I know it's been a while and I apologize once again. I've just been stressed and depressed and under the weather. I tore my bicep and triceps tendons, which hurts like hell and almost made it so I couldn't finish my swim season. I was able to, but injured myself worse in the process. I didn't make varsity due to my injuries, or was kicked off varsity which really upset me. School has been hell since I've been trying to get into this program that gives me 3 weeks of college for free in the summer. My dog ran away, my good friend's mother died, my mom a little more psychotic than usual etc etc. Just overall shit. Sorry again guys. I'll try harder, it's just really hard to write with depression and stress.
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha & crew or "duck and run" by 3 doors down. I also don't claim Patrick and Kat from 10 Things I Hate About You.
Duck & Run
Settling In
The odd family remained there hugging for a few moments before Souta stood up to stretch and yawn, "I'm TIRED, where do I sleep?"
Inuyasha pulled away from Kagome for a moment before standing up as well, "I only have two beds right now, and they're in two of the four rooms I have. You can pick which room you want tomorrow, but for right now you'll just have to put up with it. Here, I'll show you."
Kagome watched as her brother and her… Friend ascended the stairs and went towards the room Souta would be in. After the noise of laughter died from the room she looked up to find Inuyasha coming down towards the stairs, graying visibly by the minute. She made herself comfortable on the couch and made room for him as well. As he dumped himself heavily upon the couch, she eyed him worriedly.
She knew better than to hassle him about his injury, but couldn't relax without knowing he was alright, "Inuyasha, are you alright? Do I need to drive you back to the hospital?" as she spoke, her hand involuntarily reached up to cradle his face.
He leaned his head further into her small hand and groaned a bit in exhaustion, "I'm fine, just tired as hell." Just the fact that he was admitting this subtle weakness spoke volumes about the trust he held in her. After a few more moments he moved his head out of her hand and looked to her seriously for a moment before letting his golden eyes dart away, "We need to talk about what we both saw. You know, the death dream thing."
Dark blue eyes opened in slight astonishment and then turned to extremely anxious excitement, "Don't you understand what it means? It means we don't belong here, that we never belonged here. All of this is set up! I mean, a little bit of the dreams are still foggy, as in the identities of the demon-slayer, the monk, the old woman, the young fox demon, and her."
"Her who?" He paused a moment and let his mind melt a bit into the memories before his eyes shot towards her, "Oh, the priestess that I used to… love?"
Slowly her eyes averted from his, "The woman you still do love and promised to go to hell with." The memories to her were more painful for some reason. Every time she thought about the real Inuyasha loving somebody else it gave her a terrible ache in her chest. As cold hands gripped her heart and slowly squeezed the life out of it.
Confusion contorted his facial features as he tried to focus more on his own memories. Was it true? Did there actually exist a world in which he didn't love Kagome wholly, but another woman that looked almost exactly alike? He shook his head at the preposterous notion, "I don't know about that. I think that maybe my real self loves somebody else now…" His eyes quickly locked onto hers before looking away again, "Anyways, its foolish to worry about it now. Maybe we can start figuring out who is who and how to get back to our real lives."
"Agreed. Now for something a bit less heavy? Like sleep, that would be nice! In a real bed or something other than that lumpy hospital bed." She stood up and stretched, her weakened body groaning along with her vocal cords as her lip curled slightly. Her shoulders slumped once more and she viewed Inuyasha quizzically.
He was brooding over whether he should ask her to sleep along side him in his bed since he only had two beds, or to sleep on the couch. He finally just growled and picked her up, earning a screech from her. Without paying heed to her struggles he jumped up the stairs and brought them into his room, where he sat her down onto his bed.
Curious eyes continued to gaze at him before he finally relinquished, "I only have two beds, and Souta is one. I figured you wouldn't want to wake him up by joining him. So you're going to sleep next to me. Plus, I can keep an eye on you all night to make sure you don't need help."
Kagome hid a small smile before asking slowly, "So… Umm, do you have anything I can sleep in? I don't really want to sleep in these clothes, they reek of hospital." Wordlessly he tossed her an oversized t-shirt and she turned her back to him, slipping first out of her shirt and her bra to pull the shirt over her head, before she took off her pants with the cover of the shirt.
Inuyasha was blushing several shades of red as he himself slipped down to his boxers and climbed into bed with her. Even if they weren't doing anything, it still felt odd to have a woman sharing his bed. She had her back to him and he could tell by her breathing that she was slowly slipping off to sleep. When she finally fell completely asleep he wrapped one arm over her waist and fell asleep, his nose buried in the hair cascading over her shoulder.
Morning came too soon for him, the light flooding into the small room and instantly waking him up. He gazed down at his still sleeping companion, surprised to see that she'd rolled over and draped her own arms around him during the night. The surprise was a pleasant one as he looked down at his sleeping angel, her milky skin slightly yellowed where bruises once resided.
Her lush lips were parted slightly in her sleep, a small portion of her white teeth showing as well. Long lashes gently rested against her high cheek bones and he was doing everything he could to keep himself from kissing that sweet face. Everything about her amazed him, as if he'd never seen a woman before.
Soon he found his eyes wandering lower on her, to where the blanket had been thrown off of her partially. Elegant legs were tangled in a blanket, and the shirt he'd loaned her had ridden up to a little above her belly button. The smell radiating from her center hit him full force and he had to bite down on his lip to keep himself from moaning.
The raven haired beauty had a perfectly sculpted body, slightly marred from years of misuse. He gently placed his hand on the smooth skin of her stomach and rubbed his thumb over it momentarily in silent amazement. His eyes opened even wider when he heard her suck in a bit of breath and press into his touch. Before he got carried away he pulled his hand away from her and started to remove himself from her grasp.
After a few moments of painful struggling he escaped her and walked quickly and quietly towards the shower. Once in it he cursed himself, scrubbing his body vigorously while avoiding his now almost invisible wounds. Five minutes later he heard a thump coming from his room and suspected it would be her rolling out of bed.
Small feet padded down the hall towards the bathroom he was in before they stopped in front of the door and he heard her sleepy voice, "In—yasha? Wh—when are you gonna be done?" Pause for a yawn, "I wanna shower."
He grinned a bit and called in a fake-annoyed voice as he shut off the tap, "I'm done, just give me a second!" He stepped out of the shower and grabbed his towel and dried himself before wrapping it around his waist and opening the door for her. For a second she stood there and gaped at him and he wondered whether or not his towel had slipped or not. He quickly grabbed for his towel and looked over himself to make sure nothing was visible and then turned to her blushing face, "What, wench?"
Her slightly dazed look dissipated into a scowl as she shoved past him, "Nothing at all!" When she shoved him the rest of the way out of the bathroom and slammed the door, he stood for a second confused. Then he just shrugged his shoulders and walked downstairs to make breakfast.
Twenty minutes later when the smell of food started to waft through the house he found Souta stumbling down into the kitchen, his nose thrust into the air comically sniffing, "Food?" The question breeched the boys mouth slurred and tired sounding, but highly intrigued.
Inuyasha dumped a few eggs and bacon on a plate and shoved it towards the kid, the plate jabbing him in the chest, "Eat up, you're puny."
A look of total shock appeared on his little face as he smiled tentavily, "Is it… For me?" after a moment Inuyasha rolled his eyes and nodded, giving Souta a rather irritated look, as if he were dumb. The boy was grinning from ear to ear now as he grabbed the plate completely and spun once, keeping all the food balanced on the plate, "Thank you very much Mr. Inuyasha!"
"Feh, whatever kid. Shut up and eat now." Inuyasha was already eating his food noisily when Souta sat down across from him at the tiny kitchen table.
They ate in silence until Souta looked up from his food curiously, "How'd you meet my sister? She usually doesn't talk to people, much less big scary guys like you."
A look of insult crossed Inuyasha's face as he retorted, "I am not scary! And what's it matter to you?"
"I need to know so I can see if you're truly a good person. If not, and you've been mean to my sister, I'm going to have to beat you up." At first Inuyasha wasn't sure if he should laugh, but after a few moments of seeing the kid completely and utterly serious he lifted his eyebrow.
Moving his fork to point it at the kid he said gruffly, "Saving her ass from that guy that tried to kidnap you. And I would NEVER hurt Kagome! Can't believe you're dumb enough to ask that! And as if you could take ME on."
Souta glared across the table as he drank a large gulp from his glass of OJ and then slammed it onto the table, "I would so! I can protect her."
The half demon ran a hand through his hair in frustration before sighing, "Alright, but you shouldn't have to. Leave that job to me now, ok? I'll look after the both of you."
Suddenly any lingering seriousness left Souta as he clapped his hands together happily, "Sounds great to me! Where is she anyways?"
Both of them looked towards the stairs as they heard a clutter, seeing Kagome tripping down the stairs clumsily. Inuyasha was up from the table and moving to help her as Souta answered, "I guess that answers my question. KAGOME! I want to go play with Shippo and Kaede today!"
"You ok?" Golden eyes looked worriedly at her as he assisted her into the kitchen to sit in front of her plate.
"I'm fine, just a little clumsy. And sure Souta, that sounds fine to me. It'll give us a chance to hang out with everybody." Her eyes gazed out the window as she thought to herself how much she had to do that day.
Her hand reached up to her neck to finger the two leather necklaces on it before looking towards Inuyasha, "I'll head out right now. Since we're walking, I should be back in about 2 hours."
He gave a short laugh before standing up and clearing their finished plates, "You won't be walking anywhere. You're still injured you know. I can drive him in, and you'll come with us so we can stop by the doctor's office."
"I…" She paused in her argument when she saw his no-nonsense look and rolled her eyes, "Alright, fine then! Thank you very much Mr. Taisho!"
A smug smile crossed his face as he nodded his head, "Alright, you ready kid?" Souta looked up at him and nodded enthusiastically and soon they were piling into his car.
When they got to Kaede's house Kagome and Inuyasha walked Souta to the door but were stopped by Kaede, "I must talk to you of something. Come inside."
They nodded and entered her house, sitting down while the two young boys ran off to play video games. Kagome looked nervously at the older woman, "Yes, what is it?"
"I know this may sound like the endless ramblings of an old, senile woman, but I hope you heed them. I feel a shift in the wind, as if something that was not right to begin with is about to be righted. I have had strange dreams, of a place far and long away." Her old eyes clouded over momentarily before she gazed seriously at them, "And you are to be part of this pivotal moment. Both of you. I am caught up in this, as well as the young Shippou. Be ready."
Inuyasha growled when he realized the old woman's words were frightening Kagome, "Shut up ya old hag, you know nothing!"
For the first time in a while Kagome used her voice to make her opinions be made, "No, Inuyasha I think she's right. She's obviously seen the same things we have… Wait! I know who she is! She's the old medicinal woman…"
"A priestess." Kaede nodded wisely and placed her hands on her lap, watching as the realization and memories started to flash before the young girls eyes, "And you are the young priestess Kagome from times far ahead, while this young man… Is he not a half demon, and his name Inuyasha?" When Inuyasha growled and nodded, trying to act as if he wasn't too surprised at her guesses, "And the young boy Shippou with me is a… Fox demon child." Nodded her head reverently, "The only thing I don't fully comprehend is the way that your brother, Souta, is truly in his own time, just not the right place or situation. Your mother was not in the correct place either."
Kagome steeled her jaw and leaned forward, a little angrily, "And what are you implying, exactly?"
She shrugged her tired shoulders, "I am only trying to help you solve this riddle. It stands to reason that you, who belong to both times and societies, should have to suffer great sacrifices in order to right the order of things."
"But what else do I have to lose? How much will it take in order for me to get back to where we belong?" Kagome grasped the edges of her seat, her breath coming in short pulls, frantic with worry. She could feel it and recognize it, everything that was happening was so close to being resolved. But it was slightly out of her reach, like everything in her life had always been. She knew now four roles in the play of her life, yet the actors filling the other positions were still missing in action.
"It is truly too bad that you cannot figure out your own role in this all. If you knew what you should be and what you used to be, there would be a possibility that you could end this all in order not to suffer as much. But it seems there are still some major losses you must pull through in order to discover your place." Kaede then turned towards Inuyasha, as if to question his place in it all.
"What do you want from me old hag?" He was slightly frightened of her words, of what could possibly be ahead of Kagome. Even if she couldn't see for herself what she had to lose, he knew she had far too much to lose. There was Souta and her friends, her innocence, her life, and possibly if it mattered to her, himself.
Kaede settled herself down a bit more before continuing, "You have many feats to accomplish yet, before you must sacrifice. Your sacrifice may be the greatest and most influential one of all for her. Now, you both must leave here and start to sort things out. The answer to all your questions grows closer."
With that they both shakily rose from the seats and walked outside to his car, sitting in the front seat of it, both confused and worried. Kagome finally shook herself out of it and spoke up, "Let's go to my house and pick up Souta's and my things. There's not much, we should be able to gather it all in two or three trips."
"Right, sounds good to me." He didn't want to think about what had been said to them in the old woman's home. What if he had to give up Kagome? He would not be able to do that, he felt his connection to her growing stronger every day that passed, with every memory that surged forward. He knew that in his past life they traveled together, but hadn't yet focused hard enough to figure out what her importance to him was. What was she to him? It was certain, though, that he felt like he'd know her for an eternity.
They pulled into the driveway of her old house and for a few minutes she couldn't stand to leave the safety of his car. She knew he was dead, he was gone from her life but there was still the small fleeting feeling that he had somehow lived to spite her. When Inuyasha walked by her side she grabbed his hand for support, not once feeling uncomfortable doing so. Something about holding hands had seemed off-limits for her, and it still did. As if the rule transcended time, from the time before when they belonged where they thrived. But in this life, she had full rights to be by his side and be his. It still felt wrong for her. She felt guilt.
Inuyasha ignored the fact that she was squeezing the life out of his hand so he wouldn't make her retract it. He felt the opposite of Kagome, because her hand fit perfectly into his and everything seemed right about it. Their bond felt strong and wholesome, and he felt some emotion that he'd never felt before in his life. Sure, there was a brief moment in time when he'd felt a passionate infatuation and loyalty towards Kikyo, but it had never been love he'd felt… Wait a second. Kikyo. She suddenly fit into the puzzle and he paused momentarily, praying almost that Kagome hadn't felt or remembered the same thing.
Kikyo had been a past relationship in both times and suddenly he felt like retching uncontrollably. Was it Kikyo that held them apart? That kept her away from his side always, because he was too stubborn to pull her closer and push Kikyo farther? But he looked down to her and saw that somehow the realization had hit her as well, on some level because she wasn't looking at him and he could smell a few salty tears on her cheeks.
They both refused to speak of it as they lugged personal belongings and the such from her room and Souta's. They also packed in a lot of the kitchen and living room as well, seeing as many of those belongings would serve them well in building their home. But would their home be built together? Neither of them could answer that puzzling question, and it seemed as if it would be taboo to speak of such a thing.
When they finally finished they lay out on his porch, panting and exhausted before he spoke up, "You know we weren't supposed to be doing anything so strenuous with our injuries. Especially not you… Are you alright?"
Kagome stared blankly up at the sky, trying to untangle the little bit of information and memory she had received earlier. It had been a flashback of Inuyasha and some other woman, an older priestess than herself, together. And at the same moment her heart had given a deadly lurch and she was struck with the intense feeling of betrayal for some reason. Inuyasha was not hers, and he had no reason to hold any loyalty to her, so why was she so upset by it? Was it some feeling deep within her heart that had yet to surface and reveal itself?
Finally she acknowledged his question with a quiet sigh, "Yah, I'm fine. You suppose we should return to school tomorrow?"
A groan emerged from his throat as he stretched out, "I suppose so. I'm sure my half-brother will have heard of my skipping so much and be angry."
She rolled onto her stomach and stared at him curiously, "You have a brother? I didn't know that! What's he like?"
He vehemently proclaimed the first part of his response, "HALF brother! And he's a total cold-hearted ass hole, that's what he's like. We're unlike in every single way possible."
A small giggle came from her mouth as she shyly put out, "I don't know, I'd believe the ass hole thing would be something you guys have something in common." She covered her mouth and tried to smother some more laughter as he came after her, yet she wasn't frightened.
He pinned her against the porch and asked levelly, "Oh yah, and what makes me such an ass hole?"
"Everything." She said it simply and teasingly, yet almost meant part of it. He was an ass hole quiet a lot of the time, but she loved that about him… Correction, liked that about him. Her hand came up to one of his ears and gently stroked it before pulling it away quickly and saying, "Now why don't you get off me and sit down?"
For a few moments nothing happened and neither of them were even aware that anything could happen out of the norm. But suddenly a string of beads and teeth appeared around his neck and he was slammed forcefully on top of her. A screech escaped her throat as he cursed vehemently, "What the hell is happening?!!? Why can't I get up?"
Kagome was blushing violently and trying to push him up off of herself, "Get off of me Inuyasha! You're suffocating me!"
And for the next few moments they struggled and bumped and attempted to pull apart, but some force was keeping Inuyasha firmly squished to her and the ground. And then finally they just lay there for a while, waiting for whatever it was to give up and let him up. After a few more minutes he was finally able to get up and both began to complain and bicker as usual.
Inuyasha immediately blamed it on her, and then suddenly a flashback hit both of them, strong and concrete. For some reason, the whole incident was something that happened regularly and something that meant a lot to their relationship. It told a lot about their connection to each other for some reason, even if it was rather annoying to Inuyasha.
They finally pulled out of the memory and sat up, staring at each other in amazement before Inuyasha griped out, "So it was the stupid hags idea to put this thing on me? How ridiculous! And then YOU went through with it?! YOU want to cause ME pain?!"
"No, no of course not! It's to contain you so you don't hurt me, I guess." Kagome snickered and covered her mouth while mumbling out, "Wow, it'll come in use a lot now!"
"What did you say? I hear that! That's stupid, I would never hurt you on purpose!" He groaned and rubbed his back in mock-pain, as if he needed tons of sympathy.
"Exactly! That's the point! It's to keep you from hurting me on accident! For example, I'm guessing it would come in good use if your full demon ever took over, because don't you have one?" When he nodded and looked like he finally understood its true purpose she smiled, "Well, now that that's over, do you want to go pick Souta up from Souta's?"
"Sure, sure. Whatever you want, let's go. Maybe we can pick up some food from the grocery store and have a real meal. You can cook, can't you?" He helped her up and they began to walk down to his car again from his house.
"Of course I can! I'm a good cook, too!" She sounded slightly indignant as she said this and they entered his car and began to drive off. When they picked up Souta they stopped inside of a grocery store and roamed the isles, looking for food to eat.
Inuyasha was immediately drawn to the ramen section and was drooling over all the selection before she pulled him away, "You know what? You have CASES of that stuff stored away in your pantry, why don't we get some REAL food for a change?"
"What? What do you mean!?! Ramen IS the only REAL food out there. Plus, you can NEVER have too much of the stuff." He tried to pull away from her but she eventually dragged him into the other isles and they picked out some good looking food.
They picked out more breakfast foods, some junk food, and then some stuff for dinners and the like. She chose some noodles and sauce, "I think we should have some spaghetti tonight. I haven't had any for a while, and it sounds pretty good actually. Sound good to you?"
Souta nodded energetically while all Inuyasha could do was pout and answer lamely, "It's only ramen's unpopular cousin."
When they got back to the house Kagome cooked dinner with Souta's house and they all ate before sitting around the television to watch a few movies. When they were done Souta went up to his room where all his stuff was waiting for him and fell asleep and left the two teenagers downstairs.
Kagome leaned her head lightly on his shoulder, starting to doze off, "You know, you should probably go upstairs and sleep if you're really that tired." Inuyasha said this lightly against his will, because he didn't want to part with her. She had her own bed and room now next to his, which meant he couldn't sleep next to her anymore with good reason. Oh well, sooner or later he would find another reason, he thought as he watched her ascend the stairs to her room.
End of another chapter of their life… Dum dum dum. Sorry again guys!
10 reviews?
Kagome.is.better: Wow, thanks for another long review! Why would anybody ever want to shove you through a glass table? I'd have to say, they're going to need a lesson from me! xReady for some ass kicking.x I'm glad you're alright though, for the most part, and have somebody like this Jake guy to comfort you!
SSJ04MewTwo: I'm glad you decided to continue to read even if you fell behind!
NasakeSuneku: I struggled with the sweetness in the chapter. It's a hard issue for me to tackle, because I'm not a cuddly-wuddly lovey-dovey type of person naturally.
DementedAngie: Thank you very much! I'm glad you liked the last chapter!
Fantin4Sun: You think you were worried on this story? Imagine my readers on Maybe Memories… XcringesX I feel guilty, but I just lost inspiration on that story!
Pay Backs a Bitch: So you don't like 10 Things I Hate About You? I LOVE that movie. Haha, I wish they would play it at my school!
Topazchick08: I'm glad you thought so!
BlackParade: XblushX I ask for 10 reviews all the time because I don't feel like I deserve more when I take so long to update. And plus, I'd be being a little cocky if I asked for more, wouldn't I?
Lady KCassandra: Well, not home home yet.
Dark-Lady-Shippo: Sorry for the wait!
Stena: I'm honored that you like my fanfiction. I'm not usually much of a fanfic reader either or writer for that fact, but these stories keep my creative juices flowing for my other original stories. And you'll have to wait for that answer.
Exotic Emeralds: Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it so much!
Inuyasha-Lover513: Sorry if I took too long for your liking, but I DO have somewhat of a social life outside of writing. And school. It gets hard to juggle it all, without writing a total crap chapter in a rush, I'd rather take my time and write a good one.
Female Dog Demon: Yup! Patrick is a really fun character to write, and since more people seem to be liking Logan I'm starting to get into him more as well.
WallMagnet19: Kudos on making me laugh!
Fyawkes and Leo: Wow! That was such a long review! Don't worry about your writing, it comes with time and practice and doing reading on your own. I've been reading since I was 3 or 4 and writing since I was about 7 and I'm 16 now… So lots of practice. Also, I enjoyed reading your "Only one more question" evolve into a jillion! All of them will be answered in time, and I kind of formed this chapter a little to help sooth those inquisitive minds out there, such as yours. Thank you for the review!
To this world I'm unimportant Just because I have nothing to give. So you call this your free country, Tell me why it cost so much to live, Tell me why. This world can turn me down But I won't turn away, oh no I won't turn around. All my work and endless measures. Never seem to get me very far, Walk a mile just to move an inch Now even though I'm trying so damn hard I'm trying so hard. This world can turn me down but I Won't turn away, And I won't duck and run, cause I'm not built that way. When everything is gone there is Nothing there to fear. This world cannot bring me down, No cause I'm already here, oh no! I am already here, Down on my knees, I am already here, on no, I am Already here. I must have told you a thousand times, I am not running away. I won't duck and run I won't duck and run I won't duck and run No pass away. This world can turn me down but I Won't turn away And I won't duck and run, cause I'm not built that way. When everything is gone There is nothing there to fear. This world cannot bring me down No cause I'm already here. This world can turn me down. But I won't turn away, And I won't duck away Cause I'm not built that way. When everything is gone there Is nothing there to fear. This world cannot bring me down, No cause I'm already here.