Hello my lovelies! I know I say this every time, but this chapter has really taken a long time to finnaly reach your eyes, I am so sorry to keep you waiting. It has been a tough year and life is kicking my butt. At least I got to publish an update before the end of the year and give you something for Christmas, as a thank you for your patience and for your kind words. Every new review leaves me wanting to give you more and more, sadly it takes some time.
I hope you enjoy this chapter, it doesn´t have any smut, I had to leave it for the next chapter so I could finally post this one before the end of 2018, but there is some heart warming fluff to make up, hopefully.
DISCLAIMER: I don´t own any of the charachters of Inuyasha, they belong to the very talented Rumiko Takahashi.
CHAPTER 12: Family Bonds
"Well, do you love him or not?"
Kikyo paced her father´s office nervously, a manicured fingernail stuck between her pearly white teeth.
"That´s not the point father. I´m not even sure I ever fell in love with him. I just accepted your suggestion, he was kind to me and I was so lonely."
The doctor got up from his chair behind his desk and walked to her, his movements smooth and calmed as if he was approaching a spooked animal.
"Then why does it bother you that he´s moving on?"
She froze midstep, a look of bewilderment crossing her features.
"It should be me, father! I should be the one moving on and falling in love."
"So, you believe he´s in love?" Onigumo´s interest was spiked.
" I don´t care about him!" She sat down and looked at her father in the eyes, contempt evident in their brown depths. " He keeps saying that he´s willing to marry me, that we could still try to have a normal life." Kikyo sighed and covered her face with her hands, her fingers rubbing at nonexisting tears. "As if I could ever go back to normal. And it´s all his fault! I will never let him be happy if I can not be happy."
Onigumo crossed the small distance between them and place a bony hand on Kikyo´s shoulder.
"I believe I have let you try to solve this on your own and you have been suffering too long. Maybe it is time we pay a visit to Dr. Suikotsu."
"Father, I think you have too much faith in this doctor, he´s not even a psychologist!"
"Well, he did an outstanding job at the hospital, plus he´s had an excellent record with nervous patients before."
Onigumo didn´t need to tell his daughter the method preferred by Suikootsu, or what kind of hospital he had been running. He just needed her relaxed and accommodating, at least while he took care of Inuyasha.
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His nose kept twitching at the sanitized environment, trying desperately to follow a scent that wasn´t there.
One step at a time, he approached the figure in the bed, the sounds of the machines attached to the fragile body piercing his sensitive years.
"Inuyasha..."
The soft, quivering sound, though weaker than ever before, was unmistakably his mother´s voice. And yet, the frail shell her body had become, didn´t seem to belong to his mother. Inuyasha couldn´t move from his spot.
"My boy, you came to see me."
The pale figure connected to the noisy instruments extended her shaking hand and the little boy was compelled to her side. Very gently, plump, little, clawed fingers wrapped around a bony pale hand and the young hanyo started to sob softly, his hot tears trickling down his chubby childish face.
"Mommy! I missed you so much."
"Shhh, don´t cry my child. Everything will be fine."
"But mommy I want you to come home with me."
"Everything will be fine."
"Mommy?"
"Everything will be fine."
The flicker of a sunbeam hit his eye and Inuyasha woke with a startle.
"Where am I?" From his position on the couch, his eyes recognized the ceiling of a hospital room, the last memory of his mother fading slowly in his mind eye.
"Mother." The unpolluted atmosphere must have triggered memories he hadn´t visited in years.
A sigh escaped his lips as he felt a heavy knot begin forming in his throat and he lifted a hand to soothe the feeling. He couldn´t move though, something warm was currently snuggled on his chest. The hanyo lifted his head and tried to make out the soft form under the mass of dark, tangled hair.
"Kagome."
He remembered now how he had gotten himself in this position. After taking Kagome to the hospital and seeing that her grandpa´s situation had been solved, Kagome decided to stay the night with her grandpa to check that he was really fine and he had just stayed with her for a while. They had been sitting on this couch, sharing some instant ramen, spending some time together and hearing stories of the old man´s life. He didn´t want to go home and leave her alone, he was going to stay for a while only.
Inuyasha brushed her rebel tresses with his claws, softly and carefully, the warm feeling in his chest threatening to make his heart explode. It felt so right to have her in his arms like this, as if she belonged there, with him. It was easy to imagine but would he ever be free to claim her as his? And would she take him as hers? He couldn´t possibly know, but as long as she didn´t wake up, he could pretend it was true.
Leaning his head to the side he could get a better view of her profile. Sooty eyelashes spreading in a crescent above her pale skin, the cute button nose and the provocative line of her cherry lips. Unable to resist the urge to touch her, he extended his hand and traced her chin with his thumb, continuing up the apple of her cheeks and putting a strand of hair behind the delicate shell of her ear.
"Kagome." He was unable to refrain from whispering her name, it felt oh so sweet on his tongue when he finally did.
As if she had been on a trance and his calling her name had brought her out of it, the young woman slowly lifted her head from his chest and blinked in confusion, her eyes tracing an invisible line up his face, finally settling on his eyes.
"Inuyasha."
He hadn´t moved his hand from her face and now he was cupping her cheek, his thumb idly caressing it. Kagome was transfixed by the warm glow of his eyes, the fire in its depths warming the coldest corners of her soul. Even if she had been able, she lacked the will to move, Kagome felt at home right there in his arms.
"Kami, he´s so gorgeous!" Was the first thought that came to her mind. The early morning sun reflected in his irises highlighting the gold in them. And he was looking at her like she was the most interesting thing in the world.
Kagome wanted him to kiss her, better yet she wanted to kiss him so badly. In spite of all the problems she needed to take care of, all her fears and bad experiences, at the moment she just wanted to leave all that behind and smash her lips against his.
Inuyasha was lost in her warm dark eyes, without noticing it he was leaning forward, his nose only a breath apart from hers.
"Inuyasha..."
Her soft voice speaking his name brought him back to the present.
"I can´t...we shouldn´t." Her voice sounded so weak, not really convincing him to let go.
Just as he felt the warmth of her hand over the one that was on her cheek, his forehead made contact with hers and he closed his eyes, letting her rousing scent fill his lungs and soothe his racing heart.
"I know..." He slowly exhaled the air warming her cheek in the process. "...we shouldn´t."
"YOUKAI!" The rough scream almost knocked them both off the couch, their bodies shrinking into the couch, Inuyasha´s years flattening on top of his head.
"Let go of my granddaughter." The voice demanded.
It took Kagome a few seconds to realize her gramps was awake and was upset to find a half demon in his room.
"Kagome, hand me my spirit wards!"
The girl promptly got up and tried to calm the old man.
"I´ll go find some breakfast." Inuyasha excused himself, suddenly feeling like a young boy caught red-handed with his first girlfriend.
Just as Kagome had managed to settle her grandfather down, her mother entered the room looking well rested and smiling.
"Good morning father, I see your spirits are up again. Did he let you sleep at all Kagome?"
"Oh he slept like a baby, he just woke up and he was surprised to see Inuyasha, that´s all."
"I tell you, my ofudas will keep him at bay."
"Grandpa, be quiet. Inuyasha is not dangerous. He´s my boss!"
Nodding his head while examining his granddaughter, the old man finally accepted she had not been attacked and settled down.
"Your boss is still around?" Mrs. Higurashi inquired, finding it a little odd that her daughter´s boss had been so kind to her the day before to the point of staying the night and following morning " Are you sure there´s nothing you need to tell me, dear?"
A light shade of pink started spreading from her neck upwards forcing Kagome to turn her face away from her mother in order to hide it.
"I don´t know what you mean mama, I still have a fiancé, remember?" It felt so wrong lying to her mother. Still, Kagome didn´t want to tell her mother the details of her relationship with Inuyasha.
"Ah, yes. How is Hojo doing these days?" The older woman knew there was something Kagome wasn´t telling her, she only wanted her daughter to open up by herself.
"Well, he has been...busy. But we are going out tonight, as usual." It wasn´t a lie. She was seeing Hojo tonight and she would gather the will to end their almost nonexisting relationship.
"So, you are going on a date tonight?"
Inuyasha froze at the door, "Did I hear right? Is she really dating someone tonight?"
"Oh, Mr. Taisho, come in." Mrs. Higurashi turned her face to greet Inuyasha and missed the expression on Kagome´s face when she heard the hanyo was standing there. " How nice of you to stay with my daughter. And you brought her coffee too."
The half-demon tried to suppress his bewilderment, he wanted to know more, but now was hardly the time or place to interrogate Kagome.
"Actually, this one is for you. I have to leave now." He handed the styrofoam cups to the older woman and left without saying another word.
Kagome wanted to run after him, ask him if he was fine or if he heard what her mother said. She should explain her situation to Inuyasha, she knew as much, the mere thought of baring herself to him petrified her.
An audible sigh escaped Kagome´slips and her mother turned her full attention to her.
"Are you alright sweetheart?"
"Umm, yes mama. I´m fine." Still unable to confront her own feelings, she didn´t want to burden her mother as well. "I´m just tired, that´s all."
"Well, you should go home now and rest. You need to be fine tonight for your date."
"Yes, my date." She swallowed a lump in her throat, another thing to dread adding to her list.
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Ding-dong
The sound echoed in the walls of the vast hall as Inuyasha impatiently rang the bell for the third time when the oak door was finally opened.
"Ah, master Inuyasha, I should have known it was you."
With his hand still on the doorknob, a small old man stepped aside and bow his head as he let the silver-haired hanyo in.
"You´re getting too slow, old man."
"My apologies my lord. It´s nice to see you. Your brother is in the study just wait..."
"I didn´t come to see him Myoga. I came to see you."
"Me?" The old man´s big bulging eyes seemed to become larger with astonishment. "I´m flattered, my lord. Come to sit in the living room."
"Cut the crap, will ya. Let´s go to the kitchen, I don´t want to be interrupted."
Inuyasha followed as the pudgy youkai led the way, their steps muffled by the thick carpets covering the floors. He knew his way around this house, the arabesques, and serpentines of the antique furniture that his father had purchased ages ago and his brother refused to change.
The kitchen, on the other hand, looked like taken from an ad for modern appliances, everything was shiny and new.
Taking a stool and sitting across the bar, Inuyasha waited for Myoga to sit down in front of him before speaking.
"How much do you remember about my mother?"
"Your mother Sir?" Myoga seemed surprised at the question, it took him a couple of seconds to get his thoughts together. "Well, she was a kind beautiful lady, devoted to you and your father." The little old man smiled at the fond memory. "Your father used to say that he could hear the smile in her voice, he didn´t even need to see her in order to know that she was actually smiling."
Patience had never been one of Inuyasha´s virtues, but the picture Myoga´s words painted made it a little easier for him.
"Was she healthy?" He asked without more preambles. "I mean before she was ill, before I was born."
"Mmm..." Myoga put a finger to his chin. " I don´t remember seeing her ill, even after childbirth, she had been extremely healthy before cancer hit her."
"I didn´t think this through." The hanyo seemed to talk to himself to himself. "Maybe you´re too old and can´t remember those days. I better talk to Onigumo, he must have treated her since the day she joined the family."
"How dare you! Let me tell you one thing, my mind is in perfect shape, thank you very much!" Myoga didn´t appreciate being called old, after all, he was only 800 years old. "And as a proof, ´ll share some more information with you. Dr. Onigumo was the family´s doctor for many years but he didn´t treat your mother after your father died. I bet you didn´t even know that, huh?"
"Why wouldn´t he? He took care of my mother in her final days, I can´t believe she was treated by someone else in such a delicate time."
"Now that you mention it, it was strange. The doctor disappeared for a couple of months following my masters passing."
A sudden change in the atmosphere announced Inuyasha and Myoga their little chat had come to an end.
"Hello, little brother. You finally found your place in this house or you just trying to avoid me?"