MC: So...how long has it been since I've updated? *sweatdrops* I'm SoOoOoOoOooo sorry! I feel pretty bad, but life kind of sucks. It throws things at you and distracts you...I know that's not an excuse, but still.
So, has anyone else seen Inuyasha, The Final Act? I didn't actually sit and watch all the episodes, but I read the summaries and whatnot, and wow...I think the funniest thing what Sesshoumaru's annoyance with Kagome at her calling him her brother. I found that annoying, too, because...well...THEY SHOULD BE TOGETHER, DAMMIT!1
*clears throat* Anyway, I have all the way to chapter 11 written, and I'm debating whether to post them all up at once or not. This story won't be any more than 20 chapters (maybe), but I promise everything will be resolved.
While I'm thinking about it, I want to clear up some things. First off, THANK YOU for the reviews! My heart skipped with joy when I read them. =)
To xXAlibomboziXx - Yeeahhh, I'm dyslexic (not really), but I've always read and pronounced it Inutashio. Sorry about that. xD So I guess it's Inutashio in this story, lol. Souta is a little younger than Kagome, maybe sixteen. I hope you continue to enjoy the story! =) Sorry about the confusion.
Well, here's the fourth chapter to True to Your Heart.
Enjoy! xoxo
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Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.
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Chapter Four
It was silent during dinner. Kagome, who had not spoken a word since that afternoon, sat with a blank stare on her face, her hands folded in her lap. She ignored the food that was placed in front of her, ignored whoever spoke to her, and eventually, stood and left the table.
She stalked up to her room, slamming the door shut before throwing herself facedown onto her bed. Her whole body felt numb, and as a strong wind began to slow outside, she let out a shaky breath, allowing a few tears to run down her cheeks. Why, Kami, must this happen? Souta is too sick to fight! He'll be killed the moment he leaves the house!
There was a scratching sound, and Kagome looked down towards the floor, only to see Shippo beside her bed, pawing at the wooden base. Sighing, Kagome reached down, helping the fox up onto her bed. When she lay back down, Shippo climbed onto her back, curling up before snuggling on her.
"Oh Shippo…what can I do? I don't want Souta to go fight…"
Shippo let out a soft snore, and Kagome rolled her eyes. "Well that's not a very good solution. Well, maybe it is…maybe if I go to sleep, something will come to me…"
...
"My lord, I am very disappointed."
Sesshoumaru's claws ticked against the wooden desk as he tried to ignore his ward, the blank paper in front of him taunting his conscious. He knew he should be writing to his father, but something was bothering him. He didn't know what, but something just wasn't right.
"My lord, you should've seen those pitiful men! I remember when we first drafted Edo's men…Lord Higurashi was a force to be reckoned with. It is a pity he's not alive anymore. His son, however…"
Sesshoumaru, who had perked up at the name 'Higurashi', sat up suddenly, his golden eyes piercing Jaken. The squat man began to tremble, hoping he hadn'tve said anything wrong to anger his Lord. "I apologize, my lord, if I said something I shouldn't have…"
"What about Lord Higurashi's son?" Sesshoumaru demanded, narrowing his eyes at the toad-like man. Jaken gulped, stuttering as he continued. "L-Lord Higurashi's s-son seems quite pitiful, milord. He was all sickly and pale looking…but his daughter, however…"
Lord Higurashi has a daughter? Sesshoumaru laced his fingers in thought. I shall look into this once this war is over. "Jaken, what is the boy's name."
Jaken hurriedly reached for his scroll, unraveling it before skimming through the names. "Souta, milord."
"Souta Higurashi. Apparently named after his legendary father." Sesshoumaru muttered to himself, once more ignoring Jaken as he turned back towards the blank piece of paper in front of him. He suddenly stood, unable to concentrate on his report, and instead opted to spar with once of his fathers' soldiers. "Write my report for me, Jaken. I expect to read it before you send it off."
"Y-Yes, milord."
...
The next morning, something that sounded like metal hitting metal woke Kagome up from her sleep. She yawned widely, stretching as she sat up, accidentally knocking Shippo off her stomach. The sleepy kit rolled down the bed, yawning before giving her a sleepy glare.
"Sorry, kit." Kagome giggled, but froze when a strangled cry came from outside. She slid off the bed, quickly moving towards the window before throwing it open.
Down in the gardens, Souta was wielding a rather beautifully polished sword. Their grandfather, who was holding an old, rusted looking sword, was standing with a scowl on his face. "Come on, boy, don't wimp out on me! Get mad!"
"B-but Jii-chan…I don't f-feel s-so…good…" Souta suddenly dropped the sword, swaying before passing out on the ground.
There was a scream, and Sakura came running out from the kitchen, yelling incoherently at her father-in-law. "Jii-chan, the boy is sick to death! Your training is going to put an end to his life!"
"Sakura, calm down, I'm just trying to prepare him for the training!"
"That's why they're sending him to training! It says nothing in the letter that he needed to train at home!"
Kagome furrowed her brows, watching as Sakura lifted Souta up with surprising ease before carrying him into the house. The elder man just stood here, a frown on his face as he hobbled over to the sword Souta dropped before he passed out.
"I swear, Shippo, I'm really fed up with this." Kagome hissed, slamming the window shut before plopping down on her bed. Shippo just cocked his head to the side, letting out another yawn before hopping down off the bed. He padded over to the door, scratching at it before letting out an impatient sound.
"Yeah, I probably should go check on him. Poor Souta…"
Dinner was a lot more tense than the night before. Souta was awake, but kept nodding off, he was so exhausted from the 'training' from that morning. Sakura just sat there like Kagome had the night before, quiet, her hands in her lap most of the time. Kagome sighed inwardly, desperately wishing her father was there.
...
The next morning was the same – their grandfather had drug Souta outside, and was now trying to teach him how to wield a bow – something Kagome wish she could have done. After watching from her window for a few minutes, Kagome was finally irritated from watching her grandfather struggling to teach his grandson to shoot a bow, and once again slammed the window shut before turning to the kit on her bed.
"Come on, Shippo, let's show them how it's done." Kagome growled, quickly dressing in a light green kimono before heading downstairs. Sakura was sitting at the table, a steaming cup of tea in front of her as she stared out a nearby window.
Spotting Kagome, Sakura suddenly stood. "Kagome, wait a moment. May I speak with you for a minute?"
Kagome contemplated, then sighed at the pleading look on her mother's face. "Mama, I know what you're probably going to say, and I know. The matchmaking thing didn't go to well, but what's a woman who looks like a geisha to tell me if I'm marriageable or not?"
Sakura just stared at her daughter in shock. "Kagome…"
"Hold that thought, Mama." Kagome quickly went through the kitchen and into the garden. Just as Souta was about to shoot, Kagome stopped him, ignoring her grandfather's cry. "Child, what are you doing?"
"That's NOT how you hold a bow!" Kagome huffed indignantly, quickly adjusting Souta's hands. "There. Now, take the arrow, and string it like so…okay, then pull back – keep it steady, both eyes open...then shoot!"
The arrow suddenly went flying across the garden, landing a few feet away from the makeshift target. Souta smiled with glee, while the elder man looked on with a small scowl. "That's improvement. Keep practicing."
...
Later that night, Kagome's heart was pumping. It would be the last night she got to spend with her brother. After another silent dinner, Kagome followed Souta upstairs and to his room, where she tucked him in.
"Kagome, I'm scared." Souta whispered as Kagome patted his back reassuringly. "I don't want to fight."
"I know, Souta." Kagome sighed, as she took in Souta's face. His skin was pale, and he always looked like he was about to faint. "I tell you what. Do you want me to finish my story from the other night? The one I made up?"
"Okay!" Souta said happily, rolling over to face his sister as he looked up at her eagerly. Maybe it was a good idea for Jii-chan to take Souta out to exercise, Kagome thought happily as she smiled down at him. He's a lot healthier, and has more energy. I'm surprised he's even still awake.
"Okay then…where did I leave off?"
"The princess had just cut her pretty hair and was now running away." Souta said proudly, and Kagome smiled. "Oh yeah. Now I remember.
"So the Princess rode for a full day, before finally finding the camp of the army. She spent the next few months training, and had unknowingly fell in love with the general.
"When it was finally time for war, the Princess was scared, just like you. She was afraid that if she was wounded, that she could be discovered. But she packed up, and along with the rest of the men, went to the battlefield. She fought valiantly, and even saved the general's life. But when she came face-to-face with the evil magician that had been controlling the bad army…"
"Kids, are you still up?" Sakura interrupted, opening the door. Upon seeing Kagome sitting on Souta's bed, she smiled sadly before going into the room. She pulled up a chair, patting Kagome's knee before ruffling Souta's hair. "Please, Kagome, continue your story."
Kagome smiled softly at her mother before sighing. "Well, as the Princess and the evil magician began to battle, she was discovered. The army she had been fighting for were so shocked. But, as a girl, the Princess finished off the enemy, and had received honor to her family."
"What a great story." Souta said, yawning before sighing in content. "G'night, Kags…goodnight, Mama…"
"Goodnight, my dear warrior." Sakura kissed Souta's forehead, and sighed as he fell into a deep sleep. "Tomorrow's the day…"
"Mama, why can we not just go to the emperor and tell him that Souta can't go? Explain to him that's he's sick, let him see the doctor's papers!"
"Kagome, it's not that easy." Sakura sighed, ruffling Souta's hair once more. "It's going to take a miracle to get us through this."
...
Later that night, Kagome woke up suddenly, her eyes wide as she listened to the storm outside. What woke me up?
There was a growling sound, and Kagome furrowed her brows, reaching for her matches to light the candle on her bedside table. "Shippo? What's going on?"
As she lit the candle, Kagome sat up, only to stifle a scream. Shippo was crouched low against the floor, his teeth gleaming as he bared them at a large, round bug that resembled a…
"I-Is that a flea?" Kagome stuttered, backing up against the wall. The bug had two large eyes, and was a little smaller than her own hand. It had what looked like a backpack on it's back, with three pairs of arms. "Oh good, you're awake!"
Kagome blinked. Did that flea just speak to her? "Umm, what?"
"Please, call this animal off of me!" The flea cried, flinching as Shippo made a swipe at it with his paw. "Please!"
Kagome hesitated. What was she thinking? She had to have been dreaming, because the next moment she said, "Shippo, come here. Now."
Shippo stopped growling, but his teeth were still bared as he began to back up slowly, only turning to climb on the bed before settling down, his paws hanging over the edge of the bed, alert. The flea sighed, wiping its forehead with a small cloth. "Thank you, my dear. Please, do you mind if I sit on your nightstand? I promise I won't do anything. Flea's honor."
Kagome could not believe what she was doing as she stood, silently padding across the floor before kneeling in front of the strangely large bug. "What are you?"
"Me? Well, can't you see? I'm a flea! My name's Myoga…you're Kagome Higurashi, correct?"
"Uh…yeah." Kagome replied stupidly, holding out her hand. Myoga climbed onto her palm, and Kagome had to stifle the urge to throw the bug out the window. "Umm…I know you're a flea, but…how is it that you can talk?"
"I was sent by your ancestors to watch over you!" Myoga exclaimed, smiling up at Kagome as she climbed back into her bed, careful not the jar her hand. She lowered her hand down to the nightstand, waiting until the bug was completely off before withdrawing her appendage, waiting until he wasn't looking before wiping her hand on the blankets. "My ancestors sent me a flea to watch over me?"
"Hey, we're very loyal creatures!" Myoga exclaimed defensively, folding all six arms over his chest. Kagome stifled down a giggle as she looked down at him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be offensive. May I ask why you're here?"
"Because, you plan on saving your brother, correct? Well, I know of a way!"
Kagome perked up at this. She pinched herself, hissing when she felt the stinging pain of her nails digging into her skin. Okay, so it's not a dream. "Really? You'll help me?"
"What are guardian's for?" Myoga smiled, rubbing all his hands together. "Right, here's the plan. You remember the story you were telling your brother earlier? Why don't we make fairy tales come true tonight?"
Kagome paused, blinking as she thought. "But…"
"I mean, look. You don't have to cut your hair or anything, there is a way you can hide that. The armor, I'm sure, will fit you, for you're your father's size when he was fitted."
"You knew my father?" Kagome asked suddenly, lowering her face so she could look at the fat bug better. Myoga groaned, hitting his face with one of his hands. "Oh, they told me not to say anything about Souta!"
"Please, tell me more about him!" Kagome urged, frowning when Myoga shook his head. "I'm sorry, Kagome, but I'm afraid I can't. I can only tell you that you have his spirit. And his eyes."
Kagome thought about this as Myoga held out a piece a paper. "But like I was saying – I have a list of things you need. Armor, a sword, possibly a shield, a dagger, cooking materials, a tent, blankets, extra clothes…"
"There's one problem."
Myoga stopped, his brows furrowing as he looked up at his new ward. "What?"
"How can I hide the fact that I look like a girl?"
...
MC: I'm not too terribly happy about this chapter, but it'll do for now. I might decide to go back later and see what I can do. But because I'm in the Christmas spirit, and my birthday is tomorrow (WOO, 20! Then sadly, another painstakingly long year to go until the REAL fun begins...) I'll go ahead and just throw everything else up. Also, to apologize and say how sorry I am for leaving you guys for almost/over a year. (I didn't even check to see when the last time I updated was, lmao. WHOOPS).