A/N: At long last!
Beta; Cstorm86
12.
Kagome peered into the hidden room, anxious, excited, and still a bit embarrassed about what she had witnessed the other day.
She had rushed upstairs, hoping to get a glimpse of Inuyasha before he'd left to go and see his family and friends. She had hoped to ask him to come visit soon, but had not wanted to keep him from his loved ones for more that he had already missed them. She'd worried he'd be already gone and kami knew when he'd come back, if ever.
Earlier, when she had realized that she had been going to likely miss the sunset, she had instructed Souta to free Inuyasha upon getting the promise. She had wanted to do it herself, but the thought of keeping him sealed only because she'd wanted to undo the seal, had been selfish. It had taken a while to convince Souta to go upstairs alone and deal with Inuyasha on his own.
And, when yesterday almost as the sun finally disappeared, Kagome ran into Inuyasha's room to find him still sealed to his bed. With the fierce blush on his face, learning the thing she had been hoping he'd never learn - the depth of his mistake all those years ago.
They'd exchanged the briefest of glances before the seal forced him to fall asleep. But what she'd seen in his golden eyes - the anger, the mortification, the shock, it all made her really glad that she hadn't been there to witness the whole talk. Poor Souta had been the one to explain it to Inuyasha and Kagome had allowed the poor teen to flee to his room for the time being.
It was only today that she finally got a chance to get him alone and ask about how the meeting had gone. They both pretended that the last part of it had never happened.
The thought that Inuyasha wanted her to unseal him made her heart warm a bit. He chose to stay pinned to a bed for at last a day longer to make sure it was her hand that freed him. Maybe she was reading too much into it, but she found it quite romantic.
And, for some reason, it made her smile all day like an idiot every time she remembered that the fae refused to be freed by Souta. Did it mean he liked her too? Did it mean he would come back and that they could get to knoow each other more?
The room was still full of sunlight, but it was soon to fade, she knew about it. She was about to walk in, when she heard a knock to her room.
"Kagome? May I come in?" Souta's voice asked, immediately putting her at ease.
"Sure! Come in!" she called and heard him open and close the door. He held two plates in hand, loaded with sandwiches. He set the food on the table and joined Kagome at the hidden door.
"Mom is still at the meeting with Lady Tsubaki," he said. The laadies were discussing the fruits of the picnic and Kagome guessed the meeting got a bit longer. "And grandpa is reading in his study, so I asked if we could eat upstairs now and he said yes. Now will we free Inuyasha?"
Excitement shone in his eyes as he looked up at her. Kagome smiled back at him.
"Yes," she confirmed.
"Then stop dawdling!" barked a new voice from within the hidden room and the two jumped, realizing the fae was already awake. Kagome ushered Souta inside the room and glanced at Inuyasha, who sat in his bed, ears perked. He caught her eye and a faint blush covered his cheeks, mirroring the flush that was on hers when she remembered the last time she looked at him.
Luckily, Inuyasha didn't bring up the forbidden topic, instead he fished out of the leaves on top of him for the piece of paper. He glanced up to the siblings, then put his hand on his chest, his golden eyes dropping to the written promise. Kagome stood at the foot of his bed, Souta at her side, watching him.
"I, by my true name," Inuyasha said slowly, but firmly. "Hereby vow that I shall not seek vengeance on the Higurashi household. Nor will I harm the people that live in the town. I shall pursue no violence nor destruction of humans and their belongings, as long as they are not wanting to harm, kill or otherwise cause misery to my kin or their kin, or anything that dwells on the Isle. I shall not ask others to do harm to humans. I shall not use magic, nor claw, nor sword to harm, but to defend. the ones that stand before me," he added the last sentence as he looked at Kagome and Souta. "For this, my freedom shall be restored, binding me to this promise."
Kagome listened to his rough, steady voice and felt a shiver run down her back at the intense golden gaze of his eyes. He promised more than they asked of him. He did not try to twist the words on the page, just added this one sentence, that handful of words that neither of the siblings expected.
She remembered the few stories where a benevolent fae would bestow blessings akin to kami blessings upon the brave and kindhearted humans that did well by the fae. Of course, fae were mischievous by nature, so one should always pay attention to what and in which words they promised, but she felt that she could trust Inuyasha that he had no ill intent in his mind.
Inuyasha dropped the piece of paper and looked at Kagome expectantly. She swallowed, feeling a wave of nervousness wash over her. It was the time.
Slowly, her feet shuffling in the leaves, the young woman moved around the bed and approached the fae. She stood over him, looking at him for a moment.
"Um... I just... pull that thing out?" she asked, uncertainly. He nodded. "Won't it hurt? I mean... the arrowhead..."
"It's magic, and an old one," he snorted. "It won't hurt more than it did when it went through."
She swallowed and leaned over him, slowly, her hand reaching for the arrow. She felt both Souta and Inuyasha watching her fingers wrap around the bare shaft of the arrow.
She closed her eyes, trying to focus as she did when she meditated. Now was the hard part, yanking the arrow out of the wound, probably causing him pain. Wasn't there any way to do it without hurting him? Was there something she could do to help? She wanted him free, free to roam, to live, to explore their friendship together with her and her brother, she wanted...
A sharp snap, like a sudden burts of heat, hit her hand and she gasped, her eyes flying open, just in time to see the arrow dissipate in a swirl of pink speckles that shone like embers. A heartbeat and they were gone, All that remained was a hole in Inuyasha's robes, showing perfectly healed skin underneath.
"Yeah! You did it!" Souta cheered and Kagome smiled. Then she felt it, a new wave of heat, a different one. It was almost like a sudden gust of wind, brushing her bangs to the side. Her eyes widened when she looked at Inuyasha, and Souta's sudden silence told her that the boy looked at him as well.
Golden irises were surrounded by pure red, a slash of purple adorning each cheekbone. Some kind of energy rose and pulsed around him, making the dry leaves in the room tremble and move across the floor, their hair swaying as if on the wind from another world.
A smirk, a wicked one, graced the fae's lips, showing the tips of his fangs.
Kagome gasped in shock and alarm, when a strong arm wrapped around her and hauled her to the fae's firm body. The girl squeezed her eyes shut, unsure what to expect, huddling against the man, who rose from his bed for the first time in decades.
The next thing she remembered was the real wind, crisp and fresh, brushing against her face. The iron hold Inuyasha had on her loosened and the girl found herself being sat on a rounded surface. She cautiously opened her eyes and saw a wide, smooth branch. Souta was put beside her, both of them reaching for anything close by to keep balance as they looked first at each other, then at the long fall from where they sat in the crown of the fae tree, then at the fae himself, crouching on a tree limb in front of them.
Inuyasha was grinning as the last rays of sunlight faded away around them. His eyes no longer bore red, but seemed to glow like a cat's eyes. His cheeks were still adorned with the purple slashes that looked wild and exotic. His aura, for she supposed it had to be it, was no longer the hot wind of energy, but remained as a soft, faint hum against her inner sense.
"Yeah, you did well, wench," he said and patted the trunk of the tree. "I am free at last."
"What... What do you plan to do now?" Souta asked. "Why did you bring us here?"
Inuyasha chuckled and scratched behind his ear with his foot. He seemed to enjoy his regained mobility as he sighed in bliss and lowered his foot, perfectly balanced on his perch.
"I want to show you the moonrise," he said. "Before I go back home. I want to run and it feels right to allow you to run with me this one time. You ain't half bad, you two."
"Is the tree yours?" Kagome asked, remembering some of her dreams and the similarity of his and the tree's coloring. Inuyasha's ears perked.
"Hah, it is mine, alright!" he barked. "And it will be gone with me, so I let you sit in it this once."
Kagome smiled softly and stroked the branch that supported her weight. She hadn't climbed trees since she had been a small girl, since it was very improper, but sitting so high, with Inuyasha and Souta, it felt nice. The sky overhead was darkening rapidly, stars appearing in the expanse of dark blue. The leaves rustled and swayed, making her feel as if they were shielded from all bad things in this little alcove. The fae tree's flowers smelled divine and seemed to shine in the starlight, just like Inuyasha's mane caugh the light.
"Oh," she whispered. "I will miss it."
"Keh! You humans souldn't be anywhere near yasha trees," he declared. "They should be in Yasha no Mori, far from your grabby hands. But when I got stuck there," he pointed a clawed finger at the house that stood behind the orchard trees. "My tree got here sealed too. Keh! To think you made wine of my fruits! I hope the asshole that sealed me barfed all over his best beds when he drank it!"
Kagome shook her head and heard Souta chuckle.
"Don't insult our ancestor," she scolded lightly and then bowed her head as much as she dared in her current position on a tree branch. "Thank you for letting us sit in here."
"Uh, sure," Inuyasha, who seemed to be about to argue with her, decided to drop the subject. He glanced between them. "Okay, we gotta go if we wanna see the moonrise."
Kagome gasped when he suddenly moved forward, wrapping his arms around her yet again. She didn't have a chance to enjoy the safe and comfortable embrace for long, because soon after she found herself deposited on her feet under the tree. She looked up just in time to see Inuyasha leap down with Souta in his arms. The boy looked a bit scared, but remained quiet.
A cool nose touched her bare foot and Kagome looked down to see Noodle, the small mutt watching her curiously.. Inuyasha barked at the dog softly, and the animal wagged his tail.
"Now, you two humans, remember that I promised not to harm you," the fae said, taking a few steps back from the siblings that stood beside rhe tree trunk. Noodle sat by Kagome's feet, calm and quiet."So no yelling."
"Yelling?" Kagome asked, but instead of answering, Inuyasha closed his eyes, his aura rising around him.
A soft night breeze rushed over the orchard.
"Oh my kami," Souta breathed out.
The white dog, barely fitting under the branches of the tree, opened his mouth and allowed a big pink tongue to lol out, obviously amused. His golden eyes moved from the stunned boy to Kagome, who stood there, her jaw hanging.
There was no Inuyasha in front of them anymore, there was a dog that could easily be as tall as she was. Thick fur of glowing white covered his flanks, his long tail swaying slowly in pleasure and calm before it lazily rose and curled over his back, not unlike Noodle's little tail, pointed ears swiveled on top of a round head with sleek muzzle that bore twin purple slashes of color under his eyes and ended in a black, wet nose. Kagome noticed lethal looking fangs inside the dog's mouth, probably able to tear a limb clear off of an unfortunate person. The dog stood on wide, long legs, each paw adorned with blunt, powrful claws.
"Inu... Inuyasha..." she managed to stutter and saw one of the ears twitch. "It's really you?"
"Keh!" the dog huffed and laid on the grassy ground. "Come on, climb on, you two. We have to move."
And, somehow, despite all the warning tales, despite the knowledge that it was a dangerous being, Kagome went and climbed on top of the dog, followed by Souta. She would blame it on a charm of his, but she knew that the choice to go to him was all hers. She wanted to experience whatever Inuyasha wanted to show them.
With the removal of the arrow, she thought as she sat on top of the dog, fisting her hands in the thick fur of his ruff, she and Souta gained the gratitude of an extraordinary being. And, with no reservations, this being allowed them to peer into the magical world that he called his own.
"Hold on tight, but don't yank on my fur, you got that?" Inuyasha warned.
Silently like a shadow, Inuyasha rose to his feet and walked out of the orchard. As soon as he was out of the bounds of the fenced yards of the Higurashi household, as soon as his paws touched the uncut grass, as soon as he was on the edge of the wild forest, the fae ran.
