Surprise! Bet you weren´t waiting for an update so soon. I´m so happy to finally be able to focus on writing and get the story going. Just a heads up, don´t get used to it if you don´t want to be disappointed. I´ll try to keep this rhythm but I can´t make any promises.

DISCLAIMER: Inuyasha and all the characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi sensei.

18 Awakening

"I don´t see it that way." Kagome stood up and walked around the table to kneel next to Inuyasha. "From what you tell me, you both suffered enough. You don´t need to carry on suffering. Neither of you."

Inuyasha sighed, his hand automatically reaching up to grab one of Kagome´s now resting on his shoulders.

"I can´t let her suffer on her own. I won´t be able to live a happy and carefree life if Kikyo is miserable. I just can´t."

"So, what are you planning to do? It´s not like you can order her to be happy. There are plenty of women who can´t bear children and not all of them are depressed because of it. She can still be a mother. Did you ever tell her about adoption?"

"Yes, I mentioned all the possibilities I could think of. And I offered... I promised her..." Inuyasha sighed and turned his eyes to his lap "I said I would still marry her." He finally got that part out. He peeked at Kagome´s face from the corner of his eye.

"What?" As he had expected, she was shocked by this piece of information. "When did you...? Did she say yes? Are you two planning to marry?" She had let go of Inuyasha´s shoulders and was now standing a few feet away. She wanted to be face to face with him when he answered.

"No!" He looked up straight into her eyes and gave her that answer.

"No what? You are not engaged then? There are no weddings planned in the near future?"

"No. There are no wedding plans. She never accepted me after the miscarriage."

"Good." She sat down in front of him again, pouring another cup of tea which was cold by then. "This means we are not committed to anyone else." Kagome gulped the cold beverage and put down the small cup pouring the last few drops. "We are free, Inuyasha. We can be with anyone we want." She drank the last remnants of the tea and sighed with relief.

"I promised her Kagome. It wouldn´t feel right to give up on her."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I am not free."

"Then what will happen to us?" She wanted to cry again; she could feel the lump forming in her throat. But she refuse to let the tears spill in front of him.

"I need to talk to her before I can make a decision."

They didn´t talk much after that conversation. Kagome had come all this way with high expectations and by the end of the day, all her hopes had been crushed. One thing was clear to her, she could not interfere in Inuyasha´s and Kikyo´s relationship, whatever it was.

She spent the night in a lovely room in a quiet side of the house, her futon was very comfortable and still, she was unable to sleep much. They had decided to get back to Tokyo together and Inuyasha would try to contact Kikyo as soon as he got home.

Kagome didn´t know what to do. She didn´t want to leave him alone yet she knew she had no place in their conversation. All she could do was wait for him and pray he could reason with that woman.

In the end, Kagome spent the Sunday with Sango, who was already on her feet. Her friend listened to her whole report on the weekend´s events and tried everything to distract her from thinking about Inuyasha´s and Kikyo reunion. They had lunch at a little bistro and went to a movie and a coffee shop later.

Kagome sat in front of Sango, looking at her phone screen and mindlessly stirring her already lukewarm cappuccino.

"Just relax Kags, there´s nothing you can do but wait for him to call."

Kagome sighed and continued scrolling through her feed. Then she seemed to remember something and started typing, her eyes growing large and her mouth agape.

"She´s so beautiful." Kagome just mumbled.

"Let me see that." Sango took the phone away from her and took just one look at the screen before looking at her friend´s discouraged face.

"I mean, I saw them together once but I didn´t pay attention to her. And she had been crying too. She looks like a top model in the pictures. They are both so elegant and gorgeous." Kagome sighed again, resting her cheek on the palm of her right hand. "And I am... not." She added.

"Don´t say it like you are some kind of fugly weirdo sweetie. You are beautiful in your own way." Sango took her free hand and squeezed it warmly. "And look." Sango let go of her hand to point at something on the phone. "She looks so cold and distant. And Inuyasha doesn´t look any better in the picture. They are far from the portrait of a happy couple."

"I don´t know Sango, maybe she doesn´t like the paparazzi." She took her phone back and shut it off. Her face looking pale, eyes glistening with tears. "What if she says yes? What if she finally agrees to marry Inuyasha? Or what if she doesn´t give him an answer? We´ll never be free from that woman. Inuyasha could be tied to her his whole life"

"If he´s not ending everything with that woman, then he doesn´t deserve another minute of your thoughts."

"Yeah, you´re probably right."

Kagome resumed her frantic scrolling. "Easier said than done." She thought to herself.

The psychiatric ward was a gloomy place. Inuyasha already felt uneasy going to a hospital after the vivid dream he had the last time he visited one. His restlessness grew bigger as he was guided by a middle-aged nurse to Kikyo´s room.

Hearing from Onigumo that his daughter had been admitted here a month ago, Inuyasha couldn´t help but feel the weight of guilt grow heavier on his shoulders. He was the first one to admit the woman needed professional help, but this sounded like an overly exaggerated measure to him.

"It seems Miss Ikeda is not in her room." The nurse interrupted his train of thought.

He was dreading some awful news when he heard someone cheerfully calling his name.

"Inuyasha! You came to visit me."

A second later he felt the warm embrace of slim arms around his stiffened frame.

"Kikyo?"

A smiling face surprised him further when she finally let go of him.

"I´m so glad to see you. Come, walk with me. The children are waiting for me in the garden."

"Sure," He indulged her. "Are we allowed to do that?" He slowed his pace to match hers as they crossed through security checkpoints.

Kikyo laughed, an almost foreign sound that made his ears twitch on top of his head.

"Of course, silly! Dr. Suikotsu has given me plenty of freedom."

Inuyasha stopped walking for a moment to study her further. Kikyo didn´t seem to be on any drug, her skin looked rosy, her eyes sparkled and were full of life.

"Kikyo, you look different. Are you feeling alright?"

The young woman turned to face him grabbing one of his hands with both of hers.

"Actually, I am. I´m feeling so much better than I had in years." she smiled at him with a warmth he hadn´t seen in her before. "When my father suggested that I could benefit from psychiatric care I tried to refuse. I didn´t want to admit I needed help." Her smile became somber for a moment. "For years, even before we met, I tried to find my place in the world. I didn´t quite know where that place was, I just knew I wouldn´t become a shrine maiden. So, when you came along, I thought you were my knight in shining armor, coming to rescue me from my tower prison. It never happened though. I just felt trapped in a different jail."

When she noticed Inuyasha´s blameful expression she continued.

"It wasn´t your fault. I didn´t know any better. We are just not suited to be together. I couldn´t have made you happy, no more than you could made me."

"Kikyo... I´m sorry." He put a hand on her shoulder trying to make it more bearable to dig in their past.

"Anyway, it´s all water under the bridge now. Dr. Kimura, Suikotsu, has helped me grapple with all of my baggage. I´m taking some antidepressants in addition to doing therapy too."

"Miss Kikyo!" the voice of a little girl interrupted them and Kikyo turned to talk to the infant for a few seconds.

"Whose kids are those?" Inuyasha asked when she was facing him again.

"Some of them are patients, the pediatric wing is on the other side of the garden. Others are just visiting. And some of them are orphans, they were abandoned here, or their parents died and nobody has claimed them. Could you wait for me just a moment? Hanako can´t find her teddy bear and she won´t go to bed without it."

Sitting on a bench basking in the late afternoon sun, Inuyasha sighed with relief. He still couldn´t believe his eyes, Kikyo had been transformed in just a couple of weeks. Perhaps there was hope for both of them after all.

He fished his phone from his jeans pocket and wrote a little message for Kagome.

"We need to talk. Dinner at your place?"

He didn´t have to wait long before she answered.

"Tonight? No problem."

He smiled again. He wanted to tell her everything right now, but it would be much better if he saw her in person.

"It´s a date then."

He was still smiling when Kikyo returned with the little girl holding a teddy bear on one hand and Kikyo´s hand on the other.

"She can´t be older than 3 or 4 years." He thought. They sat right next to him, the girl cuddling in Kikyo´s arms.

"She won´t go to sleep. She lost her mother in a fire and her father is still recovering." Kikyo caressed her hair and rocked her softly against her chest.

"You are good with kids. I never saw you around one." He confessed.

"These children are helping me more than medicine and therapy. I´m seriously considering going back to school and becoming a teacher or a nurse. There are so many kids that I could help." She stopped for a moment and grabbed one of the hanyo´s hand in her. "Inuyasha, I never said I´m sorry to you. We lost our baby, both of us. I was so focused on my pain I never acknowledged yours. I made it all so much worse."

"You don´t need to apologize. You were grieving and I didn´t know how to help you. I am sorry too."

They stayed on the bench chatting amicably for the remaining of the day, the little girl sound asleep. A peaceful afternoon together at long last.

Kagome dashed into her tiny apartment with a shopping bag under one arm. She had yet to cook and clean before Inuyasha arrived. He didn´t say what time he was coming, which made it all the more stressful.

Sango was right by her side when she got his text.

"What did he say?" The brunette asked impatiently.

Kagome´s face was still cloudy after reading the message.

"He wants to talk, tonight."

"Is that all? Didn´t he mention how it went with his psycho ex?"

"Nothing, just that it´s a date." Her eyes enlarged in sudden realization. "Maybe he just wants to let me down easy. Oh crap, he´s planning on dumping me."

"Kags, stop it. He said it was a date. Nobody asks you on a date to dump your ass. At least no decent person would ever do that."

"So, it´s a date?" Kagome was already on her feet collecting her belongings. " I have to make dinner and clean my apartment. I´d better get going then."

"Keep me in the loop!"

She had done some last-minute shopping but couldn´t get much so late on a Sunday afternoon. She settled for some sea bass fillet and some vegetables, enough to make a small salad. She didn´t know how to prepare the fish but remembered a simple salt-baked recipe her mother had prepared a handful of times. She remembered it was easy enough and the end result was quite sophisticated, all she needed to do was cover the fish in salt and shove it in her little electric oven for half an hour. That would give her time to tidy up her place and change into a nicer outfit.

After applying the last touches of mascara and a dash of lipstick, Kagome took the fish out of the oven and lit some candles for a more romantic setting.

Some minutes later, when Inuyasha finally arrived, she had already blown the candles out, just in case he was thinking of marrying that other woman. Kagome was hopeful but tried not to get her hopes up too much.

"Did you burn dinner?" He asked trying to lighten the mood. He had brought a bottle of white wine which he handed her after leaving his shoes at the entrance

"Kami, he looks so handsome in a plain red shirt and black jeans." Kagome thought. "He looks good in anything he wears."

"No! It´s fine, see?" She pointed to the golden baked sea bass. "Are you hungry?"

"Wow, it looks great. Sure, let´s eat something."

Inuyasha could tell the girl was tense before she even asked about his meeting with Kikyo.

"So, how did it go?" She fumbled with the dishes while serving the salad and the fish, handing one dish to him and setting another for herself. They sat on the floor on both sides of the low table while Inuyasha poured the wine into two plastic cups, which was the only kind Kagome had.

"It went surprisingly well. I still can´t believe Kikyo is doing so much better." He took a sip of the wine and continued. "She was talking about going back to school, she wants to work with children. It was such a relief to see her like that."

"Oh, really?" Kagome downed the whole content of her cup in two gulps and poured some more wine for herself.

Inuyasha just frowned and went on. "It´s great. I haven´t heard her make plans for the future in a long time."

When she drank the second cup in as many seconds Inuyasha put down his cup.

"Wow, take it easy. It can get to your head in no time."

"I can handle it, don´t worry."

"Okay... if you say so."

At that moment he took a bite of the fish with his chopstick and almost chocked on it.

"What is it? Is it too spicy?" Kagome took a piece herself and regretted it immediately.

She wanted to spit it out. She ran to the kitchen to get some paper napkins so she could take the offending white meat out of her mouth.

"Argh, it´s too salty. How is it possible? Mama always gets it perfectly done." She crouched down on her side of the table, her shoulders hunching in defeat. "This is a disaster. You don´t have to eat it. I understand if you want to leave now."

"I just got here. I came to see you; dinner is not that important. We can still eat salad." She gave him a pitiful look. "Or you seasoned that too?"

Kagome couldn´t help pouting.

"No. I forgot about that. There´s no dressing for the salad."

Inuyasha chuckled and shrugged his shoulders while digging into the bland salad. Such a simple gesture made Kagome relax and eat hers too.

"Smile Kagome, we are celebrating!"

"We are? It´s good news then?" Her mouth shily turned upward. "For me too?"

Her eyes shone so brightly, she looked so vulnerable and sincere. Her full lips parted to let out the breath she had been holding drawing his eyes to them, down the white column of her neck down to her heaving chest.

Inuyasha licked his lips.

"Suddenly I´m not hungry for food."

His movements were so fast he took her by surprise. Before she could blink, Inuyasha had moved the table out of the way and swept her across the hardwood floor, his hands cupping her face and his tongue tracing the form of her lips.

It took Kagome a few seconds to react when she realized what was happening. Her mouth opened as he dipped his tongue inside, her legs were already crossing behind his back and her hands tangling in his white mane. The glorious feeling of his hard body flush against her own had her arching her back to savor it to the fullest. The fire inside her reignited while their tongues stroked each other in sensual slow motion, she couldn´t have enough of it.

Inuyasha´s hands left her face to cup her bottom making Kagome very aware of the bulging thickness of his manhood trapped between their bodies. She started grounding her pelvis against it which send delicious jolts of pleasure to her core. She could feel her core getting wetter and her nether lips swelling with need.

Soft meowls filled Inuyasha´s ears and he grinned mischievously against Kagome´s mouth, breaking the kiss for a moment. Their eyes met when she tried to get a glimpse of whatever had caused the interruption, fear clouding her features as the thought of Inuyasha making up with Kikyo flashed in her mind´s eye.

"Kagome, is everything ok?"

"I´m sorry but I need to know. Are you a free man? We aren´t hurting anyone, are we?"

"No, I am not free. I am your prisoner. I can only do what you want me to do."

Taking a lungful of air Kagome crushed her lips to him.

"Mmmm. In that case," she spoke against his welcoming mouth, "I want to resume what we were just doing."

"It´s me, father, Kikyo." The cheerful voice sounded so different from what he was used to that Onigumo almost hung up the phone. "I know it´s late but I was busy with the children here."

"Kikyo, sweetheart. You scared me. Why are you calling me at this hour?"

"Everything´s fine father, don´t worry. It´s just that Inuyasha came to see me and you asked me to let you know if it ever happened."

"Yes, I remember dear. So, did you do what I asked you to?"

"I did. And you were right father, I´m feeling so much better after letting him go, it´s like a burden has been lifted off my shoulders. I can´t believe it took me so long."

"Kikyo, my child. I´m glad you are finally over that episode of your life. I knew you could do it. Now you are ready to move on."

"Yes father, I am ready."

"Good. Be a good girl and wait for Suikotsu. I need to talk to him to decide what´s better for you dear."

"I´ll be waiting patiently, father."

The old doctor hung up the receiver and immediately took out his cell phone.

"Kagura, I need you to get Suikotsu and his brothers together for a meeting. Tomorrow, first thing in the morning." He nodded his head. "In the lab, they´ll know which one."

In the semidarkness of his bedroom the old, creased face lit up with a wicked grin.

"It´s almost time Naraku."

A/N: And Naraku is mentioned, finally. I´m glad I can get Kikyo some sort of redemption. I want to give her a happy ending, she deserves so much more than just dying, as long as she doesn´t mess with my OTP. I have to say my younger self hated her with the power of the sun but now I can respect her as Inuyasha´s first love and that´s all.

I hope to have next chapter out soon. It will be a sinfully smutty one ; )

Love,

ALP