Chapter 5 - Facing Fear Head On
Kagome followed silently behind Kiara, dreading the moment that she would have to face Sesshomaru. "Kiara, can't this wait? I really don't feel up to facing Sesshomaru right now."
"I'm sorry Kagome-chan, you have no choice. Sesshomaru-sama has requested that you join him for lunch," Kiara answered apologetically.
"Well… you can turn down requests… can't you?" Kagome wheedled.
"Actually, it wasn't so much a request as an order. I'm sorry Kagome-chan, you will have to go. It is not within my power to change that."
"You could at least try."
"Sesshomaru-same was already a little annoyed that you kept him waiting for so long, postponing this would only anger him further."
Chastened, Kagome accepted her fate and wordlessly followed the demoness.
"Here we are," Kiara said, stopping in front of huge oak doors decorated with twin dragons that spiralled about the edges of the door and bared their fangs at each other. Opening the door, Kiara gestured for Kagome to enter.
Kagome gave Kiara an uncertain look before slowly stepping into the large room. Her eyes widened as the door closed behind her. The dining room was enormous. Several closed doors spotted the walls, each guarded by two glinting suits of armour. Ornate paintings were evenly spaced around the room depicting everything from battle scenes to what must be Sesshomaru's parents. Kagome made a mental note to come back one day and examine each painting. In the centre of the room stood a massive, polished dining table that filled the room and looked like it could seat at least a hundred people.
At the head of the table sat Sesshomaru, eying her stoically. Beside him, sat a human child, she looked about five years old, with big, brown eyes and a cute ponytail protruding from the side of her head.
"Sit," commanded a cold voice.
Kagome stumbled and almost fell in her haste to sit down. She scurried to the table and pulled out the closest chair and promptly plopped into it. She was seated directly in front of the silver-haired demon.
Kagome stared down at her hands. Her empty stomach grumbled in protest at the lack of food on the table. 'Oh no!' she thought, 'I'm doomed!'
Kagome kept her head down but peeked up at Sesshomaru. He was staring at her through impassive golden orbs. Averting her gaze, Kagome saw that the little girl was also watching her but with obvious curiosity and wonder.
Just as Kagome was about to continue studying her hands, the little girl spoke up, breaking the uncomfortable silence, "What is pretty lady's name?"
Kagome looked up, surprised, "My name is Kagome. What is your name?" Kagome responded, loud enough for the girl to be able to hear her from across the room.
"Rin's name is Rin," the girl answered enthusiastically, glad that she had made a new friend. "Kagome-chan is pretty."
"Thank you Rin-chan. I think you're cute too," Kagome replied smiling kindly.
Rin beamed, and then frowned a little. "Why is Kagome-chan sitting so far away from Rin? Does she not like Rin?"
"No! I mean, I do like you Rin-chan. It's just that…" Kagome paused for a moment, then glancing at Sesshomaru, considered what to say. Choosing her words carefully, she said, "I didn't know if you liked me or not, so I thought that if you did, you would tell me and then I could move closer."
"Oh," Rin's toothy grin reappeared. "Rin likes Kagome-chan. So she can sit in front of Rin."
"…Thank you Rin-chan," Kagome reluctantly got up and made her way to where Rin had instructed her to sit. The entire way her mind working furiously to come up with an excuse to not sit so close to such a deadly demon. Coming up blank, she braced herself for impact and sat down in front of Rin.
Inu Yasha lounged desolately on his favourite perch in Goshinboku.
Feeling a pull, he went to the Bone Eaters Well. Instead of jumping in as Inu Yasha usually did when Kagome was away, he perched on a branch in a nearby tree. He watched the sun shine brightly down on the lifeless well as if expecting to see the mystical blue light emit from it. He longed to hear Kagome's frantic: "Oh no! I'm late!" to see her throw her overstuffed backpack over the edge, to hear her lose her balance and to hear her fall. He longed to take her hand, help her out of the well, hear her musical voice calling his name, and to hold her close.
Smiling to himself, Inu Yasha absentmindedly leapt down from the tree, walked over to the well and peered in. Irrationally, he expected to see her standing impatiently at the bottom waiting for him.
She wasn't there, of course. She wasn't waiting for him. She wasn't just behind a tree spying on him. She wasn't by his side. She wasn't with him. She wasn't in her time. She wasn't anywhere near him. She wasn't safe. No, she was with his bastard brother. She was in danger.
'This is all my fault, I allowed her to be taken. I went off with Kikyo and when she saw me, she ran. She almost died because I chose Kikyo over her… I failed her… it's my duty to save her and …apologize.'
The words 'she almost died' echoed back and forth in Inu Yasha's head. "She almost died, because of me," Inu Yasha said aloud. "Now she's as good as dead with Sesshomaru."
His face contorted in anguish. The well seemed to sense his presence and the floor came alive with the familiar blue light. Through the dancing cerulean, Inu Yasha could see the roof of the well house in Kagome's time. The blue light remained, coaxing him to jump in, but he remained glued to the side of the well, staring brokenly 500 years into the future.
For the first time since he had met Kagome, Inu Yasha felt the weight of loneliness and helplessness bearing down on him, threatening to crush him.
A/N) I know, I know, Rin is eight in the TV series and she doesn't talk like that, but for this plot line, she needs to be young enough to still be curious and unaware of possible danger. The talking is just a reminder that she's young and foolish :)
Also for those of you who are unaware, Goshinboku is the Sacred Tree, or God Tree if u will that Inu Yasha was pinned to when Kagome found him.
And for those who read the old version of this, you may notice this is a lot shorter, I want to eliminate characters arguing with themselves in their heads, it's kind of... unrealistic, AND i made inu a little less emotional to keep him in character (: yes yes i know, you're welcome. :P
Review please! :)