Disclaimer: I think me updating this on time is way more believable than me owning Inuyasha. Alas, neither is true. I'll go weep in a corner now...*sniff sniff*
Teaching a Half Dog-Demon New Tricks
By: kagomesbutterflyfeeling
Chapter 3:
Stay...Come
'Okay girl, you can do this. You've battled Kami knows how many demons, been under curses, hexes, spells, faced death numeral times beside everyone, you can handle this! Nothing can stop you!'
This was what Kagome chanted to herself, her own mantra. It was all true; she had come so far after her fifteenth birthday, from being your average schoolgirl whose only worry was acing her maths tests and where to fit studying into her busy schedule. While she still had to worry over that, she also had demons to fight, shikon jewel shards to find, irritating half demons to argue with, and comrades to look out for. On top of this she also was relied and expected—even though it wasn't really spoken aloud—to be medically prepared to nurse back to health her comrades, allies or charges after receiving injuries of some sort, be it poison, scratches, slashes or even—on some past occasions—gaping holes.
Yes, she'd come a long way from normal...but she wouldn't change it for the world.
How could she regret having met the adorable young kitsune, Shippo, who viewed her as a surrogate mother? Or the kind—albeit lecherous—monk, Miroku, who constantly risks his life by sucking in poisonous demons time after time to save the ones he cares for: them? Or the caring, feisty demon slayer Sango who was like a sister to her, who fought against her own brother, though it broke her heart, when he attacked them? Even Kilala, her trusty two-tailed fire-cat companion? Or Kaede? Koga, Ginta, Hikaku, Ayame, Rin, or the many other people and demons they all had befriended at some point throughout their travels?
Definitely not. There was absolutely no way Kagome could find it in her heart to substitute acquainting and befriending them with a simple, normal life in her own era; 500 years in the future, not that she ever would want to. Especially when it came to...
'Inuyasha...'
But there was always one thing, even with all the experience and friends Kagome had behind her now, that still got her blood boiling, palms sweating and nerves screaming in hysteria, and right now she had to be brave and face that exact thing...
She looked around herself in all directions, fully aware of the disadvantages she was at, the likelihood of her getting away with this act. Despite this, with one more wary glance around her, the modern schoolgirl proceeded onwards at a fast pace, pedalling like her life depended on it. She couldn't just give up; she hadn't come this far, worked herself up, just to fail.
Her destination lurked nearer; success was but a heartbeat away. She could taste the victory on her tongue; feel the thrill in her veins. She was but a blur among the scenery, her and her very own pink bicycle. Then she was there, braking abruptly and biting down hard on her bottom lip to prevent herself from yelling out in triumph. She had won!
And that's when it all came crashing down. When that 'thing' reared it's actually attractive head and stopped her. That one thing...
"Oi! Wench! Where do you think you're going?!"
A stubborn half dog demon...
"Inuyasha..."
"Crap."
"SIT!!!"
WHAM!
~*~*~
"You are such an idiot." Shippo muttered as he shoved another lollipop—this time strawberry flavoured—into his mouth, crossing his arms over his chest with a thoughtful expression on his face as he closed his emerald green eyes.
"Shut up!" Inuyasha huffed, punching the young kitsune on the head, a bump evident instantaneously.
Almost as immediate was the kit's tears and wailing, "OW! Inuyasha hit me!" He massaged the bump with his little hands, sending glares at the dog demon that had caused them, who was predictably returning those glares back, his amber orbs gleaming menacingly.
"Keh! Kagome's not here for you to run away to this time," Inuyasha growled out, raising his clenched fist to strike the youngest in the group of travellers again.
He was, however, stopped by the cool words of the calm monk, "Inuyasha, don't you find that a bit harsh?"
"Keh!"
Shippo took Inuyasha's momentary distraction as the perfect opportunity to make his escape and scampered off out the door of Kaede's hut to find the old, highly respected priestess herself. Inuyasha scowled at the vacant space before him where the runt had been preoccupying, then tucked his still clenched fist into the sleeve of his fire rat cloak, now resorting to glowering at the letch who had allowed the victim of his foul mood to flee.
Sango, who was seated between the two of them, sighed heavily. This temperamental display seemed to happen on so many occasions, especially when Kagome was absent. It was clearly apparent Kagome was what made Inuyasha's crabby mood lighten to a certain degree and cause him to be a little more pleasant to be around, when she was gone, he turned into the most difficult and sulky child she herself had ever known. Or maybe it was the fact that he had lost another argument to the kind but short-tempered priestess again. She resolved it to be a mixture of both.
"Inuyasha, Kagome's only going to be gone for three days. I don't see what the big deal about it is," she told him, knowing that her reasoning would fall on deaf ears.
"The big deal? The big deal! The big deal is that she's off parading around in her own time while Naraku's running around, accumulating jewel shards while we're all sitting around waiting for her to get her butt back here!" Inuyasha barked back, snarling, and his eyes glowing with a wild emotion.
Sango's coffee brown eyes widened at the look, she rarely ever saw Inuyasha this upset. Something was wrong; could Kagome's departure really have struck that strong a cord in him? They always fought, how was this time any different? It didn't make sense, the half demon's skull was too thick, his thoughts too complicated for her to be able to work out. If only Kagome were here...
"We have not seen or heard hair nor hide of Naraku, there's not much we can do but keep ourselves alert and relax and rejuvenate when we get the chance, Inuyasha. You're thinking too negatively of things," Miroku consoled, leaning his staff against him as he leant back on the wooden walls behind him.
Instead of soothing him, the monk's words seemed to have the complete opposite effect and instead aggravated the silver haired half demon even further. He lurched forward, ready to strangle the irritating fool before him when Sango held him back, not strongly, just giving him a few seconds to think over his actions, which he wasn't exactly renowned for doing too often.
"Are you telling me that Kagome leaving us is a good thing?" Was all he managed to bite out, returning to sitting on his rump and stared solely at the floor beneath him, his expression softening around the edges and it was then that Sango was struck by the possibility that even he had no clue as to his reactions to everything.
He was noticing how abnormally he was behaving as well.
Slumped there on the floor, he felt utterly confused. It was strange, he felt fine earlier, albeit completely annoyed and disheartened when he learned that Kagome wanted to return home once again. Sometimes he felt she left just to get away from him, which, he would understand, it had to be hard being around him all the time, but she had promised to stay by his side. There was no mention about running home whenever she felt like it. So naturally he stalked after her and they inevitably fought.
"Inuyasha..."
"Crap."
"SIT!!!"
WHAM!
"Ow! Wench, what was that for?" the silver haired half demon proclaimed, rubbing his nose where it had forcefully collided into the dirt, among the rest of himself. He used his arms to lift himself up with ease and peered down in what he hoped was an intimidating fashion at the fifteen-year old girl from the future before him, her hands resting on her hips.
"That was to stop you from preventing me from going home!" she retorted, glaring back at him, unperturbed by his endeavour at being daunting.
Placing a clawed hand on her shoulder, Inuyasha smirked, "Well, you didn't do a very good job, did you?" He slid his hand down her arm, shaking off the thought of her shivering at his action and gripped her wrist, then turned and began dragging her back the way they both had came. "You're not going home." He added for good measure.
"Yes, I am," she struggled against his firm hold, tugging and twisting. If she persisted with that she'd only end up hurting herself, and being her protector, that would mean he had failed. He would not fail.
"Wench! Stop moving around!" he yelled at her, pivoting back to face her and bending down so that they were nose-to-nose. He had accidently loosened his grasp on her as certain feelings erupted in him at their closeness and only realised his mistake a moment too late as Kagome grinned widely at him, pulled her hand away and yelling with all the oxygen in her lungs...
"SIT!!!"
WHAM!
It was much like déjà vu. He plummeted to the solid ground beneath him, face embedded into the dirt and grass. Only able to listen helplessly as Kagome stomped her way back to the Bone Eater's well. Pushing himself up once the spell had worn off, he only stood, grumpily as Kagome sat on the ledge, adjusting the straps of her backpack on her shoulders.
"I'm only going to be gone three days, like usual Inuyasha. Just...stay here, please," her eyes had changed from the fiery blaze they had been moments ago and now were pleading with him to just do as she asked.
He could never say no to what she really wished. "Keh! Whatever."
With a small, sincere smile, and an extra skip of his own heartbeat, Kagome shared her parting words and leapt down into the magical dry well, being surrounded by a mixture of blue and violet light, returning to her own time. Leaving him behind.
Inuyasha stood there for what could have been hours, just blankly staring at the wooden object that had taken Kagome away from his temper, his attitude, his curses, his protection, his care; him. He sighed, tried to shake away these thoughts that had been plaguing him a lot lately and marched off, deciding to go lay back on one of the branches of the Goshinboku. He didn't feel like being around the others at that moment.
Kagome's final words whispered in the breeze, the only thing keeping him back from jumping in the well after her.
"Stay..."
It had felt like their usual quarrels, nothing overly harsh or emotional slipping out. No tears, just frustration released through yelling and a few 'sit's. But...now that he thought about it, they hadn't yelled all that much and, sure, there still had been 'sit's awarded to him, but there were fewer than in the past. It had been calmer and smoother that time; they hadn't parted on bad terms with each other. That was something to be happy with, content about, right?
...So why was he feeling so weird inside, pained?
Standing up, Inuyasha brushed aside the dusty mat covering the threshold of the old hag's hut, ignoring the curious glances sent his way from his comrades and aimlessly wandered off, unsure where he was going, but not really caring either. He needed to think...again.
Meanwhile, back inside the hut, Sango gazed at Miroku, requesting him silently to explain what had just conspired. Miroku looked back at her, his violet eyes not giving anything away.
Sango's eye twitched and her face flushed. Hastily, but with good reason, Sango slapped Miroku across the cheek, screeching out, "PERVERT!"
"Ah, it's good to know there is some normality around," Miroku remarked, cradling his now vibrantly glowing pink cheek.
Sango arched one of her eyebrows in question, composing herself by straightening up her back and making it seem like nothing had happened, though she was still bristling mutely. When it was apparent that Miroku needed more coaxing into speaking up, she coughed and asked, "What do you mean, you lecher?"
Miroku pouted, then suddenly his expression brightened, "We are giving each other nicknames now, are we my lovely Sango? I had no idea you were ready to push forward our relationship!" He moved to embrace her, but she stopped him in his place with the Hiraikotsu she speedily grabbed from off to the side to pummel him with.
"It was not a nickname, but an insult, you idiot. Now, are you going to explain that comment from before or not?" Sango demanded, now sitting on Miroku's back as she had him sprawled out on his stomach on the wooden floor, her boomerang weapon poised at the back of his neck.
"No need to get complicated, Sango, all you needed to do was ask," he asserted, but it occurred to her that he most likely was not commenting about her order, but about their intimate position, which she had just noticed they were in.
Her cheeks blushed pink, running over her nose and down her neck and she checked to make sure no one was at the door to witness this. Thankfully, they were the only two occupants of this one-roomed residence. She rushed to get off of him, wanting to put that whole memory behind her. Miroku obviously wasn't if that broad grin of his was anything to go by.
"Why Sango, I had no idea—" he was hastily cut off by an embarrassed and annoyed demon slayer, whose murderous look sent a shiver down his spine.
"Spit it out, monk," was all she ground out.
"All I meant was that Inuyasha has been acting tenser and reacting more strongly to certain things today. I'm simply wondering what this ordeal is about," Miroku blurted out like rapid fire, raising his hands in a placating manner since he had some life preservation skills in him still.
Sango's shoulders sagged and her head dipped, obscuring her face from view, much to the monk's surprise, "I know what you mean. I barely heard their argument earlier and I thought that must have been a good sign that their fight hadn't been so bad, but now..."
"You're wondering if things are ten times worse," Miroku concluded and a nod confirmed his assumption had been correct. He sighed, "It is quite possible that it is as we feared. Normally a loud and heated battle of words is what is heard between Inuyasha and Kagome, for Inuyasha to be brooding, something must have happened...or is going on."
"'Going on'?" Sango repeated, looking up, her brows furrowed and a frown adorning her face. "Kagome isn't here, how could it still be going on?"
"A similar situation has occurred once before, Sango. It was the time Inuyasha made his decision between Kagome and Kikyo. You saw how affected both of them were," Miroku recounted, trying not to go too into details. He was well aware of Sango's feelings and opinions towards the relationship of Kikyo and Inuyasha and how it hindered the one between their half demon companion and her best friend from the future.
Sango's frown deepened, "But Inuyasha hasn't gone to see Kikyo, I mean, there hasn't been any soul collectors around and Inuyasha's been with us all of the time except when he's with Kagome," she objected.
"Lady Kikyo might not be involved."
"Then what?"
"I'm uncertain. I am sure the two of them will work it out though, they always do." Miroku resolved, nodding his head wisely and got up. He offered Sango his hand and she smiled, accepting it as she too stood up onto her own feet, blushing when he decided he wasn't going to let go of their hold. He led her to the doorway and, like a true gentleman, let her stroll out first.
"Where are we going?" Sango enquired as Miroku lead her down the dirt pathway, over towards the fields, their entwined hands swaying lazily between the two of them.
"Just for a walk. It's a nice day, and even Inuyasha, in his sullen mood, has decided to be outside in it. Why not we do the same?" Miroku replied with a handsome smile.
Sango had to remove her gaze, or otherwise have to put up with the inevitable teasing from the monk for 'ogling' him, which she wasn't! But that's what he would take from it, him and his ego.
Still, she was unable to just drop the concern she had from previously, nor the sombre mood emitted by their half demon friend. "I highly doubt Inuyasha's out here admiring the weather though..."
~*~*~
Thump.
Kagome sighed deeply as she heard her schoolbag hit her carpeted floor, the weight of it rivalling that of her monstrous yellow backpack she took with her back into the Feudal Era. Instead of getting straight to her piles of homework, she lethargically wandered her way over to her window, leaning against the sill and looked out dully, not really seeing anything but her breathe lightly fogging up the glass.
Today had been horrible.
Imagine the scare she had had when she returned home to an empty house that morning, to discover no kind loving Mama, or story-telling Grandpa, or even the loud brat, Sota, to be there. She'd nearly had a premature heart attack.
Then she'd found her mother's note.
It was written at the small possibility she would have returned; which she did. It stated that her family were away for the weekend and two additional days, meaning today and tomorrow as well. No real reason was explained, just that it wasn't something to worry herself over, but she did anyways. Now she was all alone for two days in this empty home, with nothing but her homework to keep her company.
"Meow!"
Well, that wasn't exactly true.
"Hi Buyo! I forgot about you!" Kagome cooed as her chubby calico strolled into her room, moving to rub against her legs. She bent down and picked him up, cradling his front paws and head to her while his hind legs, body and tail swung down freely.
Kagome bounced onto her bed, giving more firm ground for her beloved pet to position himself with comfort, purring in content. She stroked his head, now staring off into space, the gloominess of the day catching up with her.
"It was so bad Buyo...I'll admit that staying in the Feudal Era was so much more welcoming then today here was," she told him, confiding in her cat whom she knew would never complain about her whinging. At that moment he was gazing at her with his wide, yellow eyes, his head pushed against her soft hand in approval of her ministrations.
Kagome smiled, it was small and didn't reach her eyes, but she felt relieved that she wasn't completely alone now. She continued, "First there was arriving to an empty house this morning—that really scared me. Then I had to search for my other uniform, since it was in the wash, which ultimately meant I was running late.
"My friends were their usual selves, talking about my 'two-timing- boyfriend' non-stop and also about Hojo. I was far behind in class and even fell asleep and was caught by the teacher! I can't remember ever feeling as embarrassed as I did then." Kagome paused and turned her attention to her window as the sound of pit-pattering signalled it was raining.
Buyo had now curled himself up, but kept eye contact with his owner, even if she wasn't actually looking back. His purring intensified, rumbling through his furry body and even Kagome could feel the vibrations it caused, almost was like he was trying to cheer her up.
Kagome shook her head, sending her raven locks swinging around her, and then settled on her shoulders, to which Buyo lifting a paw and swatted a few strands, meowing in pleasure. "Glad to know you're enjoying yourself. I still have to do all of my homework and I need to put some ointment on my knee since I even fell over on my way back home and scraped it on the concrete. This really is not my day," she mumbled, pushing Buyo off of her and standing up, heading over to her desk and plopping down on the computer chair, receiving a squeak in response.
She shuffled a few random papers and notebooks around that were left lying on her desk and went to her bag to retrieve the allotted homework, slowly bringing it all back to her wooden desk in the corner of her room in two trips—because there was simply that much to catch up on. Repositioning herself in her plush computer seat, she opened up one of her textbooks, beginning to read, when she felt herself drawn to the window behind her.
Kagome sighed, realising she wasn't going to be getting much work done while she was this distracted and miserable and rolled her chair next to the window, pressing her forehead to the glass and gazed out of it once again.
Besides the light rain and Buyo's soft snores, the house really was so quiet. She couldn't hear her mother bustling around in the kitchen or Grandpa sweeping the shrine steps and muttering to himself, or Sota yelling at his video games, pressing the buttons furiously. Kagome easily came to the decision she did not like being alone. Not much she could do about it at this moment though...
Sighing again, her eyes dull and melancholic, Kagome repeated one thought in her head over and over again.
'Inuyasha...please....come...come and see me, annoy me...anything, I just don't want to be alone...come...'
~*~*~
A loud growl resonated through Inuyasha's Forest. It just so happened to have been produced by the half man-half demon the forest was named after. His sulking and brooding having got him nowhere—except to an extreme level of anger and confusion—he now was trying to take it out on a few unsuspecting trees, slashing branches and trunks this way and that.
"This...is...so...stupid! ...What...the...hell...is...going on!" He ground out between gnashed teeth and his swiping at the woods towering around him.
Puffing, he stopped, positioned his forearm on a tree and leant his forehead against that. This was getting him nowhere. He had to think, this all started just after Kagome left, so then it must have something to do with her!
...But he had to stay here...
"Keh!" When did he suddenly become an obedient dog? He could do whatever the hell he liked, no wench could stop him...but she could 'sit' him. No, he'd made up his mind...except the pleading look in her eyes when she'd told him to stay...
Would she be angry at him for leaving here and going after her...?
He grumbled, knowing the answer, but his feet betrayed him and took him to the Bone Eater's well despite his previous conclusions. Shaking his head when he noticed where his feet had lead him to, he swiftly turned on his heel, ready to go find something to do to keep his mind off things—like a certain girl from the future.
'Inuyasha...please....come...'
His silver-furred dog ears twitched atop of his equally silver-haired cranium. Did he just hear Kagome? Impossible! She wasn't supposed to be back for three days!
Despite that small argument in his head, Inuyasha found himself peering down over the well of the dry well, seeing no raven-haired beauty standing down the bottom. Just as he predicted, it was all apart of his imagination.
'...come and see me, annoy me...anything, I just don't want to be alone...'
There it was again! It was so crystal clear, like Kagome was standing right behind him—he turned around just in case. It was official, he had lost his mind, not that he was going to admit that to anybody.
'...come...'
That was it. He didn't care if it was a delusion or not, him going crazy or whatever, but he was going to Kagome, no matter what. Something was going on and he wanted to get to the bottom of it now. And it was strange; his head was suddenly clearing up and was telling him that this was the right choice. It sounded stupid, but it was reason enough for him to go and talk to Kagome.
So with this decision made within a few blinks of his golden eyes and a nod of his head, Inuyasha stomped his way over to the wooden object and jumped in, his hands shoved into the opposite sleeves of his haori. Before he knew it he was in the dark shrine house that hid this very well from outsiders. Casually leaping up and out of the hole in the ground, he slid open the doors and was greeted by a grey, wet, dreary day in modern day Tokyo, or at least that was the name he thought Kagome had told him for her home town.
Ignoring the weather, Inuyasha wandered over to the tree that was conveniently planted near Kagome's window and climbed it within seconds, just using the momentum he had from his feet and bounding up to the exact branch he had always favoured landing on. However, he did not anticipate what next occurred when he went to open Kagome's window to allow entrance for himself.
Kagome was on the other side of the glass, brown eyes wide, mouth hanging open, gaping at him...He'd have thought she would have been waiting for him, what with how she had just been sitting there staring where he would hop up and land when she should have been working like she told him she needed to, but her expression clearly made it evident that this was not the case.
A roll of thunder cut the two of them out of their little daze and Inuyasha coughed, trying to hide the fact that she had caught him off guard. In response, Kagome hurried to shove open her window, moving back so he could step in with ease. He wasted no time in doing so, just getting in on time as heavy rain began pelting hard against the glass when it was slammed shut.
"Inuyasha?" Kagome made it sound like a question, as if doubting he was really there in front of her. Her brows furrowed and she reached forward to touch him, or more like poke him hard in the chest.
"Hey!" He yelled out indignantly, grabbing her wrist. "What the hell was that for?!"
"You're...here," Kagome drawled out, frowning.
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. Inside he was a little concerned at Kagome's odd behaviour. He thought she would have been angry, not in disbelief—not that he was complaining or anything.
"Yeah, I'm here. I thought that was kind of obvious," he stated, rubbing his chest where she had jabbed him with her finger.
"But...how? Why?"
Inuyasha could feel his cheeks heating up, and this would be the part where he sounded like a lunatic, "How? The well of course stupid, you know, the way you and me skip through time and all? Don't tell me you hit your head you klutz." He went to feel her head with his claws, to check if there were any abnormal bumps.
He figured it unnecessary when he witnessed Kagome characteristically roll her eyes, huffing with annoyance. "Yeah, yeah, okay, dumb question. Why are you here but?"
"Uh..."
"Yes?" Kagome prodded, waiting patiently. She couldn't believe Inuyasha was here, only minutes after she wished him to come to her!
Alright, maybe it'd be best if he just got it out in the open; over and done with. So, squeezing his eyes closed and clenching his fists, Inuyasha answered truthfully. "I just felt like I had to." Maybe he could just leave out the part where he heard her voice.
Kagome blinked, several times actually, Inuyasha noticed after finally opening his eyes when he got no response. The girl was just standing there, her expression blank, from shock he figured.
"Oh." She finally said out loud.
"Oh?" Inuyasha queried, wary of her lack of an explosive reaction after what he thought was a pathetic excuse.
Instead Kagome beamed at him, the wide smile seeming to light up the room to Inuyasha who felt his heart miss a beat and heard his blood pumping in his ears. "Oh." She repeated, like it was the perfect answer that explained everything. Perhaps it was all that was needed.
Inuyasha smiled genuinely. He didn't feel confused or angry anymore, his emotions weren't in turmoil, his thoughts were much clearer. He had done the right thing after all.
It was amazing, Kagome had always felt her and Inuyasha had shared a bond, but for him to show up when she mentally asked him to, 500 years away, it was really astounding. She was grateful though, she wasn't alone now. Inuyasha was here and the house didn't feel so cold, large and empty.
They spent that entire afternoon and night together, Inuyasha refusing to leave her alone otherwise she—being her klutz self—would damage herself in some manner, and of course he hadn't handle the scraped knee incident well after finding out. Kagome got all her homework done, by a miracle and even had a bit of time just to spend with Inuyasha. Her day hadn't turned out so bad after all.
Sure, Inuyasha was that one thing that always succeeded in carelessly riling her up somehow, probably with that foot-in-mouth syndrome he seemed to have, but in the end, he made the whole adventure worthwhile.
Kagome truly wouldn't change any of it—including him—for the world.
I know, I know, there are collective gasps around the world going 'Oh my word, she's alive!' and that, but I just have to say I'm really sorry this took so long! Everything has been so intense here! School, me going into my senior years in high school and doing a university course outside of school. I went to Japan on a school trip. Family issues have been non-stop, and we've just had half a house extension built onto our house. On top of that my laptop broke down and I only just managed to salvage my data off of it. That's just the tip of the iceberg. So I hope you guys can be patient with me. Especially those waiting for my reviews, I'm getting there, I swear!
So...my thoughts are mixed on this chapter. I'm sure they'll be plenty of questions, but you have to remember I write this on the spur of the moment. Sometimes even I have to work out the meaning behind them. Anyways, I find the concept of the two being able to sense the others emotions is cute, thus, what I believe, was the creation of this. I do recall watching the first movie before I wrote this...
Moving on, thank you to Jwelstone who was so eager to see this update read over this chapter for me! And to all my readers and reviewers, thank you so much! Hope I can update sooner than this time.
Happy New Year everyone! Stay safe and happy! Onwards to 2010!
kagomesbutterflyfeeling