DISCLAIMER: I still don´t own anything, sadly.

17- Time travelling

The air swooshed around him as Inuyasha swung the blade from its overhead position to the front, casting a gush of wind as a result. Moving his right foot to the front, he tried a different series of movements from side to side, the blade humming though the air in agreement with his steps. As much as he had been advised as a young boy, he could never get used to the traditional shinai preferring his rusty old sword, Tessaiga, over the lighter bamboo stick. Inuyasha found he was more in tune with his father´s sword than he could ever be with any other weapon. It made his movement lighter and more precise, his strikes more accurate and deadlier, if he ever wanted to kill.

Kendo had always been an escape for him, from the bullies at school, from his bastard of an older brother, from the loneliness of the world. He could always count on the exercise to take his mind off the problems. At least that was what he had hoped it would be this time too. Despite his hastiness and lack of formal training, he still enjoyed the practice, not to mention the connection to his late father through Tessaiga. Kendo also was a distraction much needed now that his mind kept running in circles. A way to tire his body into oblivion before he could lay his head down.

He had fled the city as soon as he heard the message from Kagome´s mother, not waiting to even demand an explanation, choosing his late mother´s family state as a hideout to lick his wounds. The fact that it was far from Sesshomaru´s grip being the top reason for his choice. His brother didn´t have any of his underlings around this place, which made it less likely to appear on the daiyokai´s radar, and even if it did, he would not dare set foot on Inuyasha´s property. The connection with his parents was the other reason that had drawn him here. It was a place where his parents had been happy together, where he had been born and loved by them.

"You are so pathetic!" He scolded himself.

He could try to hide from the world, but he could never deceive himself. He knew he had been such a lovesick puppy that he had forgot about the rest of the world the moment Kagome had returned his kisses. And he had done it so easily, happy to be around the girl´s warmth, intoxicated by her scent. Now here he was, unsuccessfully trying to get over Kagome and make amends with his past.

Even if he had to train 24 hours a day, he still couldn´t get Kagome out of his mind.

"What you need is a harder routine." He decided.

Redoubling his efforts, he stabbed the air once again and swerved the old relic over his head in a frantic rage.

Rainy days used to get her in a melancholic mood, Kagome reminded herself as she laid her forehead against the cool crystal. Raindrops run wild on the smooth surface as the high-speed train dashed through the countryside. Kagome smiled at her reflection. She couldn´t help her lighter mood, she finally would be able to explain everything to Inuyasha. She refused to entertain the idea that he could deny to even listen to her. He might as well do that since he went out of his way to avoid seeing her. The girl frowned at her reflection now.

"Stop it! He will at least listen to me, he won´t deny me that."

The passenger sitting next to her turn at the sound of her voice and she gave him an apologetic smile.

She had accepted Inuyasha´s will humbly and the Kami-sama had sent Rin-chan to her, it had to be a sign they were meant to be together. Or at least, she would get to explain herself to him and they could work together in peace. Either way, she needed to see Inuyasha. Though the prospect of them being together was what put a silly grin on her façade, to be honest.

Stepping out of the train in Kyoto station, the happy expression vanished when she had to tackle the rain with no umbrella or raincoat to cover herself. She had only brought a light sweater with her since the sun was shining when she left her apartment that morning.

"It´s just a spring drizzle." She told herself as she started the way. Not even the rain could ruin her day, Kagome plucked up her courage and smiled again looking up to the heavens while raindrops streamed down her face.

When she arrived at the gate, the rain had already stopped. She was soaking wet though, hair sticking to her face, clothes dripping, and shoes drenched.

Kagome opened her left hand where she was clasping the little piece of paper Rin had slipped her just to make sure she had the right address. Squaring her shoulders and running a hand through her hair, she tried to at least make herself more presentable. She couldn´t see through the concrete wall surrounding the premises but she could tell the wall spread a couple of yards longer than the other houses. A few seconds later the wooden door opened and a massive wolf headed, human-looking yokai appeared, a huge friendly smile adorning his face.

"Good morning miss, how can I help you?"

"Hello, my name is Kagome Higurashi. I´m looking for Mr. Takahashi."

The giant stood there, a blank look on his face as his huge form blocked the view of whatever laid behind the walls.

"Inuyasha Takahashi?" She clarified. Still no answer. " I work for SNT and I need to talk to him about..."

Finally, the big guy sniffed the air and smiled.

"I´m sorry I didn´t recognize you. Come in please."

"Did we meet before? I´m sure it´s the first time we meet."

"Oh, no. It is the first time. it´s just that the rain washed away your scent. It took longer to identify Inuyasha-sama scent on you." He spoke as he led her in and closed the front door. "My name is Royakan, Miss. I´m the groundskeeper here."

"Great, for once this scent thing comes in handy."

It was then that Kagome was finally able to look around and had to gape in awe. The gardens were as vast as the Takahashi state she had visited in Tokyo, but the likeness died there. Lush green bushes neatly trimmed were scattered here and there. There was a pond encased in the greenest grass where lotto flowers bloomed in all their splendor and a few cherry trees were already budding in preparation for the next hanami.

As Kagome stopped to drink in the beauty of the sight, the fragrances the rain had masked reached her nose making her inhale deeply to savor it.

Oblivious of her ecstatic appreciation of her surroundings, Royakan kept walking through a winding pebbled road that led to a sumptuous minka* half-hidden by another group of cherry trees. The girl had to speed up to catch up to him.

"This garden is breathtaking." She commented idly.

"Thank you, Miss. It´s always so gratifying when someone appreciates my job." The giant stopped and turned to her with a big, satisfied smile on his face. "Would you like me to get you a towel to dry yourself?"

"Yes! That would be very nice."

"Ok, you can follow this path around the house and you´ll find the dojo where Inuyasha-sama practices. I´ll bring you the towel there."

Kagome had so many questions she wanted to ask, unfortunately, Royakan left her alone before she could utter any. Instead, she kept walking around the house to find the dojo and Inuyasha.

If the garden had left her gaping, the sight of Inuyasha training had her salivating. Bare-chested and barefoot, his lower body was covered in a loose red hakama. His taut muscles flexing with every swing of his sword were covered in a thin layer of sweat, a few drops running down his sculpted torso and abs.

Kagome closed her mouth and swallowed hard. She could still remember the sight of his skin, how good it felt to touch it, even the smell and taste of it. It was a weird feeling but since their night together Kagome felt almost sated. However, the moment her eyes were allowed to roam his body, the craving returned with a vengeance.

Her eyes were drawn to the trail of white silverish hair extending down from his navel to the area covered by the hakama. It was the same color as his hair, currently tied in a loose man bun, pearly white like the light of the full moon over a placid lake. The young woman could feel her body coming back to life after one glimpse of his impressive physique.

Kagome stood at the open door of the dojo, unable to move or speak, her fingers fidgeting, clutching and unclutching the hem of her blouse. She wet her lips with her tongue preparing to interrupt his exercise when the silver-haired god suddenly turned in her direction and stopped all motions.

For a moment they stood there, looking into the other´s eyes, unable to break the silence.

"What are you doing here?" There was no animosity in his voice, nor warmth or any hint of feeling whatsoever.

"I´m sorry, I didn´t mean to sneak up on you. I would have let you know I was coming if you answered your phone."

"Kagome, I don´t think this is a good idea...I mean...there´s a reason why I haven´t answered my phone."

"I know you must hate me but I need to explain everything to you." She made a pause to gather courage before continuing. "If you don´t want to see me anymore after we talk, I´ll leave and never bother you again, I promise."

"You found him!" Royakan loomed in the doorway with a cheerful expression. "Great!" He extended his very long arms to hand her a folded piece of cloth. When Kagome´s hand made contact with the soft material, she realized it wasn´t a towel. She looked down and was corrected by the sight of a downy soft terrycloth and some silk garment on top of it. I took the liberty of bringing you some dry clothes too."

She hesitated for a moment and turned to Inuyasha.

"You can change in the bathroom here. I need to take a shower anyway." He started to walk on the pebble path when he looked back.

"Royakan, tell your mother to make some tea for us."

Some minutes later Kagome found herself dressed in a yellow kimono covered in pink flowers, and kneeling in front of a low table, pouring tea from an exquisite china set.

"It´s like traveling back in time." She thought to herself.

Inuyasha joined her presently, donned in black and white striped robes.

"Here, let me pour you some tea." She broke the uncomfortable silence and waited for him to drink his tea.

"How did you find me?" He asked after a few sips.

"Oh, RIn-chan. She gave me the address."

"That nosy child! My brother is making an awful job as a parent." He smiled fondly though before becoming serious again.

"I went to talk to your brother about the project and we met. She was very kind to me. Your brother, on the other hand, was tougher. He wants you to go back to work and..."

"I know, he told me so himself. And now he sent you to convince me, the asshole."

"I...I wanted to see you too. Look, there are many things that I didn´t tell you... "

Inuyasha crossed his legs in front of him into a more comfortable position. "Go ahead." His voice seemed cold to his own ears, even when her mere presence had warmed up the hollow he felt in his chest since the last time he saw her.

"Inuyasha, this is hard for me." She took a deep, cleansing breath and went on. "Before I met you, I thought I could be asexual, or frigid, or something else."

Inuyasha suppressed the need to snort. She had responded with feverish passion to his advances, there was no way he would think she was frigid. One look at her face was enough to know she wasn´t joking, the subject of sex was clearly a sore one for Kagome.

"You are not frigid; I could vouch for that. Whatever gave you that idea?"

"I... My first experience with sex wasn´t very pleasant. My boyfriend at the time wasn´t interested in my pleasure, just his own. And when I finally confronted him, after finding out he had cheated on me on multiple occasions, he blamed me for it. His exact words were that I was a lousy fuck."

She finally stopped talking, her vision cloudy due to the tears that menaced to run freely down her cheeks.

Inuyasha was horrified. How would be such a wimp to treat a woman like that? He fisted his hands at his sides, the murderous protective instinct making him bite back a growl.

"I survived" Kagome smiled sadly and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "Only my ego was damaged." She gave him a sad smile. "But I tried to avoid sexual relationships from then on. Years later I made an agreement with Hojo-kun, we would go out on dates to get our families off our backs. His reasons for accepting this situation were never clear, though Sango thinks he might be afraid to come out of the closet."

"Then you and him, nothing ever happened between you two?" He was trying to make sense of all of this.

"He´s just a dear friend. He was relieved when I told him I couldn´t pretend anymore because I had met someone. And that night he asked me if he could kiss me, he said needed to prove something."

"That was when I almost broke his neck." He could understand now why Kagome had no traces of other males' scents.

"He could have died of a heart attack, you scared him senseless."

Now he felt sorry for the guy.

"I did a lot of crazy shit since I met you." He admitted to her.

"We both did. Are you still mad at me?" Her eyes seemed to plead with him.

" I wasn´t mad at you. It was myself that I blame for all of this." He set down the dainty cup and run a hand over his face sighing loudly. "It could all have been avoided if I had kept my hands to myself. My work ethic flew out of the window, I broke the promises I had made. Hell, I would have killed your supposed fiancé if that meant I could be with you for a just moment."

"Inuyasha." She whispered his name, touched by the intense feeling behind his words.

Kagome reached out and squeezed his hand gently, her body leaning towards him over the tea-table. She kissed his forehead gently, making him look up into her eyes and then she kissed his lips.

It was a gentle kiss, warm and sweet, unlike the stormy, passionate ones they had always traded.

"Kagome, we shouldn´t be doing this."

"Why not? Everything is in the open now, I told you everything, there´s nothing standing between us."

Inuyasha put both hands on her shoulders and pushed her away softly.

"Actually, there are some things I need to tell you." He sighed and rubbed her shoulders.

"We both must be honest with each other, if we want to make this work out."

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Minka* houses constructed in any one of several traditional Japanese building styles.

Ok, now we are talking! Our babies are finally being open about their past. I´ll leave the rest of the conversation for the next chapter.

See you guys soon.

ALP