Blanket Disclaimer: The writer does not own any characters created by Rumiko Takahashi but like everyone else wishes she did. All original characters or concepts are the author's Inuma Asahi De's.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
An Interlude
Sun entered the small room shinning down with its morning splendor onto the peacefully sleeping face of one Kagome Dresmont as she laid curled up upon the floor in a make shift bed. The sun shifted over her features highlighting her cheek bones and her parted rosy lips magnificently as a breeze fluttered through the opened window touching her hair with a light taunting caress. A tender strand of which brushed over her nose tickling her slightly with its feather light touch. She scrunched her face from the sweep and worried her lip before sighing and absently turning her head until the hair moved on its own leaving her in peace once more. "Hm," She grumbled before burying her head into the soft pillow underneath it, her face charming and innocent, her cheeks rosy, delicate, and almost naïve.
Sitting beside her, leaning against the wall one leg extended out before him and the other bent at the knee drawn tightly to his chest, Inuyasha smiled softly as he watched her sleep his chin resting on his bent knee. "She's—." He thought to himself his impression of her growing even fonder as she unconsciously licked her lips and sighed. "Gorgeous." The thought came and passed as he smiled, his eyes focused on her taking in the way the air flowed from between those amazingly ample lips. In and out—in and out. His face darkened, his eyes becoming molten in color and brooding. "I almost," He whispered into the soft morning air. "She almost—," He grunted and sighed heavily closing his eyes. "That breath almost stopped." He admitted lifting his head up from his knee slowly, his arms coming up to wrap around the limb, drawing it closer to his chest as his head leaned back.
The thought gnawed at him with sharp teeth, ripping into his chest as his expression grew darker and darker, that moment haunting him. The pain he had felt when he had realized she wasn't breathing, the pain he had felt when Jinenji told him she was dead and that there was nothing left for her but the solitary darkness of the unknown, had nearly (for lack of a better term) killed him. Absently, he reached up to touch his cheek, remembering the strange wetness that had gathered there. At the time it had seemed supernatural but looking back at it now he knew it had in fact happened: he had cried. Inuyasha gritted his teeth for a second as his heart briefly relived that moment when he had lost himself to his own anguish and pain. He opened his eyes slowly as the feeling passed and took in her now peacefully sleeping form but to his unclear vision all he could see was her pale and lifeless body, lying in a field of herbs, her chest neither rising nor falling.
"Kago—," He started to speak but stopped himself allowing his eyes to narrow as if he was wincing. "I've never," He thought as he lowered his head, resting it once again on his knee. "I've never felt pain like that before. Never." He took a deep sharp breath holding it as his chest tightened. "I've never wanted—felt the need—," He hissed and clutched his fist, cracking the knuckles. "I've never cri—." The words died on his lips and he growled a part of him feeling weak for having the emotions but knowing why he had felt that way. "It's because I was human." He reasoned the new torrent of demon philosophy sharp in his mind.
It wasn't in the demon's nature to feel the need to cry or become so emotional over something like a death, even the death of a loved one. The demon would only hate, would grow violent, would fight, and would threaten as Inuyasha's demon side had. It had snarled and growled and said horrible things to Jinenji, wanting nothing more than to kill what had hurt her and destroy what had not been able to save her but that was the demon. The human in him that had controlled him at the time was a different story. It had felt the lack of connection, felt Kagome pull away so vividly and yet it still had not known anger, it had not known violence, or even hate. The human had only known pain and its response, the only thing it had known to do, was to cry. So now as he sat half demon once again, the blood of demonic reason running through his veins, he couldn't help but feel weak for having let that human emotion take him so strongly.
"How could I?" He asked himself and yet a small voice in his mind reasoned that it was okay, having emotions didn't make you weak, feeling pain didn't make him any less strong or any less of a man. Tell that to a demon though and they will never believe you. Inuyasha brought a hand to his face and rubbed at his eyes, he felt tired still and slightly weighed down by his hard to ignore painful memories. That little prickling in his heart was just too much. "It hurts even now." His mind whispered and Inuyasha couldn't help but smirk darkly. "How long till the pain goes away?" He muttered absently a part of him not even registering that he had spoken. He chuckled slightly and leaned his head back allowing it to rest against the wood of the wall. "It doesn't matter anyway," he told himself this time his mind registering his words. "She's alive, right? She lived and that's all that matters, Kagome lived." A tickle in his stomach made him feel nauseous for a moment, his own statement stirring some irrational sense of fear.
"Okaa-san!"
Inuyasha blinked, the maternal call causing his chest to feel as if it had been pierced. It was the same sensation he had gotten when he had watched Kagome's lifeless body but somehow it was even worse. "What?" He questioned as memories flooded him—painful memories from painful times, pains he had pushed himself to forget but could no longer suppress.
"Okaa-san!" He screamed his eyes darting around as the small houses around him began to burn, the smell of smoke causing his head to feel fuzzy and his eyes to water. "Okaa-san where are you?" He yelled out as he brought his sleeve up to cover his nose, hoping it would prevent some of the affects he knew the smoke could have on his system.
He jumped as the sound of a nearby roof clasping under the weight of flames hit his ears, his head whipping around to watch the destruction with sick fascination. Eyes wide he stared, the giant leaping flames reflected in his vision. The house was engulfed, consumed. He winced when the small and expensive glass windows burst, glass shattering everywhere as the fire pushed and ate at the wood that surrounded them hungrily like a monster.
"Help me, ahh!"
He fell backwards from the sheer intensity of the scream that came from the house, his hands barely having time to support himself so he wouldn't get hurt. Inuyasha watched in panic as a villager ran from the burning home, his body alight with flames, his flesh practically melting away from the heat of them.
"Help," He screamed again as he fell to his knees, rolling on the ground in an attempt to cool his flesh with the dirt of the road. It was useless. "He—p—," He tried to call out again, his hands reaching helplessly forward, the flames still eating away at his skin. "Ah—pl—se—."His words died on his throat as the scolding fire consumed him. "M—."
His voice cut off at the same time as his life.
Inuyasha sat there for a few seconds body trembling, his young eyes staring wide at the man before him who was now clearly unmoving. The flames continued to consume him, eating away at his body bit by bit, the smell of human flesh nauseating to Inuyasha's sensitive nose. He felt the bile rise in his throat, he felt his eyes begin to water, he ripped them away, threw himself onto his hands and knees and promptly threw up everything he had eaten that day.
Gagging on the taste of his own vomit Inuyasha dragged himself as far away from the smell of burning flesh as he could, his watery eyes barely registering the chaos around him as the whole of the village began to go up in flames; other people emerging from huts, some on fire, some alive but crying out the names of loved ones who were not.
"Why?" He found himself whispering, his eyes blurring as he looked at the chaos around him. "Nanio?" The whole village was burning to the ground, slowly sinking into none existence and all because of plague and the governments fear that it might spread. He felt tears build in his eyes, felt pain in his heart. "Nani?" He whispered again his native tongue tight in his throat.
Gradually, his head looked around as if in a daze, his eyes watching as more and more people fell consumed by flames sent from friendly officials. His nose tried to scent the air, tried to find her smell, his mother's smell among the disarray. He smelt nothing but fire and the burning flesh of the dead.
"I have to—," He found himself whispering as he forced himself to stand from his hands and knees, his eyes wide, still much too young to live through such shock. "Okaa-san wa—," He tried to say as he pushed himself forwards the best he could, his eyes dazed but still searching, trying to find her. He had to find her. He just had to.
Inuyasha forced himself to take a step, his feet shaky and his head spinning as he tried to look in every direction at once. "Okaa-san—," He tried to scream but the sound came out muffled. He closed his eyes, he bit his lip, he pushed the once again rising bile back down before he screamed. "Okaa-san!"
His voice reverberated in the small village but no sweet voice greeted it. He felt his heart drop into his stomach, felt his mind go even dizzier as he looked around himself as if the world was moving in slow motion. He felt the pain and fear of the unknown push into his soul. The tears started to haunt his vision—he just had to find her, he just had to.
The memory faded or really Inuyasha cut it off and locked it away as he closed his eyes tightly. He took a deep shaky breath, his mind reeling momentarily as his heart raced. "Okaa-san." He whispered softly his voice sounding small, young. His hand trembled as he brought it upwards into his hair grabbing hold of the tresses stiffly as he tried hard to remember her face. Black hair and eyes—she was the only one in her family who had had either—the smell of dandelions and a brook, a stream? Her skin was so pale, always pale even when she spent time in the sun she was simply fair. Inuyasha smiled faintly but the expression didn't last.
"Okaa-san!"
He gulped, the rest of that memory pushing at him so hard that it nearly broke through his tightly woven dam of protection but he refused, he couldn't let it in, he couldn't remember the woman who had loved him, who had lost her life for him. "How old was I then?" He thought to himself, his inner voice soft as if it didn't want to be heard, didn't want to remember. "Twelve—thirteen? Maybe a little older, younger." His mind seemed to reply without his consent. "I was so young, too young." He told himself his mind slowly turning remembering the blame. "If only Nii-chan—." He growled low in his throat, the thought of his brother actually causing his skin to crawl. He snorted, the memories dissipating in favor of the less disheartening topic. "That back stabbing bastard—," He closed his eyes again, refusing to say what came next. "It doesn't matter." He told himself bluntly but that didn't stop the pain that was associated with the only other woman who had truly accepted him. "Damn it." He cursed and dug one of his clawed hands into his leg as deeply as he could.
"I—ya."
Inuyasha's eyes snapped opened as her voice caressed his ears. "K—," His voice froze on his lips as he took in the sight of her. She had turned to face him in the time he had been thinking, her jacket which had been closed tightly for warmth now opened slightly around her shoulders, the soft cotton shirt that was too big for her also hanging low, exposing her delicate and delicious neck along with the mark he had long ago placed on her flesh.
He gulped, his eyes focused and his expression tight as he stared at that mark, that sign of complete and utter acceptance. The dog on her flesh glared back at him, its dark red eyes alert and intense as if challenging him. Underneath it in bright kanji his name gleamed, each character a haunting reminder that Kagome was his and his alone—that she was his to protect till the day he died.
"That's not true." A voice inside him whispered dangerously, it was gruff and demonic. "Mark can fade, not permanent. We claim her now, mark stays forever."
Inuyasha pushed his ears back to his skull. "She's not ours to claim." He grumbled into the air, responding to the voice inside his head. "If it disappears we'll just have to let her g—," Once again he cut himself off, unable to deal with his own thoughts
"We claim her." It mumbled back, fainter this time but still loud and temperamental. "Then she never leave."
"Tst." Inuyasha clicked his tongue, extending his bent knee out straight in front of him as he brought a hand up to rub the bridge of his nose. "It's not that simple." He told himself but the voice didn't respond, the demon in him disappearing for now. "It's not that simple at all."
"Ya." Kagome mumbled again drawing Inuyasha back to her form. "Sh." She finished so softly that Inuyasha's dog like ears had to strain to hear her. "A."
He smiled at that last vague syllable, unable to stop his face from lighting with pride at the thought that she might be saying his name. "Thank god I'm demon." He mumbled his ears twitching, picking up every little possible sound, even the muffled distorted sound of his name on her lips. He leaned his head back, resting it against the solid wood logs of the wall, his eyes drifting backwards looking up at the sky outside as his arms crossed before his chest. "It's been two days." Inuyasha took a deep breath as the thought entered his mind. "Two very long days since she—passed out." Once again his mind drifted to her death and he gritted his teeth as the sensation of that hurt came back to disturb him once more. "Why?" He wanted to yell but instead settled on screaming in his head. "Why did it affect me so much?" He lurched his head backwards, banging it against the side of the wall. "It's not like she's mother," He reasoned as he banged his head again, trying not to be too loud. "Shit, I didn't even feel this way when Kikyo—."
He froze, the words died. Kikyo. He hadn't been there when she died but when he had found out he hadn't even thought to cry. He had only been able to stand in front of her grave as the small Kaede wailed in grief.
"I wasn't human." He told himself quickly a part of him afraid to think that he would cry for Kagome and not for the woman he had once loved. "That's why I cr-ie-d for Kagome, because I was human." He cringed even as he said the word 'cried' finding it hard to say out loud. Inuyasha sighed, his words tasted bitter in his mouth not just because it was hard for him to say them but because even he realized he was lying to himself. He knew—he truly did that even if he had been a demon, he would have cried when he saw Kagome die. He nodded to himself but didn't press the issue, not ready yet to really deal with it.
"She accepts you and that's far too important to lose. You know that's why you'd cry, stop denying it."
Inuyasha jumped and glanced around, that hadn't been his demon talking to him, he could have sworn those words weren't in his head at all but had been spoken out loud or maybe they were just a fragment in his mind that had been just that clear and significant. He closed his eyes again, allowing the thought to actually wash over him, knowing it was true. Very true. "When did I—," He whispered as he opened his eyes and took in her gentle sleeping face. "When did I come to need you so badly in my life, Kagome?" He knew it was impossible to really pinpoint a time it seemed like he just always had, from the moment his lips had touched her hand.
Inuyasha smiled at the memory of her soft skin, at the memory of how she had blushed, how her scent had spiked and her lips had parted. Those lips, those lips—the ones that he had kissed, that parted so delicately when she slept. Those lips that hummed, that sang when no one listened, that spoke such fragile and worldly words. Those lips that taunted, that toyed and bantered, those lips that challenged, that did not fear him.
He licked his own lips feeling as if he could still taste her against them and sighed contentedly, the pain in his heart lessening. Inuyasha found himself once again at peace or as peaceful as he could really be. He gave her a crocked frown and leaned his head back against the wall once again as he brought his legs to crisscross, his hands resting on his knees. "I want to keep this feeling." He told himself vaguely as his body really started to relax for the first time in days. Oddly, he realized but didn't voice or even think, the idea that to keep this feeling he would have to keep her.
He sighed and closed his eyes content to simply sit and take in the scents and sounds around him.
"How nice." He thought before suddenly, a particular and familiar scent hit his nose causing it to actually twitch. "Sandalwood." He identified as the calming and timid smell reached him. "Jinenji." He opened his eyes and frowned, the scent was going away from the house, "I guess he's going to town again." Inuyasha deduced, "Probably to give them more medicine." He snorted, leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest. "He's a better man than me, I would'a let them suffer." Tucking his chin to his chest he once again tried to relax but was stopped as his nose was assaulted with the scent of Jinenji's mother. She was close, probably having just parted ways with her son. His ears twitched on his head as he picked up the sound of her soft footfalls and then her mild grunt as she adjusted something that was most likely too heavy for her to really carry as far a distance as she was. Huffing he stood and stretched, popping his neck absently, "I guess I'll see if she needs anything." He grumbled to himself but there was no bite in his tone.
Groaning he reached for his coat that rested on a nearby chair and prepared to put it on when he noticed Kagome shifting out of the corner of his eye. Glancing towards her he watched as she shivered and turned on her other side, wrapping her arms around herself instinctively as the breeze washed over her. Although it was not cold, the breeze was slightly chilly, seeing as it was still early morning.
She whimpered in her sleep and Inuyasha felt his eyes go soft. "Kagome," He thought her name faintly, his hands longing to reach for her, longing to encircle her, warm her but—he frowned. "Just because she accepts me doesn't mean I can—." Inuyasha pushed the thought away, his heart stinging in his chest as he pushed it aside.
Doubts locked away once again, Inuyasha clutched his jacket tightly in his fingers, his eyes watching her as she grumbled and burrowed her hands into her own jacket sleeves as the breeze drifted over them, cooling them. Without another thought he loosened his grip and bent over her draping the red jacket across her form with such care that it seemed he thought her made of glass.
"Sleep well and warm," He muttered to her as he came to stand tall once again, his eyes fixed on her and her smile that slowly made its way across her face as she pulled the warm jacket tight around her frame.
As if she was a demon she burrowed her nose into his collar and much to his amazement took a long unconscious breath, her smile growing. "In—sha." She mumbled causing his ears to perk up and his eyes to go wide.
He gulped and shook his head bringing a hand up to settle in his hair and tug, pulling him back to the proper world, the world where her smelling him had been a fluke and her mumbling his name had been a misunderstanding, not real, a world where she had said something else, something similar, something that anyone could misinterpret and confuse easily with the name Inuyasha. With a long breath he moved to leave the room, his heart begging him to stay but his mind thinking better of it.
Reaching for the door handle, he barely touched his fingers to it before he found himself turning to look at her one last time. She was snuggled deep into his jacket, only her eyes, forehead, and hair visible to his pupils now. He smiled to himself faintly before biting his lip, an odd thought coming to him as he scented the air. "Her scent will be on my jacket now." He licked his lips. "I wonder how long it will smell like her?" Shaking the thought from himself he pushed the door opened to leave the small bedroom, walking out on quiet feet before closing it behind him with a soft click.
Kagome's eyes fluttered opened from the sound only to immediately close as a bright light blinded her. She hissed and groaned turning her face away from it before blinking a few times, allowing her pupils time to adjust. After a moment her blurry vision stabilized and she was met with the sight of a log wall, the wall to a log cabin. "Huh?" She grumbled as she slowly pushed herself into a sitting position, furrowing her brow when the distinct feeling of fabric (a blanket) falling from her shoulders met her.
Curiously, she looked down at the fabric that now pulled around her waist, it was bright red and very familiar. She gulped, recognizing the red jacket easily, after all she had seen it every day for the better part of a month and a half. "Inuyasha." She whispered into the cool air as her fingers brushed over the outer light fabric of the Captain's jacket. "Your jacket?" She mumbled, her face flushing as she dropped her hands away from the fabric letting them rest at her side. "He—he let me use his jacket as a blanket." The blush grew slightly powdering her cheeks.
Carefully, she reached down and fingered the soft fabric, the pads of her fingertips remembering its texture vividly. Her hands trembled slightly as she ran them in a petting motion, her eyes watching as the fabric turned darker as she brushed down then lighter as she ran her fingers back up. Worrying her lip she grabbed the fabric tightly in still shaking fingers, her hands fisting in the material before suddenly letting go her eyes growing huge as a faint memory assaulted her.
"Miss Dresmont." He asked in a small voice, his eyes looking almost frightened, unsure. "May I kiss you?"
"When he kissed me," She remembered as she wrapped her fingers around the fabric again, this time gently bringing the jacket upwards so she could study it more closely. "I grabbed this jacket just like this." Surprisingly, no blush crept to her cheeks from the thought instead only other thoughts crept into her mind. "Inuyasha." She whispered the name her eyes fluttering closed as she pulled the jacket into a tight hug, her mind imagining that it was him that she was holding to her breast.
"You're alive."
Her eyes snapped opened as the sound of his voice reached her from days before. "That's right." She mumbled to herself as she pulled the jacket away and looked at it with avid curiosity. "He—he thought I was dead?" She furrowed her brow. Inuyasha had believed she was dead when really—to her knowledge—her body had merely been resting while she remained within the world of the white. "Where was I?" Kagome pondered out loud as she allowed her hands and subsequently the jacket to fall to her lap. "That place—."
"Is not definable."
Kagome winced as the thought entered her psyche loudly as if it had not been thought at all but instead true words had been spoken by a true mouth. Taking a calming breath she cleared her throat and sighed. "If it's not definable then what is it, how can something exist but have no definition?" Her expression turned dark as her mind went on overdrive. "Maybe, it was just a weird dream." She tried to conclude rationally. "Yeah—a very weird dream." Vaguely, she realized she had had weird dreams before and this was no weird dream.
"Will you just hold still?"
Kagome jumped, that had diffidently not been in her head like the other words before. Glancing towards the small door Kagome noticed the bedroom for the first time. She tilted her head to the side and looked hastily around at the small bed off in the corner, the wardrobe and the desk along with its chair. "Forget the white void, where am I now?" She silently mused and raised an eyebrow.
"Will you stop trying to pull my clothes off, woman?"
Kagome felt her eyes grow large, her face turning into a brilliant shade of red as the Captain's undeniable voice filled the small bedroom as well (she could only guess) as the rest of the house. She heard the sound of clothes ruffling and then something that sounded akin to a chair moving across the floor.
"Oh shush," A woman's voice grumbled tiredly. "I'm just checking your wounds."
She blinked, "Was that Mrs. Haniyama?" Before the thought left her mind, her question was already really answered.
"For the last time Haniyama," Inuyasha threw back sounding irritated. "There's no wound to check."
Kagome turned all her attention on the door, pushing herself upwards so she could stand. Her knees shook as she did so, the act of standing something wholly harder than she had suspected it would be. "How long have I been asleep?" She wondered before the sound of Haniyama's voice filled the air again.
"You were shot!"
Kagome took a sharp intake of breath at the words, her mind racing back to the time not too long ago (at least she assumed it hadn't happened too long ago). "I forgot." She chastised herself. "How could I forget?" Moving to the door as fast as she could on her still rebelling legs Kagome reached for the handle, attempting to turn it as Inuyasha's voice filled the air once more.
"Key word 'were,'" Inuyasha groused. "That's past tense as in I'm not shot now but was. It's healed!"
Kagome managed to make her equally limp and shaking arms turn the door knob before pushing the door opened in time to hear and see Haniyama protest, one of her long old fingers pushing Inuyasha in the chest as the man leaned against the table, arms crossed.
"No one heals that fast." She told him bluntly as she motioned to a chair nearby. "Now sit and be quiet."
Inuyasha rolled his eyes and sighed exasperated. "Hello," He told her smartly motioning to his body with one hand while the other stayed semi crossed in front of his chest. "Demon blood, you have a son with demon blood, you should get this."
Haniyama practically growled in response, her eyes gleaming with anger. "He still wouldn't be healed from a gun wound that fast." She reasoned slowly, her voice clipped and sharp.
"How do you know," Inuyasha challenged his eyes almost luminous, one eyebrow raised in distaste as he leaned towards her. "Has he ever been shot?"
Haniyama's angered frown turned into an almost laughing grin. "Yes."
Inuyasha's smug face fell as he realized his argument had been crippled. "Damn—," He mumbled just soft enough that it was barely heard. Clearing his throat he stood back up straight his eyes closed as he spoke again rather matter of factly. "Well there's a difference you know between me and Jinenji." He spoke calmly but even a gullible fool would have seen he was just pulling at strings. "Different types of demon have different healing times."
Haniyama crossed her arms mimicking his arrogant posture. "Prove it."
Without hesitation Inuyasha responded tightly. "Why should I?"
"Dear Lord boy," Haniyama groaned as exasperated with the situation as he was. "Are you shy or something?"
"Just take my word on it and leave it alone." Inuyasha fired back as his eye twitched.
"No." Haniyama said firmly her eye also twitching.
Silently, having not yet been noticed, Kagome watched both strong headed individuals face off. The two stared at each other for some time Haniyama glaring, her eyes dark and treacherous and Inuyasha matching her gaze, his eyes golden and shinning as the sun entered the small front living area through the window.
"Wait?" Kagome mumbled her own eyes brightening as a surge of happiness filled her at the sight of his golden irises. They were really gold, the fact deeply registered in her mind, his eyes were that beautiful molten gold once again. "Inuyasha, you changed back!" She cried out as she lunged forward, catching both Haniyama and Inuyasha off guard.
"Kago—," Inuyasha tried to say but his words dyed on his lips as he felt her small arms come around his broad waist, her head burrowing in his chest as she cried with relief and happiness. "Me." He finished his jaw dropping as he debated what he should do. Should he hug her? Comfort her? In his current state it was really a hard decision to make, some things really were just easier with human emotions.
"I'm so glad." Kagome whispered against his cotton clad chest her happiness from seeing him strong and arrogant and with golden eyes again pushing her well beyond the standards of propriety.
"Yeah," Inuyasha responded as he looked down at the top of her head feeling awkward but secretly (and openly) delighted that she was hugging him. "Me too."
Kagome grinned, her eyes opening and then widening as she was met with the sight of his white clad chest. Letting out a sound similar to a mouse's squeak she ripped her arms from him, pulling herself back her cheeks tinted prettily with red.
Inuyasha couldn't help but smile at the sight of her standing in front of him with dusted cheeks and pretty morning curls. She shifted, her eyes staring at the ground, her hair covering them slightly but it was still too short yet to truly prevent him from seeing the stormy depths of her whimsical gray eyes. He opened his mouth fully prepared to tell her how absolutely stunning she was but lost his nerve when she glanced up at him from beneath her short bangs.
"A—," He stuttered slightly and instantly growled the sound making both Kagome and Haniyama jump. "Sorry." He mumbled with regret, "God damn it, what the hell is wrong with me!" For a second he seriously contemplated beating his head against the nearby wall but forced himself to stop before he did. "This is the only time I think I've ever missed being fucking human. It was so much easier when I was human yesterday." Snorting and crossing his arms nervously he grumbled, "How are you feeling?"
Kagome looked at him for several seconds not saying a word, her eyes studying him observing him plainly as if she was trying to decide what was wrong. After a moment she smiled, the small turn of her lips just that, small. "Inuyasha," The name was whispered in her mind. "You're back to normal again aren't you?" She felt a little sad at the realization. She had been right in her previous deduction made just before Jinenji had started his fight, Inuyasha's human side was simply—softer—than his demon side. "I guess it's easier to show emotion with a human mind, right? Demons are never really emotional." She allowed the information to run off her back as she gingerly responded to him. "I feel fine, how 'bout you?"
"We're about to find out," Haniyama interjected before Inuyasha could even think of how to respond to her. "As soon as I'm done with him," She jabbed her thumb in Inuyasha's direction as she looked at Kagome, her critical eye already assessing the girl. From the looks of her slight frown, she wasn't too worried, which reassured Kagome greatly but Haniyama still didn't have the relieved look she had hoped for. "There's some stuff we need to look over on ya girl." She pursed her lips and clicked her tongue. "You have been out a while."
As if coming out of a daze Inuyasha shook his head violently and stepped forward towards Haniyama his hands held out in front of him in reasoning. "Haniyama, look over Kagome, I'm fine really." He told her, his voice no longer snide but instead almost slightly pleading. He reached down and grabbed the corner of his shirt, pulling it up easily, revealing somewhat healed flesh.
Kagome blushed as she took in his toned stomach in full daylight, vaguely noting that his skin was in fact more pale where the sun normally didn't reach. Haniyama stepped forward unaffected by the firm abs of youth, her expression dark as she leaned down and looked over the old wound critically. For the most part the bullet hole looked fine, his demon blood having healed it quickly over the past two days. The edges, although rough were no longer red and agitated, all signs of possible infection absent and signs of healing apparent.
Nodding absently, Haniyama straightened back up and eyed him, looking him up and down before sighing heavily sounding annoyed, as if her sigh was trying to say was-that-so-hard. "It looks fine," She grunted as she walked towards the cupboard to collect some of the things she might need during the check up for Kagome. "But if you get an infection in that thing and die, it was no fault of mine," She told him as she rummaged, turning around to look at him for only a second, her eyes as sharp as any skilled mother. "Got it?"
"Yeah, yeah. It's not like this is the first time I've been shot you know." Inuyasha grumbled as he let go of the edge of his shirt, allowing it to drop back around his waist as he turned towards the door.
"Inuyasha?" Kagome stepped towards him confused, her hand reaching out for him slightly. "Where are you going?"
"I'll be back later." He told her as he turned looking at her out of the corner of his eye. "So you can have some privacy."
Blushing for what felt like the millionth time that day Kagome nodded her head silently watching as he disappeared from the room, closing the door behind him easily. "Somehow," Kagome thought as she brought her hands in front of her and worried her fingers together. "I feel like I wouldn't have minded him staying."
"Take a seat at the table Kagome." Haniyama instructed as she continued to rummage in her cupboard, every once in a while finding something she needed and placing it on the table.
Nodding slightly, Kagome obeyed and sat down silently as she glanced around the room. It looked the same as it had before with the small hearth next to the cupboard and the table and chairs; the only difference between her first time sitting her and her last being the lack of Inuyasha—the lack of Jinenji. Glancing around she pursed her lips before turning her attention to the old woman in the cupboard. "Mrs. Haniyama, where's Jinenji?"
"He's in town," Her muffled reply came from the cabinet. "Mr. Carver and him are making arrangements."
"Arrangements?" Kagome thought and raised an eyebrow as she placed her hands skillfully in her lap, years of etiquette apparent in just her posture. "If you don't mind me asking, what arrangements are being made between the two?"
Haniyama finally pulled herself out from the cupboard a small clay cup in her hand. She glanced at Kagome briefly, her eyes seeming to sparkle. "They're making arrangements for Jinenji to sell his medicines," She informed a warranted smile on her face. "And become the town doctor, just as his father was so long ago."
Kagome smiled as the information sank in, "What a change." She whispered her eyes growing wide with disbelief. "Just like that?"
The old woman fingered the cup in her hands, her old eyes looking down at it as she drew her lips into a tight line that slowly turned into a soft smile. "Jinenji told me—," she whispered, her fingers still taunting the cup a little. "About what you did Kagome." Haniyama continued her old eyes far off, remembering a lot more than just what Jinenji had told her; remembering instances and pains that now would forever only be dark memories, all because of the girl before her currently.
"What I did?" Kagome drew her brow together and thought for a second. Unlike all the other times she had used her powers she remembered exactly what had happened instantly. She was almost surprised that it hadn't been the first thing she had thought about when she woke up. But then again, she could probably blame a certain red jacket for that.
Still, she remembered everything, she remembered the light, she remembered the feeling of evil and hate in the air, she even remembered how the hate had turned purple as it dissipated into the sky. She remembered the screams, the pain of that evil being ripped from the peoples very souls. It had been horrific and yet—Kagome knew it had been necessary. If she hadn't of pushed that hate from their bodies then Jinenji and his mother would still be hated for pathetic and unwarranted reason. After all, the world is truly beautiful when one looks at it with eyes unclouded by hate, that are wide opened and can really see everything it has to offer.
However, for all her memories of the event she really had had no idea what her actions would accomplish at the time, she had only known that it had to be done, for Jinenji, for his mother, she had to remove the hate. "So that's what happens." She thought a smile on her face. "When you remove somebody's hate."
Jinenji would finally get what he had always wanted, acceptance from the people who were his neighbors, from the people he had known all his life but had never been recognized by. Now, he would be seen, he would be appreciated, he would be able to follow in the footsteps he had always longed to walk. "I'm so glad." She whispered faintly into the air. "I'm so glad that Jinenji's being accepted, that they're not shunning him anymore."
The old woman nodded, her old eyes glossy as if she was about to cry. "So am I." Her voice broke a little and she brought a hand to her face wiping at the tears there. "Thank you, for—for that. Without you, we would still be hated," Her voice shook slightly as she spoke, a light whimper barely audible as she turned a wide smile upwards to Kagome, her expression one of complete admiration. "You are an amazing girl Kagome Dresmont."
Kagome blushed faintly and looked away, her expression the picture of humility. "I didn't—I just did what came—natu—."
Haniyama's soft chuckle stopped Kagome from speaking further as the old woman turned away, dipping the cup she held in her hand into the jug beside the hearth. "Just take the compliment dear." She chastised softly, her voice holding no malice but instead only more thankfulness.
"Thank you." Kagome replied with her head down and the faint blush still coating her cheeks. "Um," She fidgeted for a moment, wanting desperately to change the subject and bring the attention off of praising her and onto something else. Thinking quickly, searching for anything to change the topic to, Kagome bounced slightly worrying her lip as an earlier question popped back into her head. "Mrs. Haniyama." She questioned softly waiting for the old woman to turn back to her. "How long was I out?"
"Just two days." Haniyama told her as she made her way over to the table, sitting in the chair closest to Kagome, the cup still held tightly in her hand as she glanced over the assortment of herbs and roots and even stems she had laid out.
Internally Kagome sighed in relief as the previous subject dropped. On the hole, she wasn't really surprised that she had been out that long. In previous instances where she used her power she had been out even longer than just two days, so it was actually more of a surprise that she had woken up in just two days than it was that she had been out for what was relatively a long time. In a way, that made this instance the strange one. Tilting her head to the side, she silently wondered if perhaps the white void had attributed to her quick recovery, assuming that she hadn't dreamed up its existence.
"Two days." She finally repeated softly her expression easy and unhindered by the information. "What did I miss?"
"Nothing really." Haniyama supplied as she set down the cup and reached forward with one hand to touch Kagome's wrist feeling for her pulse, counting under her breath as each beat struck against her well honed fingers. After a minute she pulled away satisfied that all was normal and put her hands underneath Kagome's chin, feeling her neck absently checking for any swelling or other abnormalities. "We've just been going about out daily routines." She told Kagome as she continued to feel. "It's almost the end of summer so we're prepping the fields for winter. Finishing the harvesting and stuff of the like."
"Oh," Kagome mumbled as Haniyama looked into one of her eyes intently before turning to the other one. "That must be difficult work."
Haniyama nodded as she turned Kagome's head to the side, taking in her profile for a second, before turning her back and opening her mouth to glance inside. "Mr. Inuyasha has been helping us out in the fields." Haniyama continued as she moved away, allowing Kagome to close her mouth as she set back in the chair once again reaching for one of the herbs she had sat on the table, grabbing her mortar and pestle.
Carefully she added the herb into the mortar, holding the pestle oddly in her left hand before going to work grinding up the small dried leaf, quickly turning it into a slightly chunky powder. Reaching across the table with her unused right hand she grabbed another herb, throwing it into the mortar before grinding it with the other one. The sound of the two pieces of stone scrapping against each other filled the room for a moment as Haniyama concentrated, her face flushed as she worked, her eyes focused watching the herbs as they were ground, waiting for the right consistency.
Her hands stopped moving abruptly and she set the pestle down, bringing the mortar to her face, inspecting the mixture. Nodding to herself she reached for the cup of water again adding the powder to it before reaching across the table for a small jar. Uncorking the jar she added some of its thick contents in so fast that Kagome couldn't be sure what was actually in the jar. Skillfully, Haniyama mixed the concoction with a spoon before she handed it to Kagome.
"That Mr. Inuyasha is actually a decent farmer." She commented absentmindedly as if the conversation had never halted.
Kagome blinked swiftly, stopping the cup before she could bring it unquestioningly to her lips. "Re-ea-lly?" She stuttered the knowledge that the Captain was good at something that happened on land, somewhat shocking.
"Drink it dear." Haniyama told her sternly while taping the bottom of the cup, her expression almost matching the one she had given to Inuyasha earlier.
Kagome nodded hurriedly before she placed the cup to her lips and took a taste, her eyes widening when she brought it away for a moment surprised. "It tastes like honey." She commented and Haniyama chuckled.
"The honey covers the taste of the bitter medicine." She told Kagome the chuckle still present as she turned away back to the table grabbing the jar of what was now most diffidently honey and placing the cork back inside.
Kagome drank the rest of the cup down, the sweet taste of honey dissipating towards the end, turning into something very bitter tasting. "Yuck." She sounded sticking out her tongue slightly. Haniyama nodded, her face actually somewhat sympathetic as she handed Kagome another cup, this one of just water. Kagome smiled in appreciation, taking the cup and drinking it swiftly to get the taste out of her mouth. "So, I guess I should have asked earlier," Kagome started sheepishly. "But, what is the medicine for?"
"You've been asleep a while," Haniyama told her as she took the cup of water away from Kagome and set it back on the table. "And since you were asleep we were unable to really feed you anything more than broth and give you nothing more than a little water." She cleared her throat as she stood slowly her whole body creaking from the action. With a tired sigh she walked over the hearth where the large jug of water lay, grabbing one of the cups from the table, she dipped it into the jug before turning back to her seat, handing it to Kagome as she sat back down slowly her old bones now cracking. "That herb concoction is full of nutrients that will help your body regain its strength faster."
"Interesting." Kagome commented as she took another sip of water before continuing where the conversation had left off. "So, you said that Inuyasha was helping you farm?"
"Oh yes," Haniyama nodded as she leaned back in her chair, relaxing for a moment as Kagome drank. "He can use the till and harvest the plants, doesn't mind getting his claws dirty that one." She smiled faintly the small lines around her mouth growing more distinct the more she pulled the corners of her lips up. "He mentioned that he was taught briefly as a boy."
"Wh—," Kagome mumbled as she brought the cup away from her lips in obvious shock. "He did?"
"He did in passing." Haniyama nodded but the smile left as she gave Kagome a quizzing look. "You really don't know," She leaned against the table as she spoke, her eyes studying Kagome with interest. "Much about him, do you?"
"No—," Kagome admitted as she glanced out the window, not wanting to look Haniyama in the eye. She winced as the sun somewhat blinded her, blinking several times as a streak of silver caught her vision. The Captain was kneeling down, a basket next to him, filled with herbs (what kind she didn't know). At a steady pace he was pulling them from the ground, wiping the dirt off, examining them and then placing them in the small basket as if it was something he had always known to do.
Kagome frowned as she watched. "I really don't know, anything about you, do I?"
It was true, she knew so little. She knew he was a half demon, his mother was the human and his father was the demon, she knew he was a dog demon, she knew he became human on the night of the new moon, she knew he was over four hundred years old, she knew he could play the violin, and that he had loved a girl named Kikyo (a fact she quickly pushed over and ignored).
She knew that he spoke French, Spanish, English, and the unknown language he was teaching Miroku. She knew that he had read Shakespeare; she knew that he had found Miroku and had saved Sango from the loneliness of a rejected life. She knew that he was strong, impossibly skilled with fist and feet as well as guns.
She even knew that he was a good person, that he was kind, that he was decent, that he was—everything she had thought he really was. Captain Inuyasha was the man of Port Royal, that kind man with the captivating smile. She now realized that it had not really been an act but instead only a show, showing what lay beneath the surface of the hardened man she had later met.
But for everything she knew, for every little detail she had learned of his life, there was still so much she had left to know. Where did he learn to speak so many languages, did he know more than just the ones she had heard, and where did the one he was teaching Miroku originate from, was it an obscure language of Europe or South America or Africa or was it even more exotic? Maybe it was from Asia or a place in the Tundra of Russia she had read about. There was really no telling and the fact that he knew it only sparked more questions.
Where was he from, where was he born? Who taught him propriety and philosophy, to read and to write? Who gave him Shakespeare? Why did he like it? What other novelist and playwrights and poets had he read? Why was he a pirate if he was so learned? Had he had other jobs before he took to a life at sea and if he had what had finally brought him to work on a pirate ship over another safer land position?
Perhaps he had been a navy man captured during a raid or one that had gone on his own free will as Miroku had once explained to her often happened with navy men? How long had he been a captain, what other positions and titles had he held? Where had he been? What had he seen? Had he traveled the whole of the world, beyond even the pagan's edge? Was he noble born, was he made an outcast because of his blood? Was his mother, was his father? Were either of his parents still even alive? (That she highly doubted). Who was Sesshoumaru, the name on the compass that had hurt him so badly? What had Sesshoumaru done to deserve such hate?
Kagome wetted her lips with her tongue. "He's a mystery." She told herself as she took a sip of water, her mind barely registering the mechanical act. "Who is Inuyasha?" She wondered as her eyes washed over him as he continued to grab at herbs, pulling and yanking on them gently, trying desperately to harvest them from the ground.
"I want to know," Kagome whispered whether it was to Haniyama or herself was hard to tell. "I want to know more about him so he's not such a great mystery." Her words trailed off as Inuyasha finally stood dusting himself off before grabbing the basket and going out of sight, now harvesting herbs that weren't before the windows. "I want to know everything about him." She turned away from the window looking at her hands, still holding the small cup. "Everything," She repeated before looking up at Haniyama. "Have you ever wanted to know everything about someone, Haniyama? I mean everything, every detail, so much so that you want to know them better than they know themselves."
The old woman smiled faintly, her old eyes sparkling as she nodded crisply. "Yes, my dear," She answered truthfully as she stood from her chair and gently took the cup from Kagome's fingers, moving to fill it with more water absently, "Everyone has someone like that in their lives, I think." She spoke gingerly as she dipped the cup into the jug, her motion slowing as she remembered her own.
Flowing white hair, those soft chestnut eyes—Jinenji had those eyes. For a moment, Haniyama honestly thought she might cry as she imagined what her husband would have thought of the world that had been created here and now by this strange and capricious woman sitting at her table. Would he be happy, would he be surprised, would he even believe that it was real and not a dream.
Somehow, Haniyama knew he would have been thrilled, skeptical but so thrilled.
Turning back towards Kagome silently, not daring to say what else she was thinking, Haniyama sat in the chair beside her a smile on her face that held depths of sadness which kept Kagome for speaking any further.
"You poor child." Haniyama thought as she handed Kagome the cup of water, watching as the young girl took a sip her expression mystified as she watched Haniyama waiting for a response she would never receive. "One day you'll realize, those people, the ones we long to know the best, they're the ones we tend to love."
-break-
Kagome walked out of the small cabin, her eyes roaming over the landscape slightly. She had finished her check up with Haniyama just moments ago, an ordeal that had taken a good two hours to complete. After receiving the strange honey liquid, she had been forced to lay down while Haniyama went over her whole body with such detail that it had made Kagome's face an almost permanent shade of red. Even thinking of it now made Kagome's cheeks grow hot.
Haniyama was the only person alive who had seen her adult body completely naked, a fact that actually made her feel slightly dirty. As a girl who had been raised in a society that advertised the female body as a source of shame for young girls, it was increasingly hard to even allow herself to see her naked form let alone someone else. Even when she had dressed with Sango before their trip to Havana, she had discreetly turned her back, dressing hurriedly so as not to be seen.
Sighing, partially for her dead modesty but also to lighten her heart Kagome glanced around looking for Inuyasha without really trying to find him. "I'm so glad." She whispered to herself as she worried her lip, "That he decided to leave." She shook her head slightly up and down as she spoke, as if agreeing with herself. "I'd never be able to live that down."
Raising a hand to shield her eyes from the sun she looked around, squinting as she tried to make out Inuyasha in the vast fields. Sure enough, after only a second she spotted a shimmer in front of her, like a coin that glistens on the ground. A smile came to her face and she flushed for wholly different reasons as a strange thought crossed her mind like a flash. "What would happen if he saw me naked?"
Kagome froze, the thought dying and rushing from her hurriedly as she brought her arms tightly around herself in shame. Taking a shaky breath she started to go back towards the house not able to really face him but stopped herself when she heard a soft voice.
"Miss Kagome?"
Startled she jumped and turned to her right her wide grey eyes surprised by the sudden appearance of Jinenji. "Mr. Jinenji." She whispered and then turned her lips upwards, hoping her previously thoughts weren't written in her features. "Back from town so soon?"
The large man nodded and rubbed the back of his head, the gesture reminding Kagome of Inuyasha unwittingly causing her shame to grow. "Yes, Mr. Carver is very—," He looked away red tinting his cheeks in a sweet way. "He's nice to me now."
"That's great." Kagome told the half demon honestly, her smile genuine and not just for show. "I'm glad that you're working everything out."
"It is because of you." Jinenji told her without hesitation just as his mother had as he actually sniffled, the sound reminding Kagome of a colt as it whines. "You are—," The great man whispered his voice thick with emotion. "Amazing Miss Kagome, so amazing. Thank you, thank you so much. I—," He cut himself off and bowed his head, closing those deep blue eyes. "I wish there was something—anything I could do, anything to repay you for—."
"Mr. Jinenji," Kagome cut him off easily. "Knowing that you're safe and happy and accepted is all the thanks and reward I need."
Jinenji looked as if he had no idea what to say. Truly he didn't. "Just when I think," He told her with a dazzling smile. "That you are as—amazing as you can be—you—you do something like this—and prove to me that you are the most—remarkable—," He seemed to search for the right word. "Person, I have ever known."
Kagome turned pink at his words her heart pounding in his chest. "No ones ever praised me like that in my whole life." She told herself as she flushed darkly to her ears. "Mr. Jinenji," She started to say but stopped herself as she tried to control her emotions. "Thank you." She finally settled on. "Thank you."
"If you keep saying things like that Jinenji, she's gonna get a big head."
Kagome's eyes practically popped out of her head as the Captain's call hit her ears. Turning hastily she looked over surprised as he walked towards them, still a good fifty feet away or so.
Her eye twitched as she took in the distance, completely disbelieving that he had heard them. "Apparently his ears are really that good." She thought to herself with a sigh her shoulders slumping. "It's just no fair."
Approaching them Inuyasha grinned at Kagome his face almost playful causing her heart to lighten in her chest. "But I guess in this case she does deserve it." He informed Jinenji as he came to stand beside the other demon dropping the basket of herbs he had collected at his side before he stretched, his white undershirt pulling up from around his waist, showing off his hard stomach as he yawned. "Damn that's hard work." He grumbled as her brought his arms above his head and arched his stiff back.
Kagome couldn't help but watch him as he did her eyes studying his well honed stomach and the mostly healed wound that rested there. "Good," She thought with a nod, happy it was almost gone. "I was still kind of worried."
Worry still at the forefront of her mind, she took the opportunity to look him over her eyes traveling over his body absently checking for anything that seemed amiss. Without even realizing it her eyes went lower and widened as she took in a sight she had never seen before. His pants were hanging low, his belt loosened, perhaps having come undone when he was hunched over working, resting on his hips, a wisp away from resting on the ground. She gulped as she made out a strange symmetrical outline that followed his hips on both sides, dipping lower underneath where the pants still covered. Something shimmered on him then from the sun and she couldn't help but focus and look trying to figure out what it was. Instantly, she was able to make out the obvious sight of small silver hairs moving in the breeze. She flushed reminded of her own hair that traveled along the faint line above her legs but below her navel. "Boy's have hair there too?" Her mind faintly deduced as her head went a little dizzy momentarily. "What am I thinking?"
Inuyasha finished his stretch, allowing his arms to lower and consequently his shirt. With another yawn he shook himself like a dog and glanced over at Kagome, his eyebrows furrowing as he took in her vacant eyes and dopy expression. "Oi?" He called to her and she immediately jumped a good two feet backwards.
"Ye-s-s-s?" She stuttered as she brought her hands in front of her as if trying to create more distance between him and herself.
Inuyasha gave her a strange look at her sudden flight and tilted his head to the side. "Are you feeling okay?" He asked bluntly and Kagome nodded stiffly in response. Frowning Inuyasha sniffed the air, his nose easily able to detect lies. What he did detect, however, made his heart nearly stop. "Arousal." That was it, he knew that smell anywhere. It was heady and downright naughty, a spicy scent that made every hair on his body stand on end. His mind reeled and his head felt fuzzy as her scent assaulted his nose heavily. "Why?" he thought to himself barely registering his own voice in his head. "What did—?" He stopped the thought already knowing exactly what had caused it. Immediately his pride fluffed up and he smirked. He might not know if she liked him or not, but he diffidently knew that she was attracted to him.
Before he could press the issue however, his thoughts were put on hold by Jinenji who he had seemingly forgotten was there.
"Miss Kagome?" The large demon whispered softly to gain her attention.
Still flushed and feeling a little tingly Kagome turned and cleared her throat. "Yes, Mr. Jinenji?"
The large demon mimicked her throat clear and pointed at her neck calmly. "Are you wearing a necklace, Miss Kagome." He inquired innocently, lowering his hand as he watched Kagome lift her own fingers towards the chain absently.
"I almost forgot." She mumbled as she fingered the chain absently, in the chaos of the past few days she had completely let the jewel slip her mind and now although she wasn't sure when (probably when she had redressed) she had left it on the outside of her shirt, the gold chain clearly visible but the jewel itself hidden by her jacket. Pulling the necklace out from her jacket she fingers the jewel before holding it up slightly for Jinenji to see. "I had forgotten I was wearing it." She chuckled slightly as her face flushed.
Jinenji didn't response, his eyes staring at the jewel that rested in her palm intently with a expression of disbelief and amazement lining his face. "Is it a fragment of the jewel?" He questioned himself as he looked down at the slight jagged hunk of crystal in her hand. It shinned as the sun pushed against it, gleaming in the afternoon light. "Where did you get that?" He whispered darkly, his expression tight and intense.
Kagome blinked and glanced at Inuyasha the half dog demon raised an eyebrow in response before answering Jinenji in Kagome's stead. "We killed a demon a while back and the shards were on him." Inuyasha kept his voice monotone hoping Jinenji would except the answer. "I don't want him to know that I had a piece of it originally." He kept his face deliberately still as he thought. "Kagome's worn them around her neck ever since." He motioned at the crystal, half of which was beautifully round while the other side was horribly jagged.
Jinenji frowned slightly, his eyes staring so intently at the necklace that Kagome almost felt awkward having his eyes on her. She glanced away slightly as the half demon studied it in her palm her eyes traveling to Inuyasha who was watching Jinenji, his whole body posed as if he was ready for anything. The gold of his irises flashed in the light as he glanced at her briefly before allowing them to dart back to Jinenji. He sighed, licked his lips and gave her one more glance, his expression strange and protective—it was as if he was telling her to prepare for the worst.
Kagome looked away from him her eyes traveling over Jinenji. "Does he think, Jinenji might—might want them, might take them and use them like Manten?" She pondered as she waited too, a certain nervousness entering her. "Jinenji wouldn't do that, would he?" She felt the sensation of doubt, she hated it. "No, Jinenji's not that kind of man. I know better, he's a good person, he'd never do something like that, just like Inuyasha," she glanced at him and smiled reassuring. "Would never do something like that."
"You got this off a demon?" Jinenji whispered as he turned to look at Inuyasha once again.
"Yes." Inuyasha nodded sharply as he crossed his arms over his chest tightly as if daring Jinenji to defy his words in anyway.
Jinenji brought a hand up to his head allowing one clawed finger to scratch at his temple before he took a deep breath as if he too was preparing for something. "Have you touched it?" He asked strangely, his large bright eyes giving Inuyasha an equally strange look.
"Yes." Inuyasha replied slowly, his face puzzled as he gave Jinenji a contemplative look. "Why do you ask?"
"The jewel," Jinenji motioned with one clawed hand towards Kagome's palm. "When you touched it, did it turn black?"
Inuyasha's pupils dilated, his breath and the memory of that time assaulted him.
He reached forward plucking the jewel from the pile of ash that had been Manten and held it up to his face, studying it with curious and confused eyes. He brought his other hand up to his shirt and touched the small jewel that was hidden underneath it through the fabric. Reaching inside of the shirt he pulled it out and brought it side by side with the other piece. The two jewel fragments glowed as they were placed near each other and suddenly before he could stop the reaction, they seemingly combined, becoming one on Inuyasha's golden chain.
"What the hell!" Inuyasha practically yelled as let go of the chain allowing the jewels to swing on his neck, the glow stopping now that they were combined. He looked down at them, not touching them for fear of their reaction. Carefully, he reached a tentative hand up and took the now larger gem into his hands. "Are they," He reasoned out loud, "From the same jewel?"
The original jewel that had remained on the chain for almost fifty years was now twice its own size and a deeper burgundy color than he remembered it being. It seemed to be getting darker with every minute and the darker it got the more lightheaded he felt.
"What's happening?" He wondered as he grew dizzier and dizzier, his mind going blank as the jewel turned a haunting purple. His eyes began to close as his head felt unreasonably light. He forced them opened over and over again but each time it became harder and harder for him to accomplish.
Finally, he realized what was happening as his face began to grow hot. This jewel was bringing out his demon side slowly, it was forcing the demon within him to awaken. His hands began to shake as the dizzy sensation overtook him, his mind going blank as his demon began to fight him for control. It pushed at his mental barriers, trying to get out and with each push he felt another trademark of his demon side break through. First he felt the marks on his cheeks, then he felt his claws begin to elongate and his fangs as well.
"No," He yelled out as he struggled, trying to maintain his human side's presence, his voice of reason. "Stop, damn it!"
His body didn't respond, simply kept transforming, as his vision became blurred and he knew his eyes had changed. He closed them tightly, trying in vain to stop the transformation.
"Inuyasha."
His eyes snapped open and he froze when he saw the gray eyes of Kagome, unafraid. They looked at him, calming and gentle as her hand reached out towards him. "Kagome don't," He tried to beg but he had already lost the ability to speak, instead he only heard himself snarl at her. "Please," He begged, but her hand kept moving towards him as his demon side snarled and whined, yipping at her in a language she didn't understand.
"Inuyasha." The girl repeated, her stormy eyes looking into him, seeing through him into his soul. "Come back."
"Inuyasha!"
Inuyasha eyes snapped opened, when he had closed them he had no idea. Blinking hastily he looked down at Kagome who was now standing in front of him, her eyes worried as she stood beside him, one of her hands reaching out towards his cheek, hovering as if she had prepared to touch it but at the last second decided not to. "Kagome." He mumbled his heart rate decreasing as he took in her worried grey eyes.
"It did, didn't it?" Jinenji's voice sounded dark. "It turned black at your touch and you—lost yourself for a moment, didn't you?"
"Inuyasha what is he talking about?" Kagome asked as she tried to comprehend the conversation. "You've," She started to say that he had had the jewel forever before he gave it to her and never before then had he had any reaction to it but before she could an odd memory surfaced in her mind that had been plaguing her for weeks.
She saw the red eyes, she saw the elongated fangs, she heard the snarl, she caught the glimmer of the shikon shard hanging from a palm guarded by razor sharp claws. Kagome felt the bile rise in her throat as her head went dizzy as the memory came crashing down on her. She could hear his scream, see the fear as it surmounted in his rapidly changing eyes.
"What?" Kagome felt the word leave her as she fell to the ground tears brimming in her eyes, hiding amongst her lashes.
"Kagome!" Inuyasha's voice sounded in her head.
"What was—," Kagome's voice shook as the tears finally fell down her face.
"Kagome?" Inuyasha knelt beside her his hand going to her shoulder and holding onto it tightly as fear gripped his heart flashbacks of the day before hitting his very soul. "Kagome talk to me."
"I remember." Kagome said finally as everything fell into place in her head. "Back with Manten," She spoke so softly that Jinenji had to bend down to her level to hear. "When you saved me the jewel," She turned and looked at Inuyasha her grey eyes filled with so much pity. "You touched it and you were in so much pain."
"Kagome." Inuyasha spoke softly but she shook her head hastily cutting him off as her curls brushed against her cheeks with each shake.
"No!" She bit out as she stopped her head and grasped hold of his sleeve with one hand desperately. "It did something to you and you were—I've never seen you like that." Her lip trembled. "So much pain and you're eyes they weren't your eyes," Her grip slowly feel from his arm as she tilted her chin to look at the ground the tears falling freely from her eyes. "Its like it changed you and you weren't Inuyasha anymore."
"Kagome its okay." Inuyasha reached his hand up as if too sooth her but found himself hesitant not knowing where to actually put his hand. Finally he settled on her shoulder once more where his mark still remained. He gave it a gentle squeeze, which made her gasp and turn to look at him. "You saved me." He told her as his hand dropped from her shoulder to her forearm squeezing there as well. "You don't have to worry you saved me." He whispered again hoping to top her jumbled memory from misconstruing what had happened further.
"I saved you?" Kagome blinked several times as she tried to remember that part of the incident. "I don't remember—."
"Believe me it happened," Inuyasha spoke evenly wanting her to hear his words over her own doubt. "I wouldn't lie."
Kagome made a soft humming noise in the back of her throat before looking up at him once more. The tears had stopped now and she looked far more calm. "You promise." She whispered softly as her lip trembled just a tiny bit.
"I do." He offered her a reassuring smile or as much of a smile as he could.
"And you," She spoke softly her eyes looking sad. "You still can't touch it?"
Inuyasha gave her a pained look and sighed. "I haven't exactly tried," He told her honestly as he looked at the jewel that dangled around her neck. "I didn't want to tempt fate."
Kagome nodded at his words her eariler memories making way for a new realization. "That's why," Her eyes opened wide as she spoke. "He didn't give it to me because I remind him of Kikyo and he once gave it to her." She brought her head up slowly to look at him. "He gave it to me because he couldn't touch it. It had nothing to do with her or anything—it was just practical." Part of her heart warmed from the knowledge feeling separated from her predecessor in the Captain's eyes but another part of her felt cold after all, he had only given it to her out of necessity and not for any other reason. "You gave it to me because you didn't want to risk it?"
"Seemed like the smart thing to do." Inuyasha told her as he scratched the back of his head.
"Mr. Inuyasha." Jinenji once again interjected, his mind not even seeming to comprehend the other conversation going on around him—no he was focused on something he found far more important. "When I touch the jewel the same thing happens."
Inuyasha and Kagome both whipped their heads around, their eyes huge, the size of the sun as they stared at Jinenji. "Wait," Inuyasha shook his head roughly as he stood up taking a step away from Kagome towards Jinenji. "You've touch one of these jewels before?"
"Yes," Jinenji admitted slowly his blue eyes bright—almost—haunted. "My father owned one."
End of Chapter
Please Review
Edited for Content 8/3/2012
Congratulations to InuKag77 and ANGELSKyBlue for the joint 1000th/1001 reviewer title.
Bonus Point:
Inuyasha uses the Shikon no Tama in an episode, resulting in him nearly losing his mind until Kagome steps in and saves him. What is that episode? (Hint: It is one of the last episodes in the anime series)
Last Chapter's Bonus Point:
They are similar because in the anime/manga Jinenji actually does save the villager from a demon, which results in his semi acceptance by the villagers. Congrats to the winners!
InuKag77, flamendwaterislochnessmonster, Purple Dragon Ranger, glon morski, InuEared Miko of Darkness, InuKag4eva, HeavenlyEclipse, Ciao from Indiana, Litle C, Regina lunaris, Warm-Amber92, AriaLuvsInu
Next Chapter:
The Jewel Shard
See you then!
UNEDITTED
POSTED 11/26/2011