Time
Summary:
Time, it connects all things. It is inescapable, inevitable and unrelenting. It is as incontestable as the very stars in the skies, sometimes time can be your greatest ally and others your gravest fears. Time brought together two unlikely people, but will it also tear them apart? An Inuyasha/Kagome fan fiction. Read and Review please xxxx
Disclaimer:
Rin: Mandie doesn't own Inuyasha, any lyrics or quotes used in this story.
Jaken: Rin! Move it!
Rin: Coming!
Last Chapter:
"Do I what… Inuyasha?" Kagome breathed, gazing into those misted eyes of gold.
Inuyasha's eyes shot over to the doorway again as Sango, Miroku and Kirara all entered the room.
"Nothing…" The hanyou sighed and looked away from Kagome's intent stare. His eyes had found a new target…
WHACK!
"Owww what was that for? Kagomeeee! Inuyasha's being mean to me!" Shippo whined, a lump the size of a tennis ball was already forming on his head.
Chapter Thirteen- In a Hanyou's Defence
Kaede's cabin, Sunrise:
Kagome awoke just as the gentle rays of warm sunshine seeped through the parted bamboo door, bathing her in its yellow glow. Slowly the miko cracked open one watery brown eye, her iris following the root of the sunshine to the outside. A smile tugged at the corners of her rosy lips as she blinked in the beautiful sunrise of the feudal era. Dawn and dusk in her own era had always been obstructed by the masses of high rise buildings that littered modern day Tokyo. In the sengoku jidai, only the ancient trees could block the sunrise from view and even that was rare.
The young miko sat up from the uncongenial wooden floor and stretched, yawning as she did so. Kagome's eyes flashed around the room and they fell upon her sleeping companions. Her sleep misted chocolate orbs moved from Sango who was curled up beside Kirara, to Miroku, who slept beside Shippo. The priestess finally allowed her gaze to settle upon the sleeping hanyou, who sat upright, legs and arms crossed, still gripping his Tetsussiaga. Inuyasha's muscular chest rose and fell with every breath he took in his light slumber. Kagome smiled at his peaceful features and quietly stood up, grabbing a change of clothes that consisted of a cute yellow top and pleated blue skirt.
After quickly washing and changing, Kagome made her way back to the cabin to let Inuyasha know where she was going. She had gone off alone before and Inuyasha had gotten really angry with her. His rage was mainly because she had been attacked by youkai, making her the damsel in distress once again. How she hated that. Kagome was sick of always being the one who had to be saved. She growled, rather much like Inuyasha would have. A giggle escaped her rose-pink lips, 'I am spending too much time with that hanyou!' she thought cheerfully.
Kagome crept into the cabin and looked down to Inuyasha, sweat had started to form on his forehead and his youthful brow was contorted in a pained furrow. Every couple of seconds, he would twitch, it was clear that he was having a nightmare. Kagome kneeled beside the hanyou and placed her hand on his forehead, checking for any kind of temperature. She placed her soft hand of Inuyasha's chest in order to rouse him from his slumber.
Inuyasha woke with a start and grabbed his assailant by the shoulders, pinning them to the floor snarling dangerously. Sleep clouded his golden eyes and blurred his vision. The hanyou blinked a couple of times in order to clear his eyes of their hazy state. Kagome's frightened face swam into his vision and he shot back in horror. Inuyasha helped her to stand and checked that he hadn't injured the miko. Kagome just stared at him, wide eyed in shock at her sudden attack.
Inuyasha took the miko by the arm and led her outside so that he would not waken his friends. When they had reached a substantial distance away from the cabin, Inuyasha stopped and turned to face Kagome.
"What the hell were you doing in there?" Inuyasha scorned, "I could have killed you."
"I – uh…" Kagome realised that the excuse 'you were having a bad dream' just wouldn't suffice with Inuyasha.
"Well?" Inuyasha snapped impatiently, "Why were you hovering over me like that?"
Kagome looked away from the hanyou's piercing glare and instead looked at the damp morning grass, relishing that at least grass was not accusatory. Inuyasha growled at the priestess' lack of response. The very thought of what could have happened turned his blood to ice. Inuyasha watched the miko shift on her feet uncomfortably, her eyes finding solace in the grass.
"Kagome will you stop staring at the darned grass and look at me?" Inuyasha said in agitation. Kagome's eyes shifted from the ground and settled on the hanyou's intent gaze. "Why were you hovering over me when I was sleeping?" He repeated, adopting a calmer tone of voice.
"I – I was…" Kagome sighed; Inuyasha wasn't going to let this one go was he?
"You were what?" Inuyasha asked, drawing the answer from the reluctant miko.
"I was worried about you." Kagome answered in a tone that was barely audible. Inuyasha, however, had heard her perfectly and was frowning at the miko in bewilderment.
"Why would you be worried about me?" he questioned, noticing the deep pink flush that tinted Kagome's pallid cheeks.
"You were… oh gods…" The miko sighed in discomfiture.
"Kagome just spit it out!" Inuyasha exclaimed, his patience was wearing thinner with every moment that passed.
"You were having a nightmare!" Kagome cried out, "I was concerned okay!"
"Baka, I am not some puny human! I don't have bad dreams!" Inuyasha yelled back, feeling his cheeks burn red hot in a furious blush.
"Funny that! You seemed to be pretty disturbed by it!" Kagome exclaimed defensively.
"What were you doing watching me sleep!?" Inuyasha shouted, unsure of a sufficient response to Kagome's statement.
"Argh! Never mind, forget about it!" Kagome cried out in frustration.
Kagome attempted to walk away from the hanyou. Not standing for it, Inuyasha grabbed Kagome's arm and pulled her back towards him. The miko let out a frustrated cry and tried to pull away from Inuyasha, his strength was more than she could handle but she continued to try to wrench her arm free of his hold. Inuyasha stared at the struggling girl for a moment and loosened the tight grip he had of her wrist. As soon as he did so, Kagome stopped fighting; instead she gazed at him with glassy eyes. It was as though she was looking right through him, seeing something he could not.
The miko could sense two shikon shards approaching them a rapid speed. She blinked in silent understanding and made a decision that was sure to send Inuyasha into one of his characteristic strops. It would be a matter of minutes before he realised who was approaching. Kagome released her arm from the hanyou's grasp and took a step toward him. It felt strange to apologise about an offence she hadn't committed yet. Inuyasha stared at her, trying to comprehend the reasons behind her bizarre actions.
Kagome suddenly wrapped her arms around him. His eyes widened as he felt Kagome embrace him as if she hadn't seen him in years. He slowly returned the baffling miko's hold, as she buried her head in his shoulder. Inuyasha felt completely and utterly confused, hadn't they been quarrelling just an instant ago? Why was Kagome suddenly embracing him so ardently?
"Kagome what's wrong?" His soft voice sent tingles down her spine.
"I am sorry." Kagome mumbled into the hanyou's strong shoulders. Inuyasha frowned.
"What would you have to be sorry for?" Inuyasha asked carefully, gently lifting Kagome's chin so that her enchanting eyes could meet his stare. Kagome blinked, her long eyelashes seemed to flutter sweetly. Then he caught a scent in the air that made his insides burn white hot, "Kouga…!" He growled, releasing Kagome from his grasp.
"Sorry sorry sorry…" Kagome yelped, waving her hands in the air defensively.
"Wha- Kagome…?" stammered the hanyou in a worsened state of perplexity.
"OSUWARI!" Kagome yelped guiltily.
The prayer beads around Inuyasha's neck started to glow, and the half-demon was condemned to the dirt. Kagome turned and ran as fast as she could in the direction of Kouga and his gang. The miko looked back at the subjugated hanyou and groaned. The look of betrayal on Inuyasha's face as he slammed into the ground made Kagome's insides squirm with guilt. Still, she thought in resolution, Kouga had to know what Naraku had planned. After all he was in just as much jeopardy as the rest of them.
After a couple of minutes lying in the grass, muttering curses aimed at the devious young miko, Inuyasha got to his feet. 'Oh she is gonna get it this time!' He thought, whilst a burning anger ran throughout his body. Inuyasha ran at full speed to catch Kagome before she got to that wimpy wolf, for someone who claimed not to love the guy, she sure was eager to see him!
O.o.O.o.O
Back in Kaede's hut, Sango and the others had awakened to find that Kagome and Inuyasha were missing. Shippo sat with his arms crossed, sulking about the absent priestess. Miroku gave the kitsune a comforting pat on the shoulder,
"They will be back soon." The monk said softly.
"But Miroku… I haven't gotten to spend any time with Kagome-chan since she came back last night!" The young fox-demon whined, tears filling his massive green eyes.
"I think we should go find them." Sango stated as she picked up her deadly hiraikotsu, slinging it over her shoulders as though it weighed as little as an ounce. "They could be in trouble."
"Yeah let's go get Kagome!" Shippo cheered, pouncing onto his feet and scrambling out the doorway of the cabin.
Miroku sighed and followed Sango out of the door, using the opportunity to exercise his cursed lecherous hand.
SMACK!
Sango glared at the monk, her eyes narrowed and one eyebrow twitching in her rage. Miroku looked entirely nonchalant, a red mark of a hand burned onto his casual features. After all, the perverted monk was used to it by now.
"Touch me with that hand again Houshi, and you will find yourself incapacitated!" Sango growled dangerously, using the corner of her massive boomerang to thump the lecher on the head.
"Owww, alright I get it!" Miroku groaned painfully as he shielded his head with his arms.
"He will never learn…" Shippo sighed, directing his comment to Kirara, who mewed in response.
O.o.O.o.O
Kagome continued to run, following the power that was emitted from the shikon shards in Kouga's legs. She knew that Inuyasha would be in hot pursuit; this made her sore legs carry even faster. The miko's stamina was starting to falter; she was obviously more worn out from the previous nights attack than she thought. The wolf demon was close though, her miko senses were getting stronger. Just as she opened her mouth to shout on Kouga, she felt someone grab her from behind. The wind was knocked from her lungs at having been stopped so abruptly. The sight of an arm clad in red and fingers that tapered into deadly claws told her that Inuyasha had caught up.
"Did you honestly think you could outrun me wench!" Inuyasha snarled angrily, still fixing the breathless miko to the spot. Kagome coughed painfully, still trying to catch her breath. For a second Inuyasha felt guilty for causing the miko pain, the feeling subsided when Kagome stomped on his bare foot. "Ah, what the hell Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled, his foot throbbed painfully from having been stamped on.
"I need to warn them!" Kagome exclaimed, trying to wrench herself free from Inuyasha's firm hold. "Naraku will want Kouga's shards!"
"So what's new there then?" Replied a voice from a small distance away. Kagome felt a rumbling in Inuyasha's chest as he let a threatening growl free from his throat.
"Go to hell Kouga!" Inuyasha snarled, standing in front of Kagome as if to make it clear who owned her.
"I would like to see you make me, mangy mutt!" Kouga smirked with an arrogance that closely contended with Inuyasha's.
"Is that a challenge!?" Inuyasha grinned, unsheathing his Tetsussiaga.
"I'm gonna shut you up once and for all mutt!" Kouga growled.
"QUIT IT!" Kagome yelled in frustration.
"Stay out of this wench; I will deal with you later!" Inuyasha snapped in an explicitly harsh tone of voice. "Kaze no Kiz-"
"OSUWARI!" Kagome shouted furiously.
"Gaaah!" was all Inuyasha could utter before he crashed to the ground yet again.
"Nice one Kagome." Kouga laughed at Inuyasha derisively. The wolf demon stepped over Inuyasha's twitching form and took her hand into his. "So you were searching for me?"
"Well, kind of but I get the feeling that you aren't just passing through the region either, were you looking for us?" Kagome asked with a stark bluntness in her voice.
"Yeah, I guess." Kouga nodded, he suddenly looked grave and serious. "Naraku has formed an army Kagome."
"I know." Kagome nodded, "We found out last night."
"I came to protect you." Kouga grinned, looking very pleased with himself. "I wasn't confident that the mangy mutt there could perform such an important task."
"What was that? Inuyasha yelled, trying to break the charm of the necklace. "I swear to god, I am gonna kick seven colours of shit right outta you!"
Kagome sighed, "Inuyasha has always protected me, and he is stronger than you give him credit for. I trust him more; I don't mean to offend you. That is just the way it is."
"Ha, you heard Kagome! Now piss off wimpy wolf!" Inuyasha smirked as he finally was released from his suppression.
"I outta…" Kouga barked heatedly. A mass of yelling erupted that consisted of Inuyasha, Kouga and some of Kouga's comrades.
"Enough fighting already!" Kagome bellowed over the top of the entire ruckus.
Kirara landed next to Kagome causing the brawl to suspend itself. The fire-cat growled in greeting to Kagome and knelt down, allowing her passengers to alight. Sango looked around at the scene with slight amusement, flashing Kagome a sympathetic glance. Shippo pounced from Miroku's shoulder into Kagome's arms, squealing in delight that they had finally found the miko.
"Hey Shippo," Kagome smiled, ruffling the Kitsune's hair affectionately. "What are you guys doing here?"
"We came just in case you two were in trouble." Miroku replied, "I wasn't expecting this kind of trouble though."
"Definitely not…" Sango grinned.
"Keh, we can get ourselves outta trouble!" Inuyasha smirked haughtily.
"I can see that…" Miroku nodded sarcastically.
"Shut up monk!" Inuyasha snapped irritably.
Kagome shook her head and looked at Sango despairingly. The demon slayer gave her a consoling pat on the shoulder and smiled. This was getting ridiculous, the arguing had erupted yet again, this time Miroku had joined in the Inuyasha bashing. Kagome looked up to the sky and sighed heavily. She asked the kitsune to go to Sango and walked away, muttering incoherent sentences aloud, waving her hands as though having an argument with the world around her for lumbering her with such immature companions.
Out of the corner of his eye, Kouga noticed Kagome walking away on her own. He ran after the miko whilst Inuyasha continued arguing with one of his wolf-demon comrades. As the wolf youkai caught up, Kagome stopped walking and turned to face him. Kouga took a few steps towards the exasperated miko and took her hand into his once again.
"I want to protect you. I know you trust the mutt, but I don't. How can a mere hanyou protect you from the fiends of Naraku?" Kouga growled, grasping Kagome's hand in a tight protecting hold.
Inuyasha noticed that Kouga was standing alone with Kagome; he narrowed his golden eyes threateningly and shoved Kouga's wolf buddies out of his way. He wanted to know if Kagome loved that idiot wolf. He ran to a distance where he could easily hear what they were saying, catching the tail end of Kouga's insult. Inuyasha clenched his fists but stayed put; he had to know what Kagome was going to say.
"I appreciate you saying that you want to defend me Kouga." Kagome smiled kindly.
Inuyasha snarled, 'Is she just going to ignore what he just said about me?'
"There is a but coming isn't there?" Kouga sighed; taking hold of Kagome's other hand.
"Yeah, there is." Kagome frowned, her smile fading rather quickly. "If you respect me, then you have to trust me."
"Of course I trust you, it's just that…"
"No, there is nothing else to it Kouga." Kagome sighed, releasing her hand from Kouga's grasp and placing it on his chest. "Kouga you have been nothing but kind to me, I am so grateful that you care enough to want to protect me…"
"So come with me, leave that idiot hanyou." Kouga sighed, bringing the miko closer to him. The wolf lowered his head searching for the miko's kiss.
A deep growl rumbled through the deepest recesses of Inuyasha's chest. If that bastard even tried to kiss Kagome, he would tear him apart limb by limb. Inuyasha watched as Kagome parted her lips, gazing into Kouga's eyes as though entranced. It was then that she spoke.
"If you want to help us, you can fight alongside us." Kagome said quietly, seeing the ambition that shone in the wolf demons eyes.
"I planned to; Sesshomaru approached my pack in the hours of the morning." Kouga stated, running his hands onto Kagome's waist and trailing them down to rest on her hips. Kagome looked at Kouga and smiled sweetly, placing both her hands on his chest. Kouga moved in closer to the miko, his lips coming within inches of hers. "Forget about that worthless half-breed."
'Kagome…' Inuyasha thought in defeat, so he was right, she did love Kouga. He stood up and went to walk away; with one last look he saw his miko run her fingers across Kouga's chest. He shook his head and turned around. Inuyasha took a step forward and heard Kouga cry out in shock, he spun around and grinned at the sight he was gifted with.
Kouga sat on the ground gaping at Kagome, who stood there with yet another Inuyasha like smirk plastered over her adorable face.
"Hey why'd you push me!?" Kouga exclaimed looking totally insulted.
"I am not that easy to win over!" Kagome snapped, folding her arms and looking down at him.
"But Kagome…" Kouga gaped stupidly. Kagome turned on her heels and walked away from the wolf demon, after a few steps she turned around again. Kouga grinned in momentary triumph; sure that she had reconsidered.
"And another thing…!" She called, "If you ever call Inuyasha a worthless half-breed again, I will be the one that is kicking seven colours of shit out of you!"
With that, she spun around again, her shining raven locks flowing in the winds as she did so. Inuyasha laughed as he approached Kouga, taking residence at the demon's side. The hanyou sneered as Kouga got to his feet and stared at the retreating miko.
"If you're here to gloat, don't bother." Kouga snarled, his pride was already in pieces.
"When will you get the hint? Kagome doesn't want you." Inuyasha mocked, "Baka!"
Kouga growled and walked away from the audacious hanyou. He shook his head and turned back to Inuyasha shooting him a dirty look.
"She will get sick of your attitude one day mutt." Kouga growled, "Then she will come running into my arms."
"Not if I cut them off!" Inuyasha snarled, grasping the hilt of his Tetsussiaga.
Kouga glared at the hanyou and walked away. Sango, Miroku, Shippo and Kirara approached Inuyasha carefully, just in case he was in a foul mood. They were met with a broad grin instead. This made them feel even more cautious though. Shippo was the first to break the silence amongst the group.
"Inuyasha why are you so happy?" He asked, not realising how bold his question was.
"Shut up twerp." Inuyasha scowled, his smile fading slightly but not vanishing from his handsome features.
"Hey!" Shippo piped up defensively. "What'd I say?"
Inuyasha glared at the tiny fox demon and turned away, staring at the route Kagome had taken. His grin crept over his face again and he took off after the miko, leaving his companions baffled. Miroku looked at Sango and then back to Inuyasha, who soon disappeared from view. The demon slayer looked on, her face contorted into a mystified frown. You just never knew what to expect when you were friends with a temperamental hanyou like Inuyasha.
O.o.O.o.O
Kagome walked through the forest marvelling at its untouched beauty. A blur of rainbow colours splayed out from her bare feet in the form of wildflowers. Beams of gentle sunshine shot through from breaks in the canopy above her, suspending all that was caught in them in their ethereal splendour. Kagome smiled and knelt down, studying a particularly pretty blossom. She felt a hand graze the skin on her shoulder and she looked up with twinkling brown eyes at Inuyasha, who offered her a hand up.
Taking his hand, she rose to meet the hanyou. She couldn't help but smile as he took the flower she held. He looked so calm standing there, his silver hair glittered in the warm beams of light and his golden eyes shone in the sunlight. Inuyasha gazed at the young miko for a moment, and then returned her smile.
"Kagome – I eh – thanks." He said bashfully.
"Hun? What for?" she asked in disbelief, she had sat him only fifteen minutes ago.
"For – uh – just thanks." Inuyasha replied, all the thoughts in his head refused to manifest into words.
"Okay, you're welcome I guess." Kagome giggled, she wasn't sure what she had done to deserve such nice treatment.
Kagome took the purple flower from Inuyasha and placed it in her glossy charcoal locks. Inuyasha raised one eyebrow at her as she twirled around on the spot.
"You'll get dizzy and I aint carrying you if you're gonna be sick all over me." Inuyasha smirked.
"Shut up!" Kagome laughed, "What do you think? Is it pretty?"
'More than you could ever know Kagome…' he thought to himself. "Come on lets go, you've got training to start."
"Really? Oh thank you Inuyasha!" Kagome squealed in delight, wrapping her arms around him gratefully.
"Don't think that I am gonna go easy on you…" Inuyasha said seriously, 'You're probably the last chance we've got to defeat him.' He thought gravely.
The Authoresses final thought:
Jerry Springer: -ignoring the red-neck battle going on behind him- Take care of yourself… -dodges hurled chair- … And each other. Goodbye.
Argh! How the hell did Jerry Springer end up in my addendum!?
Hun, well… -regains composure- strange stuff. Oooh speaking of strange! I found a word in my thesaurus today, it is rather odd. Wanna know what it is? Of course you do! I got your curiosity going!
-..-..-…Brouhaha… -..-..-
There was a list of others, just in case you are interested…
commotion
brawl
free-for-all
rumpus (hee hee, rumpus)
mêlée
confusion
to-do
Can you guess what I searched for?
For some reason my usually extensive knowledge of vocabulary insisted that it go on going on strike when I tried to think of other words for RUCKUS. You know what it is…It is because this is chapter 13 DUN DUN DUNNNNN!" small animals and children run in fear of their cookies. Lol I don't know why small animals would have cookies, or be afraid of them for that matter. Just go with it I say!
By the ways, if you should find my rambling unremittingly exasperating, let me know. I will babble on in a more appropriate setting (sob!). Lol just kidding! Seriously let me know.
Okay so enough of that! This chapter was long! I tried editing it over and over; I couldn't cut any more out of this thing! I even considered splitting it into two consecutive parts 13 part 1 and 2 (it seems odd I know, but it just didn't seem to flow properly split into separate chapters), but anyways, I didn't…Oh well :o)
Righto! On with the thankums…
Angelofgood: I'm glad you think so. This one is nice and long for y'all to make up for the late updatage.
Devils-angel1212: Waarrh! Lol, he had to! I couldn't just let Inuyasha ask Kagome that now could I? Where would the suspense be in that! Lol, I am driving you crazy aren't I? Hope you enjoyed 13.
Dark Hanyou Angel: Why thank you! I love details, they make you feel as though you are part of the story. Sorry I made you all wait for so long with this chapter.
Raelin-chan: Yay! I missed you so much lovely raelin! Thank you for the luffly review! I am glad you could take the time to start reading. I hope that the rest of the story doesn't disappoint. Can't wait to hear from you again, let me know the minute you post that second fiction, the first was so very good!
Hopeless Star Gazer: -blushes bright pink- uuuh wow! You know how to make a girl feel good about her writing! Lol, Inu does need to learn to control his temper! Shippo is great for a diversion! Poor wee thing. Hee hee, I am getting used to this master thing, I have even asked my friends to call me master! They simply bonked me over the head and told me my ego was getting outta control! They settled for calling me Jazzmaster Mandie.
XxX-ew-no-XxX: Hey! Love to you! Lol, really? 10 out of 10 for me!? Awww, you make me blush. Thank you so much for reviewing, you really are too kind!
Tifa Sohma: Lol, seabiscuit is a long running thing my friends and I use to divert peoples attention, make each other laugh when we are sad and to break silences. I decided that I would share that with you, hee hee. You are the amazing one -bows humbly- I love getting your prettiful reviews.
fire-Angel-of-death322: Aww you are the sweetest! Love you!
surfer.teen: Lol, this definitely was not fast! I wrote it, hated it and then rewrote it. So technically this is chapter thirteen take two! Hee hee, I effectively wrote about 7000 words for this dang chapter! Oh well, I think that it turned out rather good!
TrueBelle: -Nods- Yups, he can see again! It was demonic youki, that made it so dark. It cleared when Kagome fired the purified arrow. It was almost out there in the open, I halted that one! Lol, I should try being nicer to you guys.
BlackParade: Lol, goldmember... -sniggers- he is sooo funny. I will have plenty more fight scenes coming up for you. I love writing them, even though I am not terribly great at manifesting the scene into writing. Oh wells, I still love them. Love ya too darling! KISSES XXXXXXX
kagome10678: I know, he always gets the brunt of Inu's nasty temper. Poor wee blighter! Sorry that the update was rather slow this time. Hope you enjoyed xx
serenityrain2233: Yay! You like the ramblings! I was getting a little concerned that they were trying people's patience. I like to thank people for reviewing and talk to the readers, it makes this more fun for me. I like to know what kind of people read my work and I like to show my personality to you guys. Thanks for adding me to your favorite author list! It is such an honour! That goes for everyone who has added me to their lists, I am deeply grateful xxxxx
Okay so I got lots of reviews! Yay, I love you guys so much! I hope to have the 14th chapter up by about thursday evening. I just hope it will be easier to write than this one! Hee hee, anyhoos, gotta go to my bed. I have college in the morning.
-does the river dance and exits the room-
O.o
Love you peoples
Mandie
xxxxx