Thank you for those encouraging reviews. I am glad you guys liked the plot. So without further ado, I would like to present to you the second chapter of Forbidden love.
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. It's Rumiko Takahashi's.
Exchanging pleasantries
"Is she for real?"
"Can humans really see us?"
"Wouldn't that be just wonderful?"
The voices continued to ring in her ears in the form of muffled whispers. Two brows furrowed before her lids fluttered open and a beam of light bombarded her eyes, almost blinding her. Involuntarily squinting her eyes to adjust to the sudden burst of light, Kagome rubbed them gently until her vision became normal and her pupils adjusted to the surroundings.
'Green,' she mused.
Kagome continued to stare at the green depths until the figure blinked and she shot up with a yelp. The figure which was looming all over her exclaimed in surprise and zipped past her and hid behind another presence.
The raven haired girl clutched her chest in fear and took deep breaths when a sweet voice fell on her ears.
"I told you looming over the lady wasn't very polite, Shippo."
"I am sorry."
While the two of them were busy in their own little conversion, Kagome took the opportunity to take a look at her companions.
Much to her surprise, both of them appeared to be children who couldn't have been more than ten years old. One of them was a girl dressed in an orange yukata with yellow floral prints. She had waist length jet black hair and had part of her hair up in a ponytail dangling from the side. When she turned at her, Kagome found herself drowning in her deep brown orbs.
"You are awake, miss!" the little girl exclaimed with delight.
"Y-yes," Kagome stammered and cringed when the other girl gasped and her eyes shimmered with mirth.
Quickly turning to the other occupant in the room, she chirped excitedly, "Shippo did you see that? The lady replied to us!"
At the mention of the name, Kagome tore her gaze from the girl to the other 'child'.
'Is that a tail!?' Kagome bit her tongue to stop herself from voicing that out loud. The 'child' who she assumed to be Shippo looked at her with equal excitement before his expression was quickly replaced by a saddened one.
"I guess she doesn't like me, Rin." Shippo murmured with a long face and Kagome felt her chest tighten at that.
"It's not that," she immediately denied with a soft voice. "I was a bit surprised, that's all."
The shine which was lost from his eyes quickly returned and a wide smile adorned his face.
"Really, lady?" Shippo asked eagerly.
Kagome found herself smiling at his innocence and nodded.
"Call me Kagome," she said warmly and bent to their level, offering her hand for a shake.
The two stared at it and then at each other with mild confusion before both settled to hold two fingers of their choice.
"I am Shippo."
"Rin is Rin."
Kagome giggled at the two when she finally realized that the room looked foreign to her.
It was of moderate size with a wooden floor and ceiling. The architecture appeared to be unique and old fashioned, and the room was isolated by a shoji door.
A large painting hung from a nearby wall and a large futon was sprawled out at one corner of the room. The room was lit by a beautifully designed paper lantern that hung from the ceiling. The light that seeped out was soothing to the eyes and gave the room a blissful atmosphere. Despite of the presence of a window or any other opening, the room appeared to be rather cool and was far from being suffocative. A pleasant floral fragnance hit her nose when Kagome took in a deep breath and her eyes landed on an incense burner that was emanating a light smoke, not too far away.
"This place is so…heavenly. Where am I?" Kagome mused out loud.
"You are at the Shinjo Shrine." Rin offered and Shippo crossed his arms and nodded with a serious face.
"Shinjo Shrine? I remember walking by when my shopping bags tore and I heard a voice…" Kagome held her chin and furrowed her brows in deep thought while she tried to recall the past events.
"What are you doing up there? You can have a rough fall, punk." Kagome commented with a confused expression and continued to stare at the male dressed in red robes with striking silver hair. For someone stuck at such a height, he appeared to be rather comfortable.
The smug look on his face was quickly replaced by a shocked façade.
"Y-you can see me?" he asked, dumbfounded.
Kagome rose a single brow at his question and then sighed dramatically. "Oh I see what is going on. Well mister, don't you think it's a bit early to get wasted?"
"Keh!" he grunted and materialized before the brunette.
The thought of the silver haired male made the raven haired maiden gasp and her blue orbs widened in surprise.
"Th-That guy…he-he…" Kagome's voice caught in her throat when she recalled how he had appeared before her within a blink of an eye from that tall monument.
Seeing the colour slowly drain away from the face of their new friend, Rin and Shippo exchanged worried glances before Rin decided to slowly approach the troubled female.
Placing her hand on her knee, she asked gently, "Are you alright, Kagome sama?"
"Rin, that guy! He had strange silver hair! He jumps down from heights as if he is climbing down a flight of stairs," Kagome cried out with a pale face.
Quickly taking her small hand in hers, Kagome murmured with a squeaky voice, "I saw a ghost!"
After Kagome announced her deduction about the 'mysterious silver haired male', Shippo burst out into laughter and started to roll on the floor while tightly clutching his stomach.
"A ghost!" Shippo exclaimed in between his chuckles. "I bet Inuyasha is going to love this."
"Shippo! Don't you dare mock Inuyasha sama," Rin scolded before shooting him a disapproving glare.
Shippo immediately shrunk away under her intense gaze and quickly murmured another apology.
Kagome watched the two in mild amazement and patiently waited for Rin to turn at her and commence the explanation. Thankfully, she didn't have to wait for long.
"Kagome sama, don't be scared." Rin pleaded with an innocent look. "Inuyasha sama is not a ghost."
"Inuyasha sama?"
"Yes. That is his name," she explained. "Instead, he is the shrine God and we are the shrine keepers."
Kagome's jaw dropped in surprise and she stared back at the girl with wide eyes. "Shrine God?" she repeated and Rin nodded her head fervently.
"He was the one who brought you here and 'politely' asked us to look after you until you woke up. Apparently, you had fainted." Shippo piped in.
Kagome blushed at that comment and silently cursed her weak heart.
'Note to self: Do not faint the next time you stumble upon a God.' Kagome mused hurriedly.
She was brought to reality by Rin's next words.
"Rin is very happy that Kagome sama can actually see us. Many people visit the shrine but they leave as soon as they say their prayers. No matter how much we try, they just don't notice us at all. Inuyasha sama always tells us that our attempts are futile for we are invisible to the human world but we keep on trying. It is really sad to be not noticed. We have no play mates nor do we have anyone to talk to but ourselves. Life gets monotonous after a while."
Kagome felt her heart reach out to the girl before her and strangely their sorrows were having a strong effect on her. She was already missing Rin's sweet smile.
"You have me now," Kagome offered with a wink to try to cheer her up.
Her attempt paid off when her face brightened again and Kagome engulfed her in a warm embrace.
"I am here too you know," Shippo grumbled while he pretended to kick an imaginary pebble on the ground.
Kagome giggled and opened her right arm, inviting the other child to also savor the moment.
Shippo was more than happy to oblige.
Unbeknownst to the trio, another pair of eyes also took in the entire scene with a softened gaze.
"That's enough sugar for the day," the figure muttered to itself before walking out with long strides.
"Now let's go meet the God," Kagome announced after releasing the young ones from the embrace.
Another chapter done. Please don't forget to review, okay?