I really did not like the last chapter. I struggled with it all day and it didn't turn out like I wanted...ugh! Hopefully, this one is better!
Chapter Eighteen:
'So, the girl's still alive huh.' Kagura watched as the couple walked over to an old well. She was relieved to see Kagome was still alive, maybe all wasn't lost after all. She started to go after them when an arrow flew in front of her, she grit her teeth as she turned and she spotted Kikyo loading another arrow.
"Well well well, what do we have here?" Kagura smiled. "I'm surprised to see you still alive Kikyo. I was certain Narka would kill you for killing the girl." She laughed harshly.
Kikyo aimed her bow but didn't release. "As if he could. I will not let you take her Kagura."
Kagura raised a brow. "Oh, why not? I would think you would be happy to see her go. With her out of the way, your puppy would return to you, right? Hmmmm maybe not now though. He's more than likely to kill you now."
"I would not hold it against him if he did, nor would I fight it," Kikyo said quietly.
Kagura was confused. "Don't tell me you feel bad for killing her? Why the change of heart?"
"That is none of your concern. Now go, tell Naraku he will not get what he wants. I will let no harm come to her."
"Please, now that I know the girl is alive, I won't risk my neck to get her. But you and I both know he won't stop. If Naraku finds out she's alive, he will get her."
"And if you are dead, he will never know." Kikyo released her arrow, only to have it blown away by Kagura's fan. She went to aim again as Kagura pulled out her feather.
"I would be careful if I were you priestess! I smell a dog coming." Kagura smiled as she flew off.
Kagura felt Sesshomaru coming and knew she had to get away. With everything that had happened lately, she didn't want to risk pissing him off.
'Damn! What am I gonna do now? If I go back empty-handed there will be hell to pay." Kagura flew away and tried to figure out where to go. If she went back to the castle, things wouldn't be pretty. But, with Naraku holding her heart she didn't have many options. He would know. There would be no hiding the truth from him and she didn't want him to find out about Kagome. She kept flying as she tried to figure out what to do.
Kikyo was frightened, but she did not run. She knew it was pointless. She tried to calm herself as she felt the daiyoukai approach her. As he came into sight, she felt her nerves rise. He was as intimidating as he was beautiful. She only hoped he would listen to her before he attacked.
"My Lord"
"Hn. It would seem you took this ones advice and decided to return to the land of the dead." He raised his sword as he narrowed his eyes. "This Sesshomaru warned you of what would happen if you harmed her."
"It is in your right to kill me, I will not stop you."
Sesshomaru raised a brow. "Really, I was hoping you would beg for your life, if that is what you call it. It would make this much more satisfying."
"My life ended over fifty years ago, the existence I live now is not worth saving. I only ask that you heed my warning before I go." He glared at her so she continued. "Naraku believes that Kagome is dead, but he is still after her. He wants to take her body and bring her back into a tainted version of her former self."
Sesshomaru's face stayed stoic. "So, you know of your failure in her murder. Now you act as if you care." He laughed a dark chuckle that froze Kikyo's blood. "This one doubts your change of heart."
"I do not mean to convince you of a change in me. I know what I did was wrong and only wish to redeem myself."
"You will redeem yourself with your death." He went to strike but was stopped as Rin ran into the clearing.
"Lord Sesshomaru! That is Lady Kikyo! What are you doing!" She ran in front of her. "Lord Inuyasha would be very upset if you did this!"
Sesshomaru growled, but Rin didn't move. "Stand aside Rin, she will die for her crimes." She still didn't move. "She killed Kagome, do you still wish to protect her."
Rin looked shocked and turned to look at Kikyo. Her face looked sad as she accepted her fate. "But my Lord, Lady Kagome always tells Rin to give people another chance! Should we not let her decide to forgive her or not?"
Sesshomaru shook his head at his ward. She was soft-hearted like Kagome and did not understand the danger of letting her live. He was about to tell her this when he noticed Rins tears. Shit.
"Rin, Kagome is not here, I am her Alpha like I am yours and I will stand in her stead to lay judgment as I see fit." He would not let her go.
"It is alright child, I am not afraid to die. I deserve it." Kikyo said softly to Rin.
Rin cried harder as she looked back and forth between them. This felt wrong, but she trusted her Lord. If he said she deserved it, she probably did...but.
"My Lord, can we not just hold her till Lady Kagome returns? This Rin believes she would be upset if you kill her."
It took everything in Sesshomaru's power to not roll his eyes in that instant. He knew she was right. Even after killing her, Kagome would still want to hear her out. These humans drove him crazy sometimes. He looked at Rin's determined face and sighed. They were making him soft.
"Alright Rin, we shall wait till Kagome returns and let her decide." Rin smiled and he almost returned it. He hardened his face as he looked at Kikyo. "Do not mistake my actions as mercy, this one has no doubt that his brother will want to kill you himself."
Kikyo didn't fight the hand that grabbed her. She was actually more afraid to face Inuyasha than to die by his brother's hand. She hid her fear as they walked back to her sister's village.
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"So the great dog lord spared her hmm? Pity, I was looking forward to watching her be torn to pieces."
Naraku watched the happenings through the mirror. He was surprised to see his beloved still lived. But, not surprised to watch Kagura run away like a coward. He knew she was hiding from him. He gave her heart a hard squeeze and smiled as he pictured the pain she was in.
"Oh Kagura, where did you think you would go?" She was bound to him and she would learn to obey him, or he would destroy her.
"So Kanna, what do you think I should do? Should I go get my Miko now, or should I let them believe they are safe for a while?" He smiled at the child. She didn't respond, but he didn't expect her to. She was the only smart one around here besides himself.
"Hmmm, let's wait till Inuyasha discovers Kikyo in his village. I am sure he will be distracted while dealing with her. It will be all too easy to get Kagome then."
"Yes, Naraku." Kanna's monotone voice replied.
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Kagome peaked out of the well house as they arrived in the future. She was stalling, she knew it. Inuyasha was standing right behind her and she knew he didn't mind her hesitation. Mama could be scary when she wanted to be. Seeing no one around she tip-toed to the house. Inuyasha rolled his eyes at her but he would see. Oh, he would see.
"Pssst! Sis!" Souta whispered from the bushes.
"Shit! Souta don't DO that!" Kagome held her chest as she whispered back.
"I wouldn't go in there if I were you." He said in a sing-song voice.
Kagome gulped as she looked at her little brother. "How bad is it?"
Souta smile. "Oh, not bad. I broke a window the other day and she didn't even yell."
Kagome's face turned white. This was bad, very bad. Her mother didn't yell at a broken window! She must be saving her voice for her.
"I should be thanking you sis! With how mad she is at you, I can do anything I want." He came over and rubbed her head. Now at the age of thirteen, they were the same height. It made her sad for a second to see him growing up so fast, she missed a lot while being in the past all the time. But, right now she wanted to punch him in the face.
"It might be best if you send Inuyasha in first, mom likes him. She might even give you a break if you're together."
She looked over at the hanyou to see he looked nervous too. He never seen her mom mad and he was in for one hell of a show.
Souta smiled as he went to play soccer. He didn't want to miss the show, but his mom was scary like this. It was best to be far far away.
Kagome shook her head as she looked at the house. Maybe this was a bad idea. If Inuyasha flipped out over Miroku coming into their hut, who knows what will happen.
"Inuyasha...maybe you should stay out here." She gave him a pleading look.
"No. I can't Kagome, if you go I go. You promised." He sighed as she paled. "Look, I'll be calm, I know she wouldn't hurt you so I should be fine, it will be ok." He looked so sure and she felt a little better. Nodding her head they walked to the house.
They went in and it was quiet. It was like the calm before the storm. She tried to relax not wanting to set off Inuyasha's demon, but it wasn't easy. They made their way to the kitchen where Inuyasha pointed he smelled her. She held her breath as they walked in.
"H-hi mama...I missed you." Kagome said with a shaky smile.
"Hello Inuyasha dear! It's been so long since I've seen you." Mrs. Higurashi came and hugged him. He hesitantly embraced her back and smiled at Kagome. See, everything's fine.
Kagome was not smiling. Her mother ignored her. It was worse than she thought.
"Are you hungry dear? There's ramen?" She smiled at Inuyasha.
"Sure, I would never turn down ramen." He smiled as mama went to make it. He looked over at a frozen Kagome and whispered, "why were you so worried? she seems fine?"
Poor poor stupid Inuyasha.
"Oh and Kagome?" She said in a sweet voice.
"Y-yyes mama?"
"It's the strangest thing dear. I seemed to recall my daughter not coming home for over six months." She tapped her chin. "I was so worried about her. But then she showed back up again. Do you know what she told me?"
Kagome said nothing as she nodded her head.
"Hmmmm she promised to come back the very next day to check in. Do you know how long ago that was?" She served Inuyasha his food as he ignorantly started eating.
"Mama, I can explain.."
"That was oh, about a week ago." She came to stand by Kagome who took a step back. Inuyasha noticed and looked worried. "So...tell me why did my daughter lie to me?"
"Mom I swear I was going to come back, but we heard a rumor of a shard and we had to" She stopped talking as her mother raised her hand.
"I do NOT want to hear it Kagome." She yelled ignoring the growling coming from her table. "For YEARS I allowed you to go into that well! The ONLY thing I asked was that you checked in! Do you have ANY idea how worried I was about you! You are not a child anymore Kagome! You can't promise me something and then expect me to just let it go!"
"Mama calm down," Kagome whispered as she watched Inuyasha's eyes flash red.
"Do not tell me to calm down! I have been worried sick!" her mother spun around only to have her arm grabbed by Inuyasha. "Inuyasha? Are you alright?" The half-demon was breathing harshly and shook a little.
"Inuyasha, calm down. You know mama wouldn't hurt me. It's alright." Kagome said in a soft voice.
Anger instantly forgotten, Kagome's mom held his face gently. "Honey are you ok? What's wrong." He looked like he was calming down but she was still worried.
"He's fine mama. We had an incident the other day when I was supposed to come home. I was hurt a little bit and Inuyasha has been a little overprotective of me since. He'll be fine in a minute." Kagome rubbed his back as his eyes returned to gold. She felt bad for him when he noticed he was holding her moms wrist. He instantly apologized and sat back down. His food cold and forgotten.
"Hurt? Are you ok?" Her mother looked her up and down, but stopped when Inuyasha growled again. "I won't hurt her Inuyasha, I was just worried." She smiled lovingly at him when he looked guilty.
"I know Mrs. Higurashi. I didn't mean to growl at you, I just...I just want to keep your daughter safe." He blushed as she smiled brightly.
"I know you do Inuyasha, it's the only thing that eases my mind when she's gone."
"I really am fine mama, it was only a couple of bruises and they are completely gone now!" Kagome smiled at her. She knew her mother didn't believe her, but thankfully she let it go.
They all sat down as Mrs. Higurashi made tea. As Kagome filled her in on what happened, her mother couldn't help but notice how close they were sitting. She also didn't miss the look Inuyasha gave her daughter as she talked...interesting.
"The good thing is I'm pretty sure that all the shards have been found. The bad part is that Naraku has most of them. We're probably gonna hang around the village for a little while now and try to prepare for the final battle." Kagome didn't like to talk about Naraku but knew her mother would push it out of her anyway.
"So, after this battle...things will start to go back to normal hm?" She nodded as Kagome said yes. Then her face lit up with a smile. "So! I should be expecting grandbabies soon right? I do hope they have your ears sweetheart! Oh Kagome, would you want a wedding first? Did you plan on living here or in the feudal era? If you plan on staying there I hope you know I expect you to bring those sweet babies to come visit their grandma!"
Kagome fell out of her chair as Inuyasha jumped to catch her. His look of worry made her smile as he sat her back down. "M-mama! Jeez, give a girl some warning next time!" She blushed as her mother smiled.
"No matter where we decide to live, we will make sure you see the pups," Inuyasha told her straight-faced. Kagome sweatdropped as her mother smiled.
"I'll hold you to that dear! Now, as soon as you have a home, if you don't already, we can use your college money to furnish it! Unless you decide to stay here, then you know your both welcome to stay here for as long as you want."
"Ummm we haven't really decided yet mama, as soon as we figure it out I'll let you know." Kagome was still stunned at the complete 360 this conversation had turned.
She smiled as her mother and Inuyasha discussed possible homes and where to have a wedding. It was nice. She hadn't given him an answer yet, but it made her smile to see how excited he got. She still wanted to wait a little while till they got married, but she knew she would never leave him. He was the love of her life.
"So, Kagome how long are you staying this time?" Her mother asked with a smile.
"Ummm probably a few days, I wanna relax a little before we go back. But, like I said we'll be staying in the village a couple of weeks so I'll probably visit at least once a day."
"Ok dear, it will be good to see you, we have missed you." She missed her too and she felt guilty for making her mother worry. "I was hoping you would be back before now. We planned a little trip this weekend to visit your uncle. Souta has been doing so well in school and he wanted to go see your cousins. Kyo started soccer in high school and Souta is excited to have someone to practice with."
"Oh, when are you leaving mama?"
"Actually we are leaving in a couple of hours. Your grandfather went to rent us a car for the weekend and we are just waiting for him to get back. But, please if you need to rest stay as long as you want. We will be back in two days and the house is full of food."
Kagome was upset they were leaving, but it would be nice to have some alone time with Inuyasha. Maybe if no one was around, they could calm his beast before he did any damage. They both needed it.
"Ok mama, well let me help you with your packing then. We'll probably go back and check on everyone after you leave so I'd like to spend this time with you." She looked over at Inuyasha. "Is that alright? You can lay down in my room, we'll only be right next door." He looked like he wanted to disagree, but nodded anyway. She knew this was tough on him but she wanted to have girl talk with her mother.
A couple hours later the couple waved off Kagome's family. Inuyasha hugged her from behind as they stood on the top of the steps. She was proud of him today, she knew it was hard on him to have so many people around, but he toughed it out. She leaned back and kissed his chin.
"Do you want to stay here tonite? We can go back real quick and let the others know we're staying."
"Yea..we should probably say something. Don't want fluffy blowing up the well to come check on you." He smiled as she giggled.
"Well, let's go now then. After we get back I can make us some dinner and we can relax for the night. Sound good?" He nodded as they walked over to the well.
Kagome grinned as she got an idea. "You know...I would like to take a bath when I'm here." She smiled as he raised his eyebrow. "Well, our bathtub is pretty big...and you did say I couldn't be out of your sight right?" She ran her fingers up his arm.
Inuyasha blushed. "Y-you want me to be in there when you take a bath?" No way that is what she was saying. If he peeked she would sit his ass for sure!
"Well, you need a bath too. After running around for days you got kind of dirty." She smiled as his ears perked up. "It would make more sense if we just bathed together...don't you think?" She held in a laugh as his face turned as red as his clothes.
She did laugh as he shook his head and scooped her up running to the well. "Keh! Makes sense to me! We should probably hurry back so we get cleaned up before dinner." He nodded to himself as he ran.
Kagome's laughter echoed as they went through the well.
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What's Inuyasha gonna do about Kikyo? Don't you worry! My husband got the new call of duty so he's completely ignoring me now! More time for me to write for you guys! Reviews=love!