Chapter 13: The Eleventh Hour- More Wonderful
Ever have one of those moments when you look at someone, and you can feel magic in the air? Your heart skips a beat, your air comes out in short breaths, you feel light-headed and you feel that you had entered some kind of fairy tale?
Well, that's what happened to Kagome.
Inuyasha was sitting on a throne and staring at her with the sort of starry eyed look when you're looking at something, or someone, who is very precious to them.
Kagome felt as if fireworks were erupting inside her. It must have been the way he was staring at her. All that she could say was that seeing his face… was worth all that had happened to her.
"Give me my brother," she said her voice strong and determined; quoting from the book, as if she was just pretending once again.
Inuyasha only grinned before standing up and walking over to where she stood. Kagome didn't say a word as he came closer and closer to her.
His footsteps echoed around the room as he walked… until he was up close… so close that Kagome could feel his breath on her face. She looked at his face for a long time, and he gazed at hers…
Then… without warning, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into a passionate kiss. Kagome was so taken aback by his sudden affection that for a moment she couldn't move. But once the reality had hit her… that Inuyasha was here… truly here… she was only too happy to put her arms around his neck and kissed back with just as much energy.
They had their lips locked with each other for who-knows-how long, (Kagome had lost all sense of time) but finally Kagome realized that she needed air. She pulled away from him, unwilling. She stared into his beautiful eyes for a moment before repeating, "Give me my brother."
Inuyasha grinned again, "How you changed my world you precious thing," he said quoting from the story too. "You've changed me. You have been able to reach me in a way that no one has ever done. I've struggled to understand you… I am near exhaustion. Why can you understand that everything I've done…? I've done for you? I don't move the stars for just anyone. You've run for so long… and you've come so far… to me."
Kagome took one of Demon's Kings own clawed hands and placed it on the side of her cheek and closed her eyes. She wanted to feel the warmth from his hand… the hand that had been the cause of all of her pain… the one that had caused the suffering that she had been through in the last half a day… and she knew that he spoke the truth.
"I do understand," Kagome said simply. "I know that all that you've done is for me… and for that… I will always be grateful. But if you truly care… if you truly want to help me… then please… give me back my brother."
The Demon King removed his hand and walked pass her, avoiding her eyes. "Everything you have wanted I have done," he said to her. "You asked the boy to be taken away. I took him, so that you would become free from worry. You arrived here to find him, we were able to meet once again. I have reordered time. I have turned the Spirit World upside down, and I have done it all for you! And yet you want to leave me…"
"Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered," quoted Kagome almost dully. "I have fought my way here to your castle through the Spirit World. And now I am face to face with you. And somewhere along my journey I've realized that I have..."
"You have what?" asked Inuyasha, and Kagome knew that he wasn't acting anymore.
"I've realized that I have fallen in love with the Demon King," was all Kagome could say. She whirled around to look at him, "But… why?"
Inuyasha stared at her sadly. "Why what?"
"Why did you leave me? Why did you do all this? Why did you tell me that I had only 13 hours to find Sota, and if I failed, I would be forced to live here forever? Why did you give me the jewel? Why everything? Please… I need to know."
Inuyasha simply began to stroke Kagome's cheek. "I'm sorry," was all he said. "But I had no choice but to leave you like I did back then."
"What do you mean you had no choice?" asked Kagome, desperate for the answer.
"Because I would've been putting you in danger," he answered.
Of all the answers that Kagome had been expecting, this one was not on her list. "Danger?" she echoed not understanding where he was coming from.
Inuyasha sighed as he let his hand drop and took a few steps away from her, avoiding eye contact. "Sesshomaru came to get me and saw me with you," he began.
"What?" said Kagome starting to get angry "Was he threaten to hurt me if you didn't go with him?"
"No," said Inuyasha. "Quite the opposite; he opened my eyes to just how dangerous it was for me to be with you. I was the son of the Demon King. There were plenty of enemies that would use that to their advance. They would capture you… and use you to get me to do whatever they wanted… and if I don't they would've…" he trailed off.
"So…" said Kagome slowly. "You left to protect me?"
"I left because I care about you," was all Inuyasha could say. "But I never truly left you."
"What?" said Kagome. "You were there the whole time?"
"Yes and no," said Inuyasha has he went back to the throne and picked something up. It was a circular, white mirror.
"Ever seen the movie Beauty and the Beast? I know you have… it was your favorite when you were growing up. This mirror is not so different from the mirror that the beast used."
"You mean…" said Kagome walking over to him and getting a better look at the mirror. "It shows you anything that you want?"
"Yes," answered Inuyasha. "I've been watching over you ever since I left. Making sure that you were safe and well."
Kagome didn't know what to say… she was truly touched that he had always been watch over her… that is until a thought came to her, "You haven't been watching me when I went to the bathroom or took a shower have you?" she asked a little coldly.
Inuyasha blushed and replied no.
(What do you think? ;-) I'll leave that decision up to your imaginations)
"I'll believe you… for now," said Kagome although she still had her doubts. She put her head on Inuyasha's shoulder and asked him, "But this doesn't explain why you took Sota… and why you said that I'll be forced to live here forever if I failed."
Inuyasha shrugged. "I wanted to see you… face to face… but I also knew that you didn't remember me anymore."
Kagome put her head down. "I'm sorry." Inuyasha turned to look at her sad face, "For what?"
"For forgetting about you," said Kagome sounding close to crying. "It's just that… when you left… I was so lonely… I guess… I guess I tried so hard to forget about you… I finally just blocked you out."
"I know," answered Inuyasha. "I know that I must have hurt you when I left. But please know that my feelings for you haven't changed because of that." He reached back and took hold of Kagome's hand and held it as if for comfort. "I was listening to you tell the story of the Demon King to your brother, by the way, that story's my favorite."
Grinning, Kagome asked with heavy sarcasm, "I wonder why?"
"Anyway… I heard the way that Sota talks to you and I got tired of it. You then wished that the 'Demon King,' would come and take him away. I feel that I should tell you that the words 'I wish' are more powerful than anyone has given them credit for… but when you wished for the boy to be taken… I realized that this was the perfect chance to see you face to face again. I had hoped that coming here would get your memory back."
He then grinned, "And as for the whole, making you live with here forever if you fail… I only said that to get you to come here faster."
Kagome smiled gently. "You were never planning on keeping my brother here were you?"
Inuyasha gave her another cocky grin, one that seemed to light up her whole world. "The last thing that I wanted was to hurt you… besides, I think your brother is a royal pain in the ass. Why would I want to keep him here?"
"That's true," said Kagome with a slight chuckle. She then turned serious, "But where is he? Is he safe? And how am I going to explain this to my mother? She must be worried sick and…"
"Relax," said Inuyasha. "Your brother is safe. As soon as I took him from his room, I put him into a deep sleep. In fact, he has no idea on anything that's happened since you left to get a drink of water. And as for earth; time stopped for the moment… no time has passed since you entered this world."
"So…" began Kagome.
"Once Sota returns home, he'll wake up. And he won't be any the wiser on what has happened here. Your mother and grandfather both still think that you both are at home."
Kagome closed her eyes, smiling, "You have no idea on what a relief that is for me."
"And for the jewel?" said Inuyasha. "I was getting worried that you were never going to remember in time. So I gave you the jewel, which is what created the dream bubble. And you and I were able to… get to know each other." She grinned. "I was planning on keeping you in there until you remembered, but then Naraku interfered."
She heard him sigh as she felt his hand on her cheek once again. She opened her eyes to see that he was only a few inches away from her face. She stared, completely lost in pools of melted gold; and he stared into her own warm brown eyes. "How you changed my world you precious thing," he repeated, once again quoting the lines from the book.
She smiled as she leaned into his touch, "And you have changed my world."
"So you forgive me?" he asked.
"There's nothing to be forgiven," she said as she closed her eye closed again. "I know that everything you've done was for me. Thank you. For everything. You had done so much for me… and I just want to let you know that my heart belongs to you."
Inuyasha removed his hand from her face and took her hand between his own. "That's all I need to hear." He pulled her into an embrace and held her tightly; as if he was afraid that if he let go, he would lose her forever. "You know…" he said suddenly, "All this time… I wondered what it would feel like to hold you again."
Kagome leaned her head back to stare into his eyes again. "So how does it feel?" she asked curiously.
He smiled. "Wonderful. More wonderful than I could ever imagine."
Inuyasha ran his clawed hands through her hair before saying, "I really do love you."
Kagome felt tears of happiness beginning to form in her eyes. "I love you too. I don't think I ever stopped…"
It was then that they both realized that there was nothing to stop them, or interrupt them, it was only them. They leaned and put their lips together. As soon as his lips gently landed over hers, she instantly knew that this was no dream. She closed her eyes and pushed herself closer to him, once again reaching her arms up and around his neck. He responded by wrapping his free arm around her back, firmly holding her against himself.
This was the real thing… this time she knew that this wasn't a dream bubble. At last, the moment Kagome had been dreaming about since she realized that she had fallen in love with the Demon King. The moment when nothing else mattered—not Naraku, not time, and certainly not a war…
All that mattered was that they were together. They loved each other. This one kiss… that was all they needed, the kiss that they were now sharing was what proved that they belonged together. They had been born… to see one another… to be together… and nothing would ever pull them apart, ever again.