Chapter 13
Miroku sighed. It had been a rather trying afternoon—straining all of his senses for any trace of Inuyasha and Kagome. He had been about halfway to wishing he would encounter anything, even the bird youkai, until he came across a few grains of dust imbued with rapidly dimming youki, and decided that perhaps it wasn't as helpful as he'd previously been assuming. Well, at the very least, if it was dead, chances were that Inuyasha and Kagome were not. Hopefully.
Chances were also that they'd retrieved the jewel… and, continuing along the same line of speculation, returned to Aneston. It only made sense.
But then, why did he feel so nervous?
If I return, and Inuyasha is not there, I will have to find some way to repay him once I do find him again. And if Kagome's not there…
He paused and considered this briefly, though his feet were very, very cold, and the shirt—albeit long-sleeved and quite warm while inside—did not do an adequate job of keeping out the cold.
Mrs. Higurashi will be furious…
Well, she would likely be furious anyway. Considering that we just effectively kidnapped her daughter after… whatever Miss Kagome did the jewel, we would hardly be reinforcing her opinion of us… And good luck to us if we try to explain. At the very least, she'd want to know why we entrusted her daughter with such a powerful artifact.
And then, because it only made sense, he started walking again, almost unconsciously beginning to turn back in the direction of Aneston.
If I don't know where they are or where they're headed…I may as well head back and wait for them. Or perhaps just find my car and try to avoid angry mothers until I can leave with Inuyasha…
That's the easy way out. I can't run away now… I need to at least clear up certain matters with Mrs. Higurashi. Or fail in the attempt.
He sighed again.
And Miss Kagome really is very pretty…
:00:00:
Kagome was not quite sure, but she had the distinct feeling that something was not right. The wind was blowing the wrong way, or the world had just performed some sort of polar switch on her, or perhaps she was still rather mixed up from that fall… but the fact remained that it was not at all a pleasant sensation. Her mind kept trying to inform her that something was wrong, but it also kept failing to tell her what.
Come on, we're going back home… I think… and Inuyasha's not about to pull something on me. She closed her eyes slightly, feeling the chill of the wind against her back as Inuyasha leaped through the air again. It was much harder to think badly of someone when they were protecting one from a horrible biting chill that would otherwise have probably resulted in hypothermia… Inuyasha was so very warm, and even though his shirt could hardly have functioned well as a coat, it still kept most of the cold away from her. If she hadn't still been soaking wet, she might even have been comfortable.
But that didn't help the growing uneasiness…
"Inuyasha?"
"Yes, bitch?"
She ignored the insult. "I think something's wrong."
"Keh. Just shut up already. I can't think with you back there…"
She raised an eyebrow at that, but kept quiet. Inuyasha did seem to be wavering slightly in the air… though, as she was still far from familiar with the sensation of flying, it could have been her imagination. She glanced down at the ground rushing past, and really felt as though there were something she ought to be saying… if only she could think of it.
To take her mind off it, she tried to remember the events back in the clearing. Perhaps, if she thought about it for awhile, she would come to some conclusions about Inuyasha, and possibly even Miroku… since neither of them seemed inclined to talk on their own and clear up this mystery.
You said… you said that you'd make me human…
Some sort of miko thing, I guess…
Kikyou?
So… Kikyou, dead Kikyou, the woman of indeterminate origin, was a miko. And she had been on the verge of turning Inuyasha into a human, before she… well, shot him. And they had been lovers…
And of course, there was more magic involved. She wasn't sure whether to be disturbed or happy at the fact that she was becoming used to it now. Perhaps the jewel's now-constant, warm presence had something to do with it.
Speaking of which…
"Inuyasha?"
"I thought I told you to shut up!"
"What exactly is the jewel? Like, what's it made out of, what does it do?"
"Hell if I know," he growled.
"Well, you have to know something about it," she coaxed. "Where did it come from?"
He was silent for a long time. She couldn't see his face, though there was almost enough hair blowing around to make up for that. And she could see his ears… they looked cold.
"I don't… I don't know," he said at last. "Probably the crystallized power of some youkai that got too strong for its own body."
"That happens?" Getting caught up on all of the strangeness that resulted from magic would be difficult, she decided.
Inuyasha shrugged, with some difficulty due to the presence of a seventeen-year-old girl clinging to his back. "Hell if I know."
She sighed.
His ears really did look cold. They were being pushed backwards by the air resistance, pressed close to his head as if trying to escape from the wind. The masses of hair, despite the sheer volume, didn't seem to help. And at the same time, she couldn't help remembering how soft they'd felt, back in the kitchen.
Kagome found herself reaching up, very slowly, through whipping strands of silver. It was even colder than she'd thought it would be, with her hands away from the combined warmth of their bodies. Inuyasha didn't seem to notice anything until her hand actually brushed one of the soft appendages.
The reaction was immediate. Inuyasha yelped, squirming slightly, and nearly dropped her. "Wh-what…" Regaining his grip, he turned his head just enough to glare at her. "What the fuck are you doing?"
"Aren't they cold?"
"Idiot! Of course they're—keh," he finished weakly. "Just—stop it! Not while I'm up here, anyway."
She sighed into his shoulder. "I just didn't want them to freeze or something."
He snorted. "Stupid bitch. Of course they won't freeze."
Her only response was to sigh again and bury her face in the space between his shoulder and neck. Inuyasha kept his face forward, trying to force down the deep flush that rose immediately. After the warm touch of her fingers, his ears felt even colder than before, but damned if he was going to mention it! Besides, her head felt… nice where it was, providing protection against those wind-chilled strands of his own hair that tried to whip against his skin.
He found very suddenly that he was veering off-course. What the hell…? He sought again for the scent trail of people that he had been following before, and found it easily. That shouldn't be happening… Experimentally, he tried to focus on keeping his direction, only to find that everything was ever so slightly hazy. The treetops were blurred, too…
Ohh, shit… Blinking in an unsuccessful attempt to clear his vision, he tried to speed up, to reach their destination faster. It must have been that blasted fall… why the hell did I let myself do that, anyway?
Idiot… I shouldn't have dropped her in the first place…
He was off-course again. Biting back an expletive—he could at least keep this weakness a secret from the girl whose breath was currently heating the side of his neck—he again changed direction ever so slightly. Yeah… as if I haven't been humiliated enough in front of her…
…How could I have dropped her?
The dizziness was receding at last, and he drew a long, relieved breath.
And now he could see the town—an area where the trees thinned out and were replaced by blockier, less spindling shapes. Finally! Within mere seconds of sighting it—at the very least he still had speed—he made the descent back through the tree cover and didn't leap back up.
Kagome, who had been keeping her eyes closed, was somewhat startled as Inuyasha relaxed his grip on her legs, allowing her to slide down. For a brief moment she was disoriented, but it passed quickly enough, and then she found herself standing firmly on very solid snow-covered ground, somewhere near the outskirts of town, presumably. She couldn't see any buildings, but through the trees a short distance away there was a road with a large sign posted on the right-hand side. Inuyasha was striding away from her.
"H-hey!" She ran forwards and reached for his arm. "Where are you going?"
"Leaving," he muttered.
"Oh, come on!" she said, gripping his sleeve quite firmly. "You're just going to drop me off and then leave?"
"That's exactly what I plan to do," Inuyasha spat, turning his head just enough to glare at her. "And maybe if the… if…" He trailed off as his continued walking brought him into full view of the sign beside the road.
Now entering Glennesville.
Kagome saw it at roughly the same moment he did. She let out a faintly disbelieving hiss. "You took us to the wrong town?"
"Keh," he muttered, ignoring the sinking sensation deep within his chest. He turned away from the sign and walked towards Kagome.
She blinked as he turned to present his back to her. Is he… he's going to try again? "I… I thought you were leaving?"
"Yeah, well, apparently not," he mumbled. Very abruptly, the dizziness was back, with even greater force this time. He was hard-pressed to keep from swaying as he waited for Kagome. He no longer even knew just why he was doing this—he did want to leave, didn't he? All that he knew now was that it wouldn't feel right to leave her behind.
Very gently, a hand touched his shoulder. He whipped his head around to look, trying not to reel as the movement unbalanced him. Kagome withdrew her hand but did not move away.
"Are you okay?" she asked softly.
"Of course, bitch," he growled.
Kagome sighed, watching his eyes as if they could give away everything that he was thinking. Inuyasha watched her with growing uneasiness. "You aren't going to tell me?"
He didn't answer her. What's she getting at now? Is she planning something? Inuyasha could only stand and stare at her in perplexity as his confusion grew.
Kagome twined her hands together behind her back, ignoring the heaviness of her still-damp shirt, watching him almost appraisingly. "Well, from the looks of it, I'd say that you shouldn't really be jumping off anywhere right now, let alone with me on your back. We can go into the town, and find some way of getting back… maybe someone passing through town, or with a car they wouldn't mind lending…" She snapped her fingers. "Or a telephone! Miroku has a car, too, doesn't he?"
"Stupid bouzu's probably in enough trouble without having to come get us," Inuyasha grumbled, turning his head to the side. Perhaps it was just another side effect of that knock to the head, but his thoughts were leading him in unpleasant directions—not least of which, what Mrs. Higurashi would do once she found out that Inuyasha had taken Kagome with him on this little escapade. Why the hell did I bring her anyway? I knew it'd be dangerous… hell, it was a fight! Why didn't I leave her behind like I was planning to?
"Hmm…" Kagome tapped her chin as she thought. "Well… we still need to find a way home. Aneston's just a few miles west of here—I'm sure there'll be someone who can help."
:00:00:
Kagome sighed heavily and leaned against the leeward side of a house, providing some shelter against the cold. The bright, somewhat warming sun was beginning to set… and with the first traces of orange light came wind. Glennesville, it seemed, was both smaller and less friendly than she had expected—and no one seemed to know quite what to make of the young pair who'd seemingly popped up out of nowhere. Few cars, no travelers…
Inuyasha crossed his arms over his chest, removing them a moment later to make sure his ears were still flattened close to his scalp. "Keh. I knew we wouldn't find anything," he said. "Now will you climb on?"
"No! Not until I know you're better!"
"Bitch! There was nothing wrong with me in the first place!"
Kagome opened her mouth to make some retort and closed it immediately upon noticing an old man, one of the townsfolk, staring at her oddly. She flushed crimson.
Inuyasha opened his mouth to make some gloating remark and Kagome immediately seized the hem of his sleeve, using it to haul him out from behind the building. Ignoring the stares they received from the few people still out, she pulled him the ten metres or so it took to reach the edge of the forest and stopped.
"What the hell are you—"
Kagome put a finger over his mouth, silencing him. He regarded her quizzically while she stared at the ground, summoning her nerve.
Finally she took a deep breath. "All right," she said shortly. "I don't know what's been going on in your life, that's making you so… angry all the time, and I just want this situation to end."
He made a faint noise behind her hand. It sounded fuzzily like keh.'
She looked up to meet his eyes. "There's only one thing that I want you to understand right now," she said, almost pleadingly. "And it's that I'm not out to hurt you. I've been trusting you so far. We all have. And… I'd just… I'd like it if you could start trusting us too."
She was biting her lip now. Inuyasha tried to remain focused on her words, but it was difficult. She did look very earnest… at least, he thought she did. And sad…
The guilt that struck Inuyasha at this thought served only to confuse him further.
Kagome removed her hand from his mouth. "If you could tell me what's been happening, that would be a start," she said.
It took him a few seconds to marshal his thoughts, and when he did, he attempted to reassume a position of defiance. Crossing his arms across his chest, he shifted his gaze to the snow-covered ground. "Keh."
"I know that Kikyou was a miko, I know that she shot you, I know that you loved her, but... it just… doesn't make sense." Kagome paused, taking a deep breath, and turned to look at Inuyasha directly. "I just want to know what's going on."
Inuyasha stared at the ground.
:0:
The first time he saw her was still embedded in his memory. He'd tried to forget it more than once, to finally rid himself of all of those memories, but the attempts always failed.
The glow that had once been reassuring and warm was now smoky, overcast with doubt. Had she known what would eventually come of their relationship? Had she been planning it, even then? Those early memories, of a girl who stood roughly level with his mother's waist… it was hard to reconcile those with the woman who had tried to kill him mere days ago
It was just a few months after Miroku had left, and just short of a year before Inuyasha was orphaned for good. He must have been about four... Mother had been very unhappy since Miroku left, which perplexed Inuyasha somewhat. Miroku had been happy to go, eager to see new places, learn about all sorts of interesting things. Inuyasha could understand his own loneliness, but Mother had her own friends, and always had something to do.
When he asked her why she was upset, usually she would just sigh and tell him it was nothing. But once, she had reached out and taken hold of his shoulder. You know how you're… different from other people?'
He nodded.
You're different from me, and Miroku. You're also different from Sesshoumaru.' The hand moved off his shoulder to trail through a lock of silver hair. But the people who are the same… they… wouldn't be very nice to you.'
I know,' he said, still puzzled. He'd known for a long time. He couldn't go outside, not ever. He'd tried once, just once, and had learned firsthand how unpleasant rocks could be. And Mother had been so sad…
Well…' She smoothed down his hair. I… I'd thought that… Miroku's father could help.'
He would make me like you?' If he were the same as his mother and Miroku… something deep inside his mind knew that everything would be different.
She smiled. No.'
Like… Sesshoumaru?'
No, of course not. I would never change who you are…but there are ways to change how people see you.'
And I could go outside?'
Yes…'
That was the end of that.
And then she came.
Even as a young girl, she'd still had enough presence about her to give anyone pause. Her black hair was longer even than his own, her dark eyes faraway and mysterious. She was very pale.
He had watched from a second-floor window at the front of the house while Mother went to greet her. The little girl was accompanied by a man, one whose thick scent of oil and lies could permeate all the way up to Inuyasha's vantage point. He kept babbling on and on about things like "soul of Midoriko" and "bearer of the Shikon," until Mother politely sent him off. The little girl was ushered into the house.
When Inuyasha stepped off the stairs in all of his clawed, fanged, dog-eared hanyou glory, she didn't jump. She didn't even twitch. Not even Miroku could say as much—upon his first sight of Inuyasha, he'd yelped aloud and tried to run.
But Kikyou… she looked him up and down speculatively, and said, I can do it.'
:0:
"And I don't want to tell you, so you might as well leave it at that, bitch!"
Kagome stared at him for long moments while he tried to maintain his glare.
"All right then," she said at last, turning away. Her eyes were burning. After all that, after all that they had gone through, he still couldn't trust her?
"Oi! Where are you going!"
"I'm going home, idiot!"
"B-but…" Shock and a vague sense of guilt were quickly shoved aside by annoyance. "How the hell do you think you'll do that without me, bitch?"
"How do you think?" Kagome cried, whirling on him at last as the tears finally began to spill over. "I'll find a telephone, and I'll pay with twigs if I have to, but I'm calling my mother and I'm going home!"
"O-oi!" Fully half of what she said didn't register in the slightest. "St-stop crying!"
Impatiently she dashed the tears from her eyes. "I am not crying!"
"You are too!"
Both were cut off as a third voice broke in. "See? I told you I saw strangers!"
Kagome fairly leaped in front of Inuyasha, hiding him—and more specifically, his ears—from the view of the newcomers. A small redheaded boy emerged from behind some trees, leading a woman by the hand. She blinked as she entered the clearing.
"See? See?" said the boy, all but jumping up and down on the spot. "I did tell you!"
The woman stilled him with a barely perceptible gesture and peered closely at Inuyasha and Kagome. "You're not from around here," she said blandly.
"Eh… no," said Kagome, trying to laugh. Come on, just act natural… "We're from Aneston, and we… got lost."
The woman tilted her head, still scrutinizing them. She had the same red hair as the boy, Kagome noticed. She could be his mother… "Aneston? But that's miles away."
"Badly lost," said Kagome.
"I have a friend who lives in Aneston!" piped up the boy. "Her name is Satsuki!"
Kagome grinned, beginning to relax. "Oh, I know her! She's come into our shop once or twice…" The little girl who lives around the corner... she doesn't actually enter the shop very often... but she goes to Souta's school, doesn't she?
"You run a shop?" asked the mother.
"My family has a bookstore in town."
"Are you Mrs. Higurashi, then?" asked the boy eagerly, green eyes wide.
Kagome laughed. "I'm her daughter."
"Oh, cool! I've never been in there but Souten says there are an awful lot of books, and that there's also a kid there who she knows and who's called Souta, and I'd thought that Souta was a boy until now…"
His mother shushed him again, hurriedly. She smiled up at Kagome. "I'm sorry. Sometimes he'll say anything…"
Her eyes flicked past Kagome to Inuyasha, of whose presence Kagome was uncomfortably aware. She couldn't see him, but the way the woman's eyes narrowed suddenly made her nervous.
"Umm… I'm not Souta, that's my brother," said Kagome, nervous. "My name is Kagome. And... er... this is Inuyasha," she said, stepping slightly to the side and turning so that she could surreptitiously see what he was doing. His ears were still covered, his hands were behind his back… he was shivering slightly, but then, so was she. He seemed to be glaring at the boy and his mother, however. Kagome nudged him.
"Inuyasha?" The woman kept up her stare. "…Interesting name."
"Doesn't that mean dog—" The boy received another shushing.
"W-well," said Kagome, reaching out and taking hold of Inuyasha's sleeve again, "I suppose then that we'd better get going…"
"You're going somewhere?"
"Back to Aneston," said Kagome.
"Without any coats on?" The woman's face relaxed as concern took over. "You can't be planning to walk back—it's almost nightfall."
"We'll figure something out," said Kagome, pulling Inuyasha sideways and trying to look at him so that he knew to stop glaring. He hadn't made a move otherwise.
"No, no," said the woman, shaking her head and stepping forward. "Come on, you can't expect to get far like that. You can spend the night at our house."
Inuyasha's eyes widened, and Kagome nearly let go of his sleeve. "Oh, thank you very much, but we really couldn't…"
"Not a bit of it," said the woman firmly. She turned around, still clasping the little boy's hand, and began to walk back out of the forest. "Come on," she called over her shoulder. "You certainly can't want to freeze out there."
Kagome shook her head mutely as the little boy craned his head backwards to look at her. She started to walk after them.
"K-Kagome," said Inuyasha softly.
She let go of his sleeve and stared up at him. What was that tone of voice?
"What is it?"
"They're both youkai."
Kagome frowned and looked ahead to where the child and the woman were stepping onto the sidewalk. "Youkai? Are you sure?"
His eyes narrowed further until he was glaring at their backs. But this time, his eyes didn't only hold anger… "I can smell it on them."
Kagome watched the pair for a few more seconds, then heaved an exasperated sigh and tugged Inuyasha forwards. "Come on. It's not like they're trying to hurt us or anything, even if they are youkai."
Inuyasha stopped again, refusing to be pulled any farther. "Idiot! They're fucking youkai, bitch! Just because they look like humans doesn't mean they are human. Don't you understand that? "
"Yes, of course... But, I mean, not all youkai can be bad, right?" She looked up at him peevishly. "Just give them a chance, okay?"
He stopped glaring, only for his face to settle into the still-more familiar pout. "Keh."
"Come on. She has a point, anyway—we'll freeze to death if we stay outside all night." Kagome pulled him forwards once more, and he stumbled slightly before following. The boy and the woman were waiting on the sidewalk. Once Kagome emerged from the edge of the forest, they began walking along the sidewalk, presumably towards a house somewhere in town.
Inuyasha was left to follow Kagome, cursing silently at himself… for taking a human with him to a fight; for falling out of the sky; for the dizziness that just wouldn't fucking go away; and for the fact that the little youkai boy and his mother smelled like bad memories from long ago.
:00:00:
I just keep… bloody… ending… chapters… early! I'll likely end up having twice as many as I probably would have originally…
I've already forgotten all of the rationalizations that I worked out while I was across the ocean… (in between skiing, of course... the French, Swiss and Italian Alps! So... beautiful... Mostly I drew, though. I have some Inuyasha fanart up on my Deviantart account, though none corresponding to this story...)
Uhmm… the identity of the kid is probably fairly evident, but I shan't state who it is directly since the majority of his part still hasn't been hammered out. I'm sorry for the awfulness of the attempted sappiness… long flashbacks definitely aren't my forte.
Ah, yes… part of the reason why everyone in this story seems to eager to trust others is simply the fact that, living way up in the depths of nowhere in my strange alternate universe, they have no reason not to be trusting. There's nothing more than small crimes going on there (like, kids shoplifting, that sort of thing) since they're pretty much completely isolated from the main city. Miroku did pass through, but that was pretty exceptional circumstance, as was probably evident when the scene was being written… at least, I hope it was…
And speaking of Miroku, he REALLY didn't do much this chapter... next chapter he'll have a bigger part. Same with... everyone else whom I've been sadly neglecting to pursue my twisted plotline.
Souten is a canon character, but chances are she won't have a big part in this story. She's… er… away. Yes. That's it.
And... because I've been putting it off for such a mighty long time...
Thank you to those who have reviewed this story.
Scherezade7 (sorry about problems getting through... FFnet can do some irritating things from time to time)
SunshineandDaisys (thank you very much indeed for reviewing pretty much the entire story... and sorry that Miroku's part is getting a bit vague. I'll be getting around to that soon...)
Inuyasha'sgurl (I'm not sure whether FFnet will even allow for the underscore in you name... or any other for that matter... so sorry in advance)
Cyan I'd (for pointing out all sorts of errors, both in continuity and otherwise, and keeping me on my toes. I just hope I've been keeping up...)
DarklessVasion (thanks for some rather detailed reviews)
devilblondie (thanks for reviewing my Fictionpress story too... in fact, more than this one... eh heh)
Knock-on-Wood (thank you! And... err... please forget the ugly chapter. It may yet rear its ugly head but until then, it's a mistake that I don't wish to repeat)
Above the roof (I honestly am not quite sure how many chapters long this will be... I have my plot mapped out in every aspect except for length)
Sailacel (my beta, my wonderful beta, who is unfortunately away in France and so cannot rectify my horrid mistakes for another couple of months. And of course, for telling me what the dictionary says a toque REALLY is.)
yuki kesuma, Inu-Tachi Clan, Laura-chan, HMPrune, Lying Fool, Zize, seikkyokuka, Serenity, fire, chibi moon baby, Animekitty07, craZie LiL ChiBi, Satan's Advocate, Torachi, lyn,and moo moo.
Wow, if I do it that way it looks rather long... (and difficult to read, eh heh heh...). From this point forward, I suppose I'll only put in the reviews for the current chapter, to make it somewhat less... well, presumptuous and odd-seeming. I think that's the sort of thing most authors only do at the END of a story...