A/N: My throat is killing me...I can barely swallow...must update before I go die on my bed...Can't promise update in like another week cuz I'm sick...
Here's another anonymous review from Kayla (Ppl, I will keep posting critical anonymous reviews in an update for everyone to see just cuz there's no reply link):
ohkay ohkay i really like thi stroy int he beining bu tno w
its just like blaah
you ned more inuyasha and kagome if you wanted it to be a Sesshomaru and Rin story then change the pairing at the top
and futher more
Kagome neds to ligthen up with her character shes not suppose to be a bitch thats kikyo's job
Alright, Kayla, let's see. I know a lot of people, not just you, are complaining about the lack of Inu/Kag moments. Oh, and it's complaining or whining or however you want to call it, not just telling me. Frankly, people, be patient. I know it's an Inu/Kag story since I'm writing it.
Kikyou's technically not a bitch either--she's supposed to be calm, cool, and collected but at the same time cruel and mysterious almost like Sesshoumaru. I guess you're referring to Kagome when she was beating up Meimori--I don't think she would hesitate to be a bit violent if Meimori showed up and decided to kidnap Inuyasha right in her face. At least that's what I think--I'm writing only what I think, which is why I'm not Rumiko Takahashi.
Now, why isn't there more Inu/Kag moments? Because I'm trying to make them substantially different than Sessh/Rin's relationship, duh. Compare the two and you'll see.
Sessh/Rin: passionate, fast-spaced, don't really care about lovey dovey crap, physical (as in they care about carnal pleasure more than emotions), bold (as in they don't hesitate to get what they want ;-D), Sesshoumaru is experienced in bed, Rin is willing to learn if only to prove herself to Sessh--you get the point
Inu/Kag: shy, slow-paced, need to get over emotional barriers, need to overcome differences, too stubborn, innocent, Kagome's focused on love before marriage, Inuyasha doesn't care about being lovey dovey, and a bit affectionate--AKA friends first, lovers later
So, all in all, Inu/Kag's relationship will be slow to develop, and if you guys keep reading, they need to figure out what they mean to each other and crap before falling in love and having more fluffy moments then Sessh/Rin. It wont be fun to read if they suddenly realize they're in love and make out and have sex and all that crap in the first chapter. What's there to build up on?
Beginning of story: Sessh/Rin relationship. After a while, they start to decline.
End of story: Inu/Kag. They start off slow and with a huge rift between them, but it mends gradually.
I have this plan--I know what I'm writing about. I'm not just writing crap for the sake of an update and I'm purposely adding more Sessh/Rin than Inu/Kag, hint hint. Just be patient and read.
And just a side note, kayla, I'm not trying to be a bitch and don't get my tone of voice wrong, but can you please clean up you're review a bit grammar wise? It's kinda hard to read and sick people don't want to focus a lot. :-D
PuppiesAreAdorable: I still owe you a review... I read the chapter, though! I will comment on it tomorrow when I'm home from school and am not dying from my stupid throat! We're both sick! But you're sicker, so poor Pappy! :-D
This chapter is dedicated to fangremtom2, my 200th reviewer! This isn't the lime or whatever you were asking for, but it's a start, right? There's still so much more to go...
Enjoy the chappie peeps! I could've cut it in half but I didn't...
Oh My Gods! 37
Everyone had a favorite word. Well, he was normal like everyone else, right? So he had a favorite word, too. Actually...he wasn't normal like them. Nope. At least he acknowledged it—it was the first step to correcting the problem. Only that...he didn't plan on becoming normal like the rest of the world. Besides, he needed to define normal first; who knew if he was the normal one in the universe and the other beings were weird?
Alright—back to his point: his favorite word. What was the word he revered and loved enough to marry...if it was a tangible creature?
War.
It was a beautiful thing, truthfully. War allowed people to show their true colors—no one cared about perfecting façades during desperate times such as war. Of course not!
Watching soldiers focus on their survival and nothing else was the best entertainment a Dark Lord such as himself could ever desire. They completely lost their minds, their eyes wildly searching for the enemy...bodies bathed in sacred blood...uncaring of the scraps of flesh speckled over their red skin...
Blood was such a beautiful color. Well, it was the color of his eyes; obviously he would find it wondrous.
Naraku smirked and folded his bare arms behind his head as he leaned back on a rather comfortable four-poster bed draped in crimson silk. His smirk widened into a devilish grin when he recalled the owner of the bed he was lounging on was not him, but a certain wind sorceress who didn't have the will to care about his intrusion.
Why?
Because she was still his perfect little servant.
Granted, he never did end up sending Kagura on the mission he proposed a few weeks ago, the one involving Rin and her ability to heal through her voice. He decided it wasn't worth the effort—he preferred to just suppress her ability altogether, and for that, he needed Meimori.
Hm, the dog demon had surely taken a very long absence...
Oh well. It wasn't his problem.
"I wonder if he already knows I sped things up a little and declared war on my three neighboring kingdoms..." Naraku fathomed the dog demon was aware of his plan. Ah, and let's not forget how one of my pleasant little armies of demon puppets have successfully invaded the Northern Lands.
A celebration was required!
What a feat! It hadn't been difficult at all—the wolf demon Kouga should really be more attentive to his kingdom. Then again, the army was led by Kagura, and she was a ruthless opponent with her deadly fans. How many wolves did she slaughter? Countless, he supposed.
"A certain little wolf must be very, very angry right now..." The art of war was a secret only revealed to him...
Kouga was apparently excluded from the malevolent circle since he was on the other side—the good side. Disgusting! The dark side had much more privileges! And dessert; Naraku hadn't known Kanna could bake delicious little brown circles mortals called cookies...
The dark-haired demon god closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, stretching his legs as far as they could go on Kagura's king-sized bed. Why was he in her room? He liked her choice of color: burgundy and crimson. And her spicy, erotic scent was absolutely tantalizing! No wonder Meimori and Sesshoumaru, two dog demons, had trailed after her like weaning pups!
"Let's see, what else have I done in his absence?" Naraku thought it was a good pastime to think of his accomplishments achieved without his ally. Meimori was going to be thrilled when he returned. "Ah yes, how could I have forgotten about the portals?"
Yup...he had taken the liberty of changing the destinations of all transportation devices in the immortal realm. Anyone—ahem, like a hanyou and a miko—wishing to train for the upcoming war, even though it already commenced, was pretty much...screwed.
It would be unfair if Inuyasha and Kagome were off safely training while others suffered a war that started because of them and their respective jewels, right?
Right.
"I'm such a nice person," the demon god mumbled with a smile accenting his handsome face sharpened by malice. His crimson eyes, smiling in conceited delight, flicked towards a beautiful demoness next to him. "Don't you agree, Kagura?"
"Of course, Naraku." The nude body sprawled beside him shifted slightly as the person turned to face him. A pair of gleaming ruby eyes smirked at him while its owner trailed a sharply clawed finger down his bare chiseled chest. "I never had this much fun with Meimori."
"And I hope you tell him so, my sweet traitor."
"I will never betray you again."
"Oh, I'm sure of it since I 'fixed' you, remember?"
"Yes," Kagura whispered, though it sounded like the hiss of a stalking snake. Her lips parted as her tongue tested the sharpness of her fangs that longed to taste the blood of her enemies...again. The hours she spent in the battlefield ripping souls from weakling bodies caused her eyes to glisten sadistically.
No, she never had this much fun with Meimori....
And Naraku was highly aware of this, but his conscience was...wait, did he have a conscience? He used to, yet Midoriko did him a favor and removed the menace Onigumo from his youkai body. It was the only thing he thanked her for.
Hmph. Stupid Kurayami...he couldn't wait to kill his damn nephews—they shared the same blood.
Therefore, he was bound to feel the same rush of pleasure coursing through his veins once he inhaled the coppery scent of Inuyasha's and Sesshoumaru's blood sliding slowly down his hands. The thrill of watching them writhe in agony before them, bowing to him on their knees as blood heaved from their bruised stomachs... Gods!
He could barely wait until the time to personally reunite with them arrived.
Until then, Naraku was going to have a lot of fun torturing Meimori, who also shared Kurayami's blood—his hatred for the blasted demon god wasn't cryptic. If it hadn't been for Kurayami, neither Inuyasha nor Sesshoumaru would have the power to destroy him! Furthermore, Midoriko's soul cannot be allowed to empower her deceased lover!
So as long as the entire royal family of the Western Lands lived, he could not rest. But he would take baby steps to his triumph.
Yup...he was having a bit of fun first.
Meimori was striving to revive Rima in Rin...surely he wouldn't mind if he used Kagura in the meantime? Ha, the fool couldn't have two attractive women all to himself! Sharing was caring...and he had his own carnal desires to relieve.
Naraku blinked his crimson eyes open and flipped onto his side, facing the wind sorceress resting her head on a pillow sheathed in silk. She gazed at him in complete adoration and loyalty—he trusted that her mind was now empty of treacherous thoughts. Good, because killing her was a mere troublesome chore.
No, she was fixed. He had fixed her.
And Meimori neglected to stop him.
Hm, he supposed the arrogant demon was a true bastard from a lineage of bastards.
His hand gently cupped his lover's cheek as his thumb caressed her bottom lip swollen from his earlier assault, and Naraku leaned in to claim them. Soon enough, he proceeded to entirely mark her body as his repeatedly, enveloping her in his poignant scent so that any male could instantly recognize him as her master.
It wasn't that he longed for her, or that he was a beast in disguise desiring constant sexual release—this was his final act of treason against Meimori. Kagura wasn't in her right mind; so the dog demon, when he discovered their 'adventures' in her room, wouldn't blame her...after a while.
So, what was one to do in such a situation? It was obvious that Meimori had romantic feelings for Kagura and vice versa, but Rima's memory prevented him from initiating a relationship with the demoness. Oh, and add the fact that dog demons chose mates for life.
Claiming a woman who already belonged to someone else was prohibited.
Thence...when Meimori came to his senses and realized how much he loved his precious best friend Kagura...
...it would be too late and Naraku was going to spit right on his face.
Meimori was pissed! So fucking pissed that he ripped off the heads of the oblivious guards standing outside the palace! And it was his fucking palace just like the entire Southern Kingdom's army was his! HIS! His fucking property equaled his fucking army!
HIS DAMMIT! HIS!!!
He was a dog demon—what the hell did Naraku expect from him?! A smile and a pat on the back? He much rather take his Aotoki sword, plunge the demon god's heart out, and eat it for dinner! Even then his meal would consist of burnt charcoal!
Who the fuck told Naraku it was ok to declare war on not one, but three kingdoms? Three! Did he realize the number of soldiers they required and the time it would take to create enough demon puppets to fight? Once Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha ascended to their respective thrones, the war would be pretty much over!
The plan had been to first capture Inuyasha and remove Kurayami's soul! What the hell happened to focusing on his cousin and Kagome?! Sure, he failed to retrieve the damn hanyou, but it wasn't his fault! How was he supposed to know Inuyasha awakened? Grr!
Yet another crack in his plans!
Kizurei was the twin obsessed with schedules and organization, yet everyone needed some kind of order once in a while—Meimori included! There was no fucking way he was fighting in a war against his cousin, the King of Makai, without having some kind of plan!
Ok, he was impulsive as well as often times stupid, but not that stupid!
"Hey you!" Meimori stormed down the stone imperial hall in the bedroom chamber wing and grabbed one of the servants roaming around by the scruff of his neck. He slammed the trembling fool against the hard stone wall and narrowed his molten quicksilver eyes as his lips curled into a snarl. "Where in the fucking hell is Naraku?! He's not in his wing of the palace!"
The wing he was supposed to stay in because this one contained his and Kagura's rooms!
Like hell he was sleeping near a freak like Naraku!
"L-Lo-ord N-Na—" The blonde servant, a handsome young immortal new to the field of servitude, couldn't cease his incessant stuttering and therefore kept Meimori waiting for answers.
Meimori hated to wait.
"Fuck it! You're useless!" With a roll of his eyes, the sable-haired demon god twisted the servant's neck and walked away before the body crumpled to the floor. Hmph, it wasn't as though he killed the idiot; he was immortal—he couldn't die.
He continued his rampage down the hall, intent on wringing the answers he sought from Kagura, if she was currently in the castle. But her scent lingered in the air, coming strongly from her room straight ahead across from his. A smile fleetingly curved his lips at the thought of her close to him—he usually visited her to rant about his stressful problems.
Then she usually kicked him out after slicing his skin with her fans.
Those metal shits were deadly...
Once he arrived about five feet away from the door, however, Meimori stopped dead in his tracks. Another scent was mingled with Kagura's...a scent permeating evil in every diffused atom...
And true to the information his nose processed, a half-dressed Naraku just finished closing the door to his best friend's room. Half-dressed...as in, his pants were loose on his narrow hips and his shirt wasn't buttoned, revealing much of his muscular torso. Crimson eyes met his frigid arctic silver ones, and the cold amusement he encountered froze every single cell in Meimori's body.
The bastard reeked of Kagura...as if they...they had...
Fuck... It couldn't...she couldn't have...h-he...w-what? Naraku slept with Kagura and...? He interrupted his sentence before he could complete it. The insinuation of his thoughts almost led him to a bathroom to heave the contents of his stomach.
"Oh, you're back," Naraku commented casually while buttoning his black pants and matching shirt, smiling politely. The grin on his face grated on Meimori's frazzled and boiling red nerves. "I hope you had a good trip. Though I assume you failed to bring back Inuyasha since—"
SLAM!
"Tell me, Naraku, TELL ME who the fucking hell gave you permission to touch her?! WHO THE FUCK WAS IT?!?!" Meimori rammed the nonchalant demon god still smiling in amusement against the wall once more for good measure, gnarling like a rabid dog possessive of his property.
His hands wrapped around Naraku's neck, hell-bent on severing his head. They were trembling in anxiety; his fingers desired to slip through ligaments and tear open delicate veins. Gods! His lightening silver eyes were wide, crazed and disbelieving, but all he received from his 'ally' was a mere amused smirk.
Amused.
Meimori's body twitched, and his hands slowly retracted back to his sides; all the while, he couldn't take his sight off the monster he had awakened. Naraku finished fixing his shirt and stood to his full height as though the entire incident never occurred. He strolled down the hall like the arrogant god he was and refrained from glancing back.
"Kukuku..."
But Meimori could hear his chuckle from meters away...and it truly haunted him.
Oh shit... The dark-haired immortal suddenly felt weak in the bones and lost the will to stand. He stumbled towards the nearest wall and slid to the floor like a decimated beggar starved from life's necessities. Oh shit... His head ached. His chest tightened. His hands shook. I can't...that bastard...
Naraku had...the vermin had fucked Kagura...had claimed her as his own...on purpose...?
...He did it in order to get back at his new ally-gone-enemy...yes, that was it...
It was revealed in the way Naraku smiled so tauntingly, amused by his accomplice's anguish, his internal lament. He liked to toy with people and watch them suffer before burning out the flame that was their individual life source. Only he, Satan in disguise, could enjoy torturing others for no reason at all...just for his personal delight.
Why did he have to involve her in this...whatever this shit is? Why would she even allow him to—? His thoughts were interrupted when the nearly inaudible creak of a door sounded a few feet ahead, and a feminine figure robed in black stepped out of the room.
Hmph, Kagura only wore black for her battle outfit...
Meimori lifted his gaze enough to catch sight of the wind sorceress, though he remained on the floor, beaten and his inner confidence destroyed. But he did notice a slight difference in his best friend, the same one who understood him...the same one who slept with an ally he now deemed an enemy...
Kagura was naturally graceful—she was a wind sorceress, how could she not be? Her long limbs perfectly balanced her curvaceous body, and her gait was that of a confident, sometimes arrogant demoness who no one wished to mess with. Anytime she walked, it was as though the gods themselves adorned her with clothing worthy of her innate voluptuousness.
However...the Kagura he saw now...hell, just by the way she walked like a powerful ruler, he could tell she changed. Hmph. If he didn't know any better, Meimori would argue that the same amusement he found etched in her beautiful face was a facsimile of Naraku's.
Her lover. Her goddamn lover.
"Well," the demoness began in a soft drawl, a mere purr seemingly carried off by the sudden draft in the hallway, "I suppose you found out the hard way. Tsk tsk." Her eyes were glittering ruby diamonds—impenetrable, solid, unfeeling rock.
She...that bitch didn't care that she basically sided with Naraku instead of her best friend...
And it infuriated Meimori! But what could he do? Besides, why should he care? He desired Rima—he loved Rima and only Rima. Rima, Rima, Rima. Kagura was only there to listen to his ramblings about how wonderful Rima was; surely Kizurei could replace her?
No. Impossible. The truth solely served to further deteriorate the cells keeping his body functioning. He now felt...dead. Who knew he was so possessive of Kagura? Yeah, one day she would have to sleep with someone, or fall in love, or whatever demons did, yet...
...not with Naraku, dammit!
"What is wrong with you?" Meimori demanded, narrowing his eyes, baffled. He gritted his teeth and curled his fingers into quaking fists ready to impale the closest person's gut. "You fucking slept with a brainless monster and all you can say is 'tsk tsk'? What the hell?!"
The charcoal-haired sorceress sighed and took a step closer to her 'friend', but smiled condescendingly, nonetheless. She leaned down to cup his cheek in an act meant to be tender, although it merely chilled Meimori's skin as his complexion grew pallid. "I learned a lesson, is all. You should learn it, too."
He rolled his eyes and slapped her hand away from him. Even touching her, a woman belonging to someone else, caused his skin to crawl as though fleas jumped through his pores. "A lesson...? On what—how to suck Naraku's floppy dick?"
"No, my darling, a lesson on the art of war." Her words were uttered in a husky, near breathless voice that tantalized Meimori before he could stop himself.
He suddenly craved to brush his lips against hers, gently at first, savoring her taste, inhaling her spicy scent radiating off of her luxuriously shining hair doused in black ink and elegant skin. His arousal increased as he thought of exploring her celestial curves, of sliding his rough hands along the smooth, soft surface of her breasts, all the way down to the course curls that would surely lead him to new territory below.
Yet, it would never happen and he willed a certain part of his anatomy to settle.
"Hmph, the art of war...." Meimori chuckled cynically. His eyes gleamed murderously as he smirked and returned his friend's apparent amusement. "So, what should I learn about war?"
At this, Kagura only smiled and said nothing. Meimori thought she wasn't going to respond and walk away, but he was thoroughly surprised when the wind sorceress pressed her silken lips on the base of his left pointed ear, leaving behind her searing mark on his flesh. Immediately his arousal heightened to more intense lengths—he didn't recall being so turned on by Rima in his past life!
"Meimori, listen carefully," Kagura whispered, her voice tinged with fierce sensuality, but she then utilized her talents to form her own potent venom. "In order to kill your opponent, you must strike him in the heart."
And Meimori now acknowledged Naraku as a true expert in the art of war.
Why?
Because his heart was in millions of irreparable shards.
The skies were already bleeding midnight blue as the sun descended and the crescent moon took its place. Crickets were playing their eloquent melodies on their instrumental bodies off in the distance, alerting the ignorant of the oncoming night. Although the scenery in the forest was absolutely breathtaking in the morning and afternoon, at night it became rather frightening.
Trees were bent an angle so that they loomed over others, as though gossiping in the night. Shadows plotted silently in the darkness, always deriding at the object of their mimicry. The glistening bright eyes of owls served to confuse and terrify those who thought a predator was near.
All in all, the forest at night was not the ideal place to rest in.
Yet, it wasn't like Kagome had the time to care.
The miko sighed and blankly stared into the flames of the fire she started an hour ago. She was leaning against a tree with her fiancé's head on her lap as she occasionally rubbed and scratched his ears, hoping it would lull him into a deep sleep away from his agonizing reality. The thought caused her to bite her lip.
He had claimed he was unable to sleep because it hurt so much...
But what happened to the hanyou?
I...I never really imagined anything like that happening to him... It wasn't a situation anyone wished upon a friend...or fiancé. Kagome's chocolate eyes trailed over the hanyou god's back and she winced, immediately removing her gaze. Granted, she couldn't see his injury from underneath his black silk shirt, but... Hell, I can't imagine the kind of pain he must be in.
Pain...pain caused by the fact that those damn voracious beasts had...
...had ripped off any demon god's pride and joy: his wings.
Literally.
They had played with him alright—curiosity won over the phantom beast's mind and it decided to pull off the pretty butterfly's sparkly wings. The hanyou's screams of errant agony...his incessant clawing at the ground...the growls that rumbled in his chest...
Could anyone imagine having their wings ripped off? No, because most people like Kagome were humans and lacked supernatural features. So she didn't know how it felt to be grabbed by a beast and endure having a part of her body—a part attached to her body, for goodness sake, veins included—being mercilessly torn off.
Inuyasha refrained from commenting on it; heck, he hadn't said a word about his wings ever since they escaped from the black abyss. Therefore, Kagome decided to take the lead and set up a camp. From one of her grandfather's rambles, she recalled how to produce a fire without matches—why he taught her it...was not in her bank of knowledge.
Travelling around the forest a little bit led her to a small creek in which she tore scraps of her dress and soaked it in water. Returning to the fire, she heated the strips of drenched cloth and placed them on her fiancé's back in order to soothe his pain as well as disinfect the wound. Well, at least he stopped clawing.
It broke her heart that he felt helpless and desperate enough to relieve his agony by digging into the ground, fisting his hands until his knuckles burst from his skin. Those words...helpless and desperate...didn't fit Inuyasha at all. Never should they be used in the same sentence again—if her fiancé read her mind, he'd bark at her until his throat was raw, shouting to shove her pity down her throat.
Hmph...hopefully he wasn't in that much of a bad mood...
"Inuyasha?" Kagome softly called to the taciturn hanyou on her lap, her hand still gently rubbing his velvet furry ears. One of them twitched along her fingertips and she took it as a sign to continue. "Do you...do you feel like talking?"
What kind of stupid question was that?! But Kagome didn't know what to ask—that was the problem! The intense silence hanging over them like a thick quilt was suffocating! All she heard were crickets and owls hooting; she might as well portray a duck and join their symphony!
Yet...most importantly...the miko merely wanted Inuyasha to rely on her...to know that she was there for him and would accomplish any of his requests. If he hated blue birds, she'd listen to him rant for hours! If he narrated a poem about his love for ramen, she'd sit down and clap afterwards!
His silence, however, was killing her...
Not expressing her feelings verbally was foreign to Kagome. Inuyasha was another case altogether—he wasn't a people person like she was. They were incompatible, truthfully, but they fared well...despite yesterday's brutal altercation... The miko squashed any remnants of the thought before they rooted in her brain again.
Just as she expected, though, there was no response from the hanyou. Despite that he wasn't facing her abdomen—it would be weird because his nose would be shoved up her crotch—Kagome knew he was awake since he twitched every so often as a twinge of pain escalated up his spine. Again, there were twin holes on his back spanning at least two-feet long each; she wouldn't feel like talking, either.
Kagome sighed for the millionth time that night. "Never mind. We should get some rest." Duh, it's late and we're both tired. But for some reason, I just can't sleep. She fathomed she couldn't be at rest until her hanyou was.
Not happening anytime soon, apparently...
"K'gome..." The hoarse whispered reply barely reached her ears, but by some miracle the raven-haired teen heard him and her hand stopped scratching his right ear in surprise. "I'm...sorry."
"Sorry?" Kagome echoed, confused. What in the world would he be sorry for? He had nothing to apologize for! "For what? Getting hurt?" Heh, she could see him apologizing for his weakness...
Inuyasha scoffed as much as he could without expanding his chest, which would only aggravate his back and cause him unnecessary pain. "Maybe, but for worrying you even more."
Did I just hear him correctly? He was concerned over her concerning over him? "You big jerk," the miko huffed teasingly, a relieved smile gracing her haggard face, "you're basically telling me you prefer that I don't care about you. I'm flattered."
"Wench...I know you're dying of worry and anxiety. I can feel it." Right; through their bond, they couldn't hide anything from each other.
Sometimes Kagome loved it, and others, like now, she wished it was dormant again. Ok, so she was a bit worried...and yes, she was about to commit suicide if she couldn't find a way to ease her fiancé's agony...grr!
Why couldn't she sense his good emotions, like happiness or...or...hell, she would be alright feeling his arousal in her very soul, but not his pain! It was torture—she didn't want him to be in so much pain!
Who would?!
"I'm not...I'm just...err...." Ah, who was she kidding?! Inuyasha was right! "Well, don't stress yourself, ok? Just concentrate on healing—only then will I stop worrying."
"..."
Kagome noticed he was hesitant about something else, and she furrowed her eyebrows. At this point, they could tell each other their deepest, darkest secrets...or sexual fantasies—she was definitely sex deprived—and she would listen from the beginning to end. No, more like Inuyasha would finally finish his story from beginning to end.
He seldom did, unfortunately...
"Hey, talk to me, dog boy. I'm here for you..." She trailed a finger down the side of his face and smiled tenderly. "I said this before: I'll always be here for you no matter what I may say." Especially yesterday... No need to think about it; the absence of her engagement ring was enough.
After a while, Inuyasha seemed to relax and allowed tension to seep from his body with a light sigh. He shut his dull amber eyes, accepting her ministrations without cursing at her for once, and mumbled, "I tried...and I failed."
What in the world is he muttering about? Kagome was astounded, so much that her hands acted on their own accord and gently prompted Inuyasha to turn his head—now they were face-to-face. Behind the physical pain he attempted to cloak, she could see he was inwardly agonizing over something completely different...
...but the troublesome topic arose long, long ago.
"I don't get it..." She replied at long last for the sake of uttering something, her chocolate eyes wide.
The hanyou couldn't escape her introspective gaze—she already dissected his mind and left him bare for her to prod again. He mentally sighed; it sounded exactly like his fiancée, the nosy wench.
"I can't..." Inuyasha sucked in a large breath as his back protested against his speech. "I can't stay with you anymore."
Oh. The miko's hand fell limp and her eyes returned to their normal size. She knew what he was referring to: his future kingship and the fact that...well, he was homesick. It was apparent in the way he spent his time in the forest near the academy, the only place he could think in peace and ease his stress surrounded by pure nature.
Inuyasha adapted easily to modern culture and his grades in school were as though he was a normal, intelligent Japanese high school student—the same was with his collegiate brother. But...one's home would always be home and nothing could change it. His birthplace...the dimension he was raised in, the realm he knew from the inside out...
Kagome understood him. He tried to live a new life with her in her home, but he failed to withstand the ultimate test of devotion. Yet, why should he be devoted to her? It wasn't like they were married—at the moment—and they weren't mated or in love, either. So what kept him beside her?
He could have left if the pressure was too high...she wouldn't have stopped him.
But he chose to stay and silence his complaints about the mortal realm.
Again...it only led to how much he sacrificed for her...
"You're a jerk, you know that? I tell you five thousand times a day but it doesn't pass through your thick skull." Kagome shook her head in dismay. All those wasted words! "I'm not forcing you to stay with me. You're a prince—you have your own duties to attend to."
"You seem a bit eager to get rid of me," Inuyasha growled, seriously upset underneath his gruff voice. His fiancée surmised he would have pulled away and recluse himself if he could. "As soon as we find a way around this whole teleportation problem, I'll be leaving the mortal realm for good. Happy now, wench?"
"Asshole! Of course I'm not happy!" She felt like bashing his head in! Why did he feel the need to misinterpret her words and twist them around? Was he so insecure?! "I spent the past six months of my life with you! Do you think that means nothing?!"
"So what?! None of that matters—"
"It does matter! To me at least!"
"Keh! Especially with what happened yesterday?"
Silence hung over them as Kagome drew back in shock once more while Inuyasha smirked cruelly. His expression changed into one of suppressed pain, however, when he slowly used his arms to lift himself off of the miko's lap. Her brows furrowed and her eyes lit on fire.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" She bellowed, but allowed the hanyou to lean on an adjacent tree trunk without offering any aid. His skin was flushed from tolerating his injury and his golden eyes, highlighted by the close flame, glistened with determination.
With a harsh pant and another triumphant smirk, Inuyasha was now facing Kagome, his shoulder leaned against the tree behind him as his opposite arm steadied him. He was overwrought with pain, but was he admitting it? He didn't have to; his fiancée already acknowledged it, though huffed in his arrogant face.
"Look, I'm sorry, ok?" Kagome gazed at the hanyou, her eyes searching his now guarded face for any signs of annoyance or anger. She chewed the inside of her lip nervously before continuing, "I was harsh yesterday. I said a lot of...crap—I meant none of it! I-I'm...I'm not breaking up with you...I don't want to."
"Why?"
She had anticipated a round of vituperations, a laugh in the face, or even for the unicorn in her past dream to come and carry him away. But she hadn't prepared for the solemn whisper choked from his lips...the raw confusion and despair warring behind his golden eyes. His left hand's fingers, which clung to the tree trunk for support, clawed into the rough bark as he growled at himself for sounding so broken and weak.
Kagome, astonished for the third time now, gulped unsteadily. "Well, we're e-engaged—"
"Don't feed me that fucking bullshit, Kagome!" Inuyasha snarled, his dominant fury causing the miko to flinch. His lips curled to reveal his fangs and his fingers permanently scarred the tree supporting him. "Our arranged marriage was just a bunch of crap to unite us and 'awaken' to our full potential. There's no longer any obligation to marry each other."
He can't be saying that...? Her body went numb as her mind blanked. If she heard correctly, he was practically telling her he didn't want to marry her and they hardly meant anything to each other. Like hell! Was this some test? Was he expecting a specific answer from her, or for her to defend her position in this situation?
No...
He thought she would be overjoyed. He thought she craved to cast him aside and resume her 'normal' life only worrying about her grades, scholarship, and prissy friends. Without him in her life, she would be safe from his enemies, ignorant of whatever hidden powers she possessed, and oblivious to the existence of immortals.
But...she couldn't just forget the events of the past six months. How could she?!
How she first saw him, so angel-like, meditating over a lake, appearing so peaceful and beautiful, radiating power in the whirlwind of red and gold that had surrounded him...
How Sesshoumaru and Rin turned out to be their mystery roommates and constantly bickered, yet made-up soon afterwards...or just plain made-out...but they always offered their support, even the dog demon grudgingly did...
How she first brushed her lips against her hanyou's affectionately...and hugged him after his terrible dream...when she stated that she would always be there for him...worried for him the night he was ill in Portugal...
How they clung to each other the day after their battle with Meimori, seeking the other's comfort, vowing to stay by the other's side until the end of tomorrow...the end of the future they travelled from...
No, Kagome couldn't forget those times. She wouldn't. She refused to!
And no one, not even Inuyasha, not even the freakin' gods watching over her, could force her to forget memories she held dear in her heart! No one could expect her to abandon the first person she truly cared for, felt committed to—hell, was bonded to, just because they both made mistakes in the past!
She swore to never let him leave her again...it was a promise she wouldn't break.
"What do you want from me, Inuyasha?" Kagome chose to ask instead, fisting her hands by her side before narrowing her gaze and lifting her chin proudly. The hanyou's earlier determination was etched in her expression. "Just say once and for all what you want from me."
He mused if it was a trick question and blinked rapidly. "Are you trying to change the subject?" The demon god scowled prior to chuckling without mirth. "Not happening, wench."
"Answer my question."
"Um...how about no."
"Answer it!"
She was serious—that much Inuyasha could tell straight away. He gritted his teeth and wondered how he instigated this pointless conversation in the first place. Pain was wracking every cell in his body; he had no time for this! I was better off keeping my big mouth shut.
"Well, what should I say?" He answered indifferently, pretending this conversation wasn't extracting a hefty toll on his sanity and pain tolerance. "That I freakin' love you and I want to run off together in the moonlight? That I hate you but I still want to fuck you senseless? That we should have quintuplets while I gamble for ramen?"
Kagome ignored his last statement for now—the student who asked such a stupid question was still alive and it greatly bothered her... Even so, she couldn't deny that his words frayed the delicate knitting of her mind's protective shield and allowed for serious internal damage. Perhaps they should both stop talking and spare the other the grief.
No...she needed to force him to understand her...
"Look, just tell me what you're thinking in your little pea-sized brain. Don't tell me you're a prince and you have to fight a war, or that we no longer have to get married by other people's standards. I only want to know what you want."
"I..." Truthfully, Inuyasha was caught off guard because it was a question he never asked himself before. "Shit, wench, I don't fucking know, alright? I don't know."
"Take your time and think about it since we're not going anywhere tonight."
Fine! Therefore, the hanyou looked inside his mind and thought to six months ago, back to how he had met Kagome. When he read his mother's journal and noted her request of him, he thought of nothing else but finding his fiancée and marrying her. But it wasn't due to his own desire to find a wife—he was driven by his love for the only woman who cared for him: his mother.
If he was honest with himself, he didn't truly hate Meimori, Kizurei, or even Seiryuu—he was just influenced by what he was supposed to feel over them. His kingdom hardly mattered to him, yet it was his mother's domain and he was her legacy; to abandon it would be to abandon his inheritance from her.
And had Naraku not declared war, he wouldn't have cared much about the bastard.
Inuyasha sighed once all these thoughts infiltrated his mind. So then, where did Kagome play a role in the chaos? He attempted to categorize her in his thoughts, but it was increasingly difficult. Gods, he loathed introspection more than anything right about now...
At first, he disliked her. All he had seen in front of him was a conceited wench with nothing on her mind but her studies and her normal mortal life. Yet, then he came to know her a little better and noted her kindness and compassion...especially towards him, a half-breed. Once he discovered their Bond of Mates, he was overcome by a sense of belonging...he belonged beside her.
Furthermore, the fact that Kagome could cry for him so easily...touched his heart, warmed it. She was an emotional person by nature, yet each time she worried over him never ceased to amaze him. Heh, his lips almost curved into a smile just pondering it.
So...he didn't hate her.
Though, he tried thinking of how his life was like prior to meeting Kagome, and Inuyasha immediately shook his head in defeat. The miko was his match in almost everything: arguing, stubbornness...even raw energy. For her to suddenly disappear would mean that a part of himself would disintegrate...and the half-immortal wished to prevent it.
He already lost his wings—what else did he need to lose?
"Well?" Kagome sat in silence waiting for her 'fiancé' to finish mulling over something or the other with her arms crossed expectantly. "Are you done?"
While she had waited, she watched the flurry of emotions crossing the hanyou's vibrant eyes, each one holding its own immeasurable intensity. It relieved her that he was taking her question seriously and she mentally grinned. At last they were progressing beyond pointless bickering!
He does care... Somewhat, at least.
Inuyasha growled low in his throat. What an impatient bitch... "I still don't know crap, alright?" A grimace crossed his face, but he ignored the stinging of his back wounds.
"Since you don't know how to think for yourself, I'll help you. Do you want to marry me, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, her voice betraying sarcasm or anything that would entail she was joking. Unfortunately for the hanyou in front of her, she wasn't. "Just answer me."
Fuck...she really isn't kidding... Oh gods...how the hell was he supposed to respond?! No, I have to find my own answer this time. He disregarded the teen's presence and ignored his doubting thoughts evilly whispering the words she expected to slip from his mouth.
For once, Inuyasha deeply pondered the question of marrying Higurashi Kagome not because their parents arranged their marriage, but because of his own free will. He imagined a life with her always by his side, of them living in the immortal realm. In his introspective escapade, the miko was smiling up at him in pure content, standing before a beautiful field of wildflowers that littered the courtyards of his palace in the Eastern Lands as the cool breeze swept her long locks of hair behind her taut shoulders.
Pictures of her acting as his queen, attending to important meeting along side him, re-decorating their bedroom chambers to her liking then sprung in his mind, and the corners of his lips twitched upwards.
Kagome would definitely occupy her time by re-decorating...
And soon they would finally consummate their relationship... He would explore what he dared not to touch before...revel in her moans of pleasure elicited by him and only him while allowing his body and soul to unite with hers in an ultimate act of love...
The thought was quite pleasing, actually. He didn't recoil or suppress it as usual; rather, Inuyasha welcomed it, lost himself in a vision of him pressing his nose against her silky raven hair dampened by sweat... Soon he pictured how it would feel like to reach her smoldering core and leave his mark there, his seed, his children...
Children! Shit! The hanyou's eyes snapped opened—when he had closed them, who knew—and he blinked prior to furrowing his brows. He took a good look at the woman sitting across from him and envisioned their children... Hmph, they would be stubborn hellions, for certain.
Their eyes could be a vibrant shade of gold...or a soft meld of chocolate. Their hair could glisten like a thousand silver diamonds in the sun...or shine like the feathers of a graceful raven bird in the moonlight. Either way, any child they produced in the future was already beautiful in his mind's eye—Inuyasha could ask for nothing more or less.
Yet...was Kagome thinking about their future like he was? Would she even—grr! His answer wouldn't be influenced by doubts! No more doubts, dammit! They were enemies he needed to conquer, and like hell he was about to lose the battle! Keh!
Bastards...
So, what was his final answer, which he would not change until the day he died? Hopefully he wouldn't die any time soon...
"Miss Sorcerer Wench Kagome," Inuyasha smirked at the indignant glare he was shot by the disgruntled miko before continuing in a softer, somewhat amused tone of voice, "I..." Come on, it wasn't too hard to say... "I don't want to marry you."
Err...was he brain dead or something? Amusement and a refusal didn't belong together unless the person uniting them was a sadistic asshole. Then again, Inuyasha might fit the description perfectly.
Kagome was at loss for words. What were words again? She couldn't comprehend their definition.
Heh, she didn't know what she expected him to say—perhaps it was human instinct to think someone would utter a good, positive reply even though it was quite improbable. Well, it's not the end of the world, right? I mean, I'm only eighteen...I have a lot of time to move on. Yeah, sure.
And this was coming from the miko who vowed never to lose the hanyou again...
...she wouldn't be losing him if they remained friends, though...
"Oh..." It was all she could say at the moment. Kagome's eyes flickered from side to side trying to find something to focus on that wasn't a handsome face barring her from rational thought. Funny, she wasn't crying like a hapless, emotional teenager yet. Shock was her current savior, she supposed. "Um..."
Now what? I guess we're just friends...like before. Friends. Kagome and Inuyasha were just friends. Somehow, it sounded wrong and it left the miko feeling awkward. She never deemed the hanyou to be her friend—he was her fiancé. He was the haughty jerk she was going to marry...um...not anymore, allegedly...
Still...the word friend...was not her favorite word. Nope.
So...if she didn't want them to be friends, shouldn't she at least try to change his mind? Outweighing the cons of marrying her with the pros could help... Wait—did she want to marry Inuyasha? Was that it? Was that why her heart constricted, shock numbed her nerves, and her brain barely registered anything else other than every fiber forming him?
It made sense...she wished to marry Inuyasha, even though she had utterly refused to before. He was nothing but a hot-headed hanyou god who sacrificed too much for his own good...and yet, she could think of no other person to marry. Certainly not Houjo, anyway—she might as well consider a dense, gaping fish for a husband.
At least the fish had the potential of being her wedding dinner...
"Hey, wench," Kagome gasped when a tentative hand brushed against her cheek, and her eyes lifted to stare into the eyes of a gorgeous hanyou god too close for comfort. Whoah...when had he ever touched her cheek?! "Quit jumping to conclusions! You always say you'd listen to me but you never do!"
"Huh?" The raven-haired teen was beyond confused—she ascended to a whole new level of befuddlement. And was there a reason why Inuyasha was within kissing distance? Her senses were highly aware of the fact that his lips were a hairsbreadth away from hers... "What are you doing back here? Aren't you in so much pain you can't move?"
"I'm not that weak, idiot," he growled in response, rolling his eyes at her absurdity. "No more changing the subject! Geez, talking to you is like giving a speech to Rin about the consequences of hitting Sesshoumaru with her damn Skillet of Doom!"
True...Inuyasha and Kagome attempted to 'educate' the younger teen once, alerting her to her fiancé's deteriorated brain cells and the possibility of him transforming into a pumpkin. Rin had merely grinned and said she loved pumpkins because they complemented the sweet honey taste of Winnie the Pooh.
Needless to say, Sesshoumaru hid in the school library for the ensuing hours.
Back to the matter at hand...Rin was too scary to think about sometimes...
"Fine, dog boy. What were you saying?" Even though Kagome already heard enough coming from his delectable mouth... Could they be friends with benefits at least? Gods, the thought of another bitch coming along and 'de-virginizing' Inuyasha caused her heart to tremble in fury.
Grr, his innocence was hers!
Um...whoah...calm down...
Inuyasha seemed to be contemplating a theory thoroughly before verbalizing it, but the fact that he was staring at the miko with heated molten eyes unnerved her. She gulped and tried to press deeper into the tree trunk behind her, if only to escape his inspective gaze, but obviously her attempts were futile.
"You asked me if I wanted to marry you..." He began in a low, husky whisper, although Kagome denied it was husky, "I thought about it and said no. Aren't you wondering why?"
Could he read her mind? He was telepathic, she swore it! "I-I...uhh...y-yeah?" Their narrow proximity was melting her brain...
"Wench..." The glow of his lightly tanned skin, a far cry from its former pallid color, combined with the amused, carefree glint in his amber eyes caused Kagome to lose all rational thought process.
His face...his cheeks looked so warm...so soft to touch...so smooth... She couldn't stop herself when her right hand moved to test the surface of his cheek, his forehead...his bottom lip...
And he only watched her, keeping to himself, neither encouraging nor halting... It was as though by forcing him to introspect, he unlocked a part of his unconscious that he had suppressed in fear of being rejected. This was probably the only moment in his lifetime that he would be out of character—no smart remarks, no arguing, no scowling...
"Kagome, I don't want to marry you," Inuyasha repeated in a soft voice, but the teen was barely listening to the statement she already heard prior, "because that's only by human standards in your realm. Call me insane, wench, but I want you to be my mate instead."
What...? Kagome now knew one little fact about her hanyou: he was unpredictable. Err... She hadn't expected that coming from him... Maybe I should make him think more often. "Um...does that mean I get my ring back?"
"You can have whatever you want, wench."
"-gasp- Then can you call me 'Kagome' now?!" The miko's eyes sparkled in delight. It would be amazing to hear her name rolling off his lips more often!
Inuyasha shook his head. "Nah, I'm not that nice."
Kagome sighed in defeat, but smiled nonetheless. "And to think I'm saying yes to your proposal, anyway... You should call me the insane one."
"Don't worry—I already do."
"Jerk."
"Wench."
"Insane jerk."
"Insane wench."
"Asshole."
"Bitch...my bitch."
And despite their pointless name calling session, Kagome couldn't help erupting into a fit of laughter. She was at a moment in her life in which she was happy...this was true happiness! No one could understand how she felt unless he or she was with their significant other... Heck, she didn't understand it completely, either.
Oh well.
Somehow...in the back of her mind...she knew her happiness wouldn't last forever.
A/N: END! I don't feel like ranting anymore, I ranted too much already...
Next chapter: Kagome and Inuyasha are still in the unknown...you'll know more about their situation next chappie. And Sessh still needs to figure out what to do about Rin's proposal...
So...when will Kagome be mated to Inuyasha? Will Meimori ever find out what Naraku really did to Kagura and why she's so evil now? When's Yuka coming in? When's Kagome's happiness going to run out? Will Inuyasha's wings grow back?
I hope so...
REVIEW! Cuz I'm miserable and sick...
