondered what would have become of him. Shippou was kind enough to scavange a glass or two of water for him and managed to grab chips from the pantry. Together, they had a picnic. Inu Yasha did not particularly enjoy eating the stale potatoe chips, nor did he like the queer and queasy feeling his stomach got afterwards, but he was hungry after all the contents of his bowels had been forcefully poisoned out of his system.
He felt so terrible that even the thought of coming to school made him feel ill. His head was spinning in so many circles that he wondered where it would stop. He moaned in his bed a lot. Shippou lay aside him and purred and licked his hair clean for him, something that made him him go into fits of laughter. (Painful fits of laughter)
He wished he could come to school. He actually liked school now. Ever since Kagome and Miroku and Sango, it had become quite a pleasurable experience. He looked forward to it. His daydreams of her kept him strong through those days. He fell asleep occasioanally and took naps, and when he did, he dreamt of her. He woke with a smile.
But his waiting was not in vain, for when he went to school the next day, the worried Kagome, full of sorrow for the boy, had graciously offered him a quick ear rub. She reached over and stroked his soft and furry head, saying that she hoped that maybe it would make him feel better. It did.
Last night he had a slightly amusing dream. A bunch of winged pigs with mustaches and southeren accents and guns were chasing him down a hall and he ran into a door and blacked out. So, in his sketch book, there was a chibi style drawing of a little boy with doggy ears being chased be evil, squinty eyed piggies. The rest of his drawings were kind of scary, but this one was hysterical looking. He decided he'd show it Kagome later. She'd laugh. And if he didn't succeed in appealing to her humor, at least he would be able to laugh at the expression on her face.
His dreams were strange. He had a lot of wonderful ones. He dreamt of love and beauty. He dreamt of Kagome and Miroku and Sango. He dreamt of his mother. Yes, he always dreamt of his mother. Sometimes it would just be him and her on a porch of a house, talking. Sometimes they would be smiling. Sometimes she would cry in his dreams. He did not dream of his father.
No, his father was in his nightmares.
Today was a nice day. He smiled a lot today. It was just a normal day, but he felt so happy. He had finally found a place to belong, a place he was wanted. It felt so good. He remembered back in the beginning of the year how he was all alone. He remembered how there was no one he could call his friend. And now, he had so many. Kagome, Shippou, Sango, Miroku. All of them were there for him. It nearly brought tears to his eyes thinking about it. He wasn't alone anymore, he didn't have to be so afraid.
However, his dad still presented a problem. Despite laying off him for a day or two after he would recieve a harsh beating, he would still get beaten regularly. He thanked god for being half demon. Even though it was where all his problems came from, it was also the thing keeping him alive, that among other things. Friends, he had friends. And it felt good.
He grinned and surveyed his surroundings. The torn and tattered soccer nets and posts, graying rusty white washed walls of the school, and dead grass on the field never seemed more attractive. The sky seemed so much brighter. The sun seemed so much warmer. Everything seemed so much different now than it did before.
Indeed, the only thing that had actually physically changed, with the exception of the soccer post rotting half way through was the tree he sat in. The once thick and lush green cover dissappeared and was now replaced with a skeletal form. The enormous trunk grew up and split into many different directions, thinning into small delicate fingers. He flipped a page in his sketchbook and started drawing the tree, except instead of branches, there were fingers and instead of leaves there were rings and jewelry.
The world seemed like such a happy place. It seemed so much more welcome now somehow. He didn't know exactly how to explain it, but he liked it. It was like seeing things through a different light. Something felt different about the way he saw things. Before, he dreaded school, because he knew he would have to endure the childrens stares and jokes. He hated his home because he knew that there, he was never safe. He hated going to sleep because he knew he would have to wake up the next day.
Before, he remembered dreading school with everything inside of him. Dreading his home with everything inside him. Just plain dreading. Everything seemed so much darker before. He was so scared and felt so small. But now, he felt so much lighter, so much more free and happy than he ever remember himself being. Somehow, some metaphorical collar came off of his neck. (Or at least it was loosened.) Everything was just so...changed. So different. But in a good way.
"Inu Yasha." A gir'l's voice called up the tree in the same sweet and melodic tune he had grown so accustomed to hearing. "Wanna walk me home?"
He looked down and smiled warmly. "Sure Kagome." He leapt down, grabbing his backpack before he went. She grinned as she watched him float down to the ground. There was something so majestic about the way he jumped. It was like someone put him in slow motion. She took his hand and walked down towards her house.
For the two, holding hands was not a shy romantic gesture, nor was it custom or politeness, but on Inu Yasha's part, pure instinct. Ever since a couple weeks into the school year she had grabbed his hand, and he had held it. It was as simple as that. And every day, their fingers would lace together, and suddenly, the world was such a beautiful place. And he reached for her hand when she did not reach for his. To grab those fingers had become pure neccessity.
Her hands felt nice, though probably more tan than his slender ones, and more sturdy, they were smooth and soft. His hands were small and frail looking. And although they were pale, other than his face, the were the darkest part of his body. If he held them up to the right light, he could see the pathways his blue blood ran through to take the oxygen-less fluid to his heart. He was pale, though not from lack of sunlight. He spent all his free time outside, reasonably. But it was because he wore long sleeves or jackets and pants that reached well below his knee all the time. The fact that it was getting cold out was a welcome relief, as well as a constant worry.
One night his father took him outside promising a 'campout'. What the man didn't teel him was that Inu Yasha was going in a t-shirt and shorts and the only blankets were inside the locked house his father ran into. He was sick the next week and a half. The only time those cloth layers were peeled from his skin was when he was resting happily in a bath tub, or when he was lying on the floor, bloody and broken looking.
"Did you get your report card?" she asked.
"Hm? Oh yeah!" he exclaimed. "I did pretty well I guess."
"What grades fif you get? My GPA is three point two." she said happily. "I brought it up point one."
"Um, I think mine was ... " he sighed and pretended to look through his memory for the average of his grades. He remembered them though, of course he remembered them. And he got better than Kagome, and for some strange reason that made him feel bad. "I think I got ... Three point six?" he said an exhaled through his nostrils. She clapped and smiled.
"I'm so proud to have such a smart friend!" she chirped. "You're doing so well Inu Yasha!" she encouraged.
Inu Yasha blushed, although by now that just meant his face got more red than the constant pinkness his cheeks had attained when she was near him. "Heh, thank you!" He beamed at her. He was slightly worried that he'd make her feel bad because his were higher but that was just him, he assumed. More than he feared she would come to hate him, was that he feared he would lose her. He could not lose her.
"So ... " Kagome hummed, searching for a topic of conversation. "What are you doing over the weekend Inu Yasha?" she asked.
"Eh, nothing." He replied almost by instinct. He never did anything on the weekends. He usually just stayed in the tree by the school, if anything, and drew. "Oh wait!" he said, suddenly remembering his plans. "I'm going to this carnival thing."
"Oh! I heard about that! I was going to go. Who's taking you? Er, who are you going with?" she asked.
"Um, I know how weird this sounds, but I'm going with my cat." he said. Should he mention that Shippou was a cat demon? "But he's really cool. You'd like him."
Kagome burst into a fit of giggles. "Hey, you wouldn't mind if I tagged along would you?" she asked. "You really don't have to let me come with you and your ... um ... cat? But I was going to go there, and since my mom is busy teaching yoga at the shrine, she can't stay, but uh, we can give you a ride! So..." she drifted off.
"Oh, sure, no problem." he said happily. In fact, he wasn't happy about her proposal, he was euphoric! The prospect of transportation had never been thoroughly thought over by him or littlle Shippou. He supposed he would use whatever money he had saved up to get a cab that he would call for in a bathroom, where eeven his father did not dare disturb him. "I don't think Shippou will mind." he said. He always figured Shippou would get along well with Kagome anyways. After all, Inu Yasha had told him so much about her
"Shippou?"
"My cat."
"Um... Inu Yasha? Why are you taking a cat to a carnival?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at the boy beside her.
"Well, see, um. How do I say this?" he thought for a second. "My cat is a ... demon? So he can, uh, talk and stuff. He's really small, and fuzzy. I think you'll like him." he said.
"Oh! A demon! You should have just said that! Now I get it!" she laughed. "Heh, that's funny, at first I thought you were going to be taking an actual kitten to a carnival."
He laughed. "Well, Shippou's like a little person. He's cool. You'll like him!" He smiled. "He's little and fuzzy and has really neat orange fur, with these stripes on it and everything. And he has these neat emerald eyes and he can take on a human form, but since he's still young, he can only be partly human so he has ears and a tail!" Inu Yasha said. He continued on to tell Kagome about Shippou. All. About. Shippou. In fact, Kagome guessed Shippou must be be pretty freaking perfect if it made Inu Yasha talk about him this much.
Finally, they arrived at her shrine and were standing at the iron gates. Kagome looked up the stair well. "So, um, we're here." she said, looking up at the shrine and unlocking her fingers from his.
"Oh, well um, see you tonight?" he verified.
"Yup. Tonight. I'll meet you by the carnival gates. Kay?" she asked.
"Yup. I'll be there." He stood still for a moment, thoughts flickering through his sunshine eyes. A hug would be nice right now. His arms didn't really seem to be working however. And the funny thing was, he wasn't sure if it was because of his father's beatings or because he was nervous. He waved hesitantly and walked back down the street, but soon stopped when he heard footsteps darting towards him. A pair of arms wrapped around his waist and squeezed him, warming his waist, but only for a second.
"Bye, Inu Yasha!" she said. He turned around in time to get a glimpse of her running up the stairs. He grinned and waved again, despite the fact that he knew she couldn't see him. Then he blasted into the air and towards his house. He needed to get ready for tonight.
Author's Notes
You have read a hundred pages of this story so far. Whoot!
Well, after several consecutive groundings, (I swear, my dad just loves to punish me.) and seven final exams, I am back! New chapter here!
Fanart
By: Sleepwalking Chicken and HAP. Thank you Picken! I love you! (huggles the crap out of her)
http/ www. deviantart. com/ deviation/ 18892915/
Remove spaces
I AM GOING TO JAPAN ON TUESDAY!(I know! Squee!) and therefor, the next chapter may be late guys.
This is basically all the things that have changed about Inu Yasha over the course of the past couple weeks he has been with Kagome. (Not ta mention San Chan and Miroku kun)
For the record, no, it's not a date. As of yet, no real romance or love has been established, so don't get your hopes up. Though, ehrm, if they do happen to kiss, maybe, I think I know how I would do it. (Oh you know, not that I have any real plans or anything. :cough:)
By the way, I wrote a sonnet for a part in the next chapter. Kinda neat I think, but it sucks. :sob:
But please review! Please, please, please! I have so many of those damned things. Thanks for helping me reach six hundred:hugs everyone: I looves you guys!
Next Chapter? Prepare Yourself