InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Home for Kagome ❯ Reunions ( Chapter 6 )

DISCLAIMER: Rumiko Takahashi, now and forever, owns 'Inuyasha' and all characters involved. I, now and forever, own nothing but my own twisted plot and any original characters I might add. Hope this settles any confusion. Please don't sue me, I'm broke.

 

Chapter 6 - Reunions

 

For the first few days after Kagome moved into her new home in the Feudal Era, things seemed to be going very well. Despite the fact that she'd been travelling to the Feudal Era on a pretty regular basis for nearly three years now, Kagome and the others were all still slightly worried that she might have some problems settling into a full time life in the past. However, their worried soon proved to be unfounded, as Kagome quickly adjusted happily to her new way of life. Kagome loved the quiet of the small village, the clean air, and the wide-open spaces. She enjoyed helping to cook meals for her surrogate family over a wood fire, and found pleasure in helping Kaede with her duties as village miko. Kagome didn't miss the modern conveniences of her time at all. She found quickly that things like electricity and television now seemed irreverent. Besides her family, the only thing the twenty-first century had that Kagome longed for was indoor plumbing, and because Inuyasha had been thoughtful enough to choose a location for the hut right next to a small hot spring, even that didn't bother her much.

 

It also helped that her friends were going out of their way to be supportive to her. Inuyasha, of course, rarely left her side just as he had while they were staying in her time. Now that Kagome was sharing room with Sango he no longer slept next to her bed. However instead of choosing to sleep in a tree outside or on the roof as he had often done in the past, Inuyasha instead spent his nights the main room of the hut, his back against the wall next to the door to Kagome and Sango's room. From there he could give the girls some privacy, could watch out for any possible intruders and stop them before they got to Kagome or any of his other friends, and would still be able to hear if Kagome needed him for anything and be at her side in a instant. The others tried their best to do everything they could to help her as well. Shippo, remembering the talk he had had with Inuyasha, was going out of his way to be strong and mature. He hadn't picked a single fight with Inuyasha since they got back, and instead of bugging Kagome to do things for him all the time, he was trying his best to do things for her. While his small size and lack of experience with housework did hold him back in his efforts, his intentions were good and Kagome greatly appreciated it. Sango was going out of her way to be the best friend she could be. Being a young woman nearly Kagome's age and having seen more than her fair share of violence over years, Sango quickly became her confidant for things she hadn't even been able to tell her mother, and her gentle understanding and lack of judgement were almost exactly what Kagome needed. Miroku and Kaede also offered Kagome help in the form of spiritual guidance, and Miroku was making a super-human effort to curb his lecherous tendencies around Kagome. He hadn't even groped Sango when in Kagome's presence since she came back. Even Kirara seemed to want to help Kagome recover, and was being especially affectionate to the young miko and snuggling up to her whenever she looked even a little sad.

 

Kagome had expected that once she had settled in somewhat, Inuyasha and the others would want to go out on a shard hunt soon after. While she wasn't sure how she would feel if that was the case, she didn't want to tell Inuyasha she didn't want to go if he asked, especially after he had been so kind and supportive of her since this whole ordeal started. However, much to Kagome's surprise the first time someone (Shippo) had asked when they would once again start searching for Naraku, Inuyasha had put his foot down and insisted they were staying in the village at least until the end of winter. Inuyasha didn't want to force Kagome into anything he thought might put added stress on her before she was ready, and searching for the Jewel Shards and Naraku was stressful enough for even him at times. Besides, travelling in winter with humans in that day and age could very quickly turn dangerous even under the best circumstances. They had barely travelled last winter, and that was when they were all in the best health, both physically and emotionally. Inuyasha wasn't even sure he wanted Kagome to go travelling again come spring time, and there was no way he was letting her out of the village in the winter while she was still recovering. The others had all been having similar concerns, and so readily agreed to wait out spring and see how things looked then.

 

In all, things seemed to be going well as Kagome's recovery continued. That is, until six days after Kagome moved to the Feudal Era.

 

###

 

Koga had been searching in circles for what seemed like forever, but was in reality only about a fortnight. Ever since he had learnt that Kagome had returned to that small village before returning home mere hours before he got there. Koga had been adamant that this time he would find his way to her home village. Since his last visit he had been searching almost constantly, only stopping when his body demanded he eat, sleep and piss. He had been sure that this time he would be able to pick up Kagome's scent, as she couldn't just vanish into thin air. However, now it was just short of two weeks later, and he hadn't been able to pick up her scent since he lost it by that old well. And now, he was no longer mad, he was FURIOUS, and he was heading back to see the monk and demon slayer again. This time he fully intended to get the location of Kagome's home village out of them if he had to beat it out. How dare they and that mutt keep his woman from him when she obviously needed him?!

 

That mutt. Inuyasha. The cause of this whole mess. Koga didn't know what he was angriest about; that the mutt had failed to protect his woman, that he was still trying to protect her and in the process keeping her from him (Koga), or that Kagome was allowing it! The first thing Kagome should have done after she was attacked was tell the mutt to take a hike them come to him. Well, okay, maybe second thing, Koga allowed. He could understand her wanting her family's support at first. But she certainly should have come looking for him by now; she shouldn't still be with Dogface at this point. Then again, if she was traumatised enough by the attack, maybe she was too scared to come looking for him through the wilderness by herself. He knew humans were so much more fragile than demons like himself, even ones worth admiration like Kagome was. He could see how she might consider even the mutt's protection better than nothing. But if that was the case, why hadn't the monk and demon slayer taken Kagome away and brought her to him? They were meant to be her friends after all; they should be looking out for her too. Why hadn't they dragged the mutt off her and brought her to him where she'd be safe by now? They were failing her as much as that fucking mutt in their inattentiveness. The thought made Koga growl all the louder as he ran back to the village, determined that when he beated Kagome's location out of them to throw in a couple of extra punches just for that.

 

As Koga neared the village though, a sudden change of wind caused him to stop in his tracks in pure shock. Could it be… It was! Kagome was back! She was in that village right now and from the smell of it had been there for many days. Damn it! If only he had gone back to the village sooner, she would have been safe and sound back in his den by now. But wait, that other smell. Fuck it, the mutt was still sniffing around her! Didn't he realise he'd done enough damage already?

 

Koga growled again and started running towards the village at speeds even he didn't know he could reach. The mutt could wait for now, he'd come back and gut him later. For now, he was just going to go in there, grab Kagome and run, before she disappeared on him again.

 

###

 

Inuyasha and Kagome were going for a walk through the village. As much as Kagome appreciated the comfort of her new hut and her family's home back in modern Japan, over two years of wandering around feudal Japan meant that she felt trapped if she stayed inside four walls all the time. Back in own time, there wasn't much she could do about it as she was still too nervous around crowds to go out into the hustle and bustle of Tokyo's streets. Even the Shrine had been too busy at times for her to feel comfortable. Here though, as quiet and peaceful as this village was, Kagome felt safe to go out and stretch her legs. It also helped that Inuyasha - who frankly refused to leave her side unless she was either asleep, in the hot spring, or engaged in private `girl talk' with Sango - was right there by her side. Over the last few weeks, Kagome had realised that she would always feel safe as long as Inuyasha was with her. Well, actually she had realised that a long time ago, the last few weeks just reinforced it.

 

As they walked along, part of Kagome noticed the glances from some of the villagers but she ignored them. She knew they wouldn't bother her. The villagers all knew something had happen to her when she was in her own time. How could they not know, the way she and her friends had all been acting the last few weeks? However, it was clear none of them wanted to talk about it, so the villagers had left it alone. They had too much respect for the young miko (not to mention they were too wary of the hanyou) to try and push her to talk about something she obviously wasn't comfortable with and really wasn't any of their business anyway. They just hoped she would get better soon, they didn't like seeing the usually so happy miko upset.

 

Anyway, the two of them were walking along, enjoying the weather knowing winter was coming and it wouldn't last, when Kagome suddenly sensed the presence of two Jewel Shards approaching fast. Really fast. Kagome had barely even opened her mouth to tell Inuyasha when a brown blur appeared and threw Inuyasha back several feet, before grabbing Kagome and taking off with her, her scream echoing in their wake.

 

A couple of nearby villagers, shocked and not understanding what just happened, ran over to try to help Inuyasha up. After a moment of shocked silence in which Inuyasha's brain tried to take in what just happened, the sights, sounds and smells of the world around him sunk in and Inuyasha shook off their hands, coming angrily to his feet as an enraged snarl erupted from his throat. Out of everything else around him, the one thing that stood out was the stink coming from his chest where the blur and hit him. The reek of a wolf. One wolf in peculiar. Koga.

 

“Inuyasha!” Two voices Inuyasha knew by heart called, as Miroku and Sango came running up, both looking very worried indeed. Kirara in her kitten state was right behind them They had been visiting Kaede to discuss something trivial and were on their way back to the hut when they had heard Kagome scream and had come running over as fast as they could. If they weren't worried before (and you know they were) seeing Inuyasha there, alone, a look of pure rage on his face would have made them that way.

 

“Where's Kagome?” Sango demanded, worried for her little `sister'.

 

Inuyasha's answer was only one word, and it could barely be made out through his growling. But Sango and Miroku understood, and it was enough. “Koga.”

 

With that, Inuyasha took off in the direction Koga had taken off in. Not bothering to waste time with words, Miroku and Sango jumped on the back of the newly transformed Kirara and were right behind him.

 

###

 

Koga had only gotten a short distance from the village before he slowed to a stop. Kagome hadn't stopped kicking and screaming since he had grabbed her, and the scent of terror was rolling off her in waves. He had figured she'd be startled, maybe even a little scared by him suddenly grabbing her, but he never expected a reaction like this! He figured he better stop and calm her down before he took her the rest of the way to his den. Gently he put her down, and pulled her into what was supposed to be a comforting hug, but she just continued to scream and struggle, and had by now started to cry as well.

 

“Kagome, my love it's me, Koga!” Koga cried, hoping to get through to her and calm her down.

 

Kagome on the other hand, wasn't listening, couldn't comprehend anything. The moment Koga had grabbed her, she had suddenly flashed back to when Jiro had grabbed her from behind and knocked her to the ground and everything that happened after that. In her mind, she was back on the edge of the athletics field about to be gang raped, and nothing Koga was saying was getting through.

 

As Kagome kept on struggling to get away, screaming and sobbing the whole time, another scream was heard from above.

 

“Kagome!” Inuyasha half-screamed half-roared as he landed only a few feet away from the pair. Angrily taking in the wolf demon and the struggling and crying miko in his arms, Inuyasha unsheathed Tetsusaiga and brandished it under Koga's nose. “Let. Her. Go.” He growled out slowly. He was so angry he was barely able to speak at all. Did Koga even realise the kind of emotional distress he had put Kagome in? She hadn't been this upset since she'd found out she might be pregnant. No, not even that had made her this hysterical.

 

Koga did let her go, though not because Inuyasha had told him too. He was simply getting free to attack the mutt. Koga was sure this was all his fault, Inuyasha must not have helped Kagome at all for her to still be so upset after this long. He wouldn't be so useless. Once he got Kagome back to his den, he'd look after her so well he was sure she'd be back to her normal feisty self within a week. He was just about to say so, when Kagome suddenly blew past him and straight into the mutt's chest. Inuyasha was rather surprised, but quickly pushed that aside and hugged her with his left arm, his right still holding Tetsusaiga pointed at Koga's throat.

 

At the sound of Inuyasha's voice, a small part of Kagome's rational mind started to come back. Although she still wasn't thinking clearly in her fear, part of remembered that Inuyasha had saved her from her attack and what was more, she knew that Inuyasha always protected her, would always look after her. After two and a half years of travelling and fighting demons together, that was more than just belief it was fact. The second the arms holding her captive were realised, she quickly took the chance to run to the safest place she knew of, Inuyasha's arms.

 

As Koga stood there in shock, trying to understand why the hell she would run to the mutt like that, he heard two more voices call out Kagome's name and a second later the Fire-Cat landed and the monk and the demon slayer jumped off. They took one look at the sobbing miko, before all three of them put themselves between her and Koga. The monk and demon slayer both gripped their weapons tightly while the Fire-Cat bared her fangs in a truly menacing snarl.

 

“Damn you Koga.” Sango hissed. She had never been so pissed at the wolf demon as she was at that moment. “Now look what you've done!”

 

“What I've done?!” Koga demanded. “It's mutt-face's fault she's like this! He's the one that failed to protect her.”

 

“He's also the who's been looking after her and helping her heal for the last month.” Miroku said, his voice holding a barely controlled rage Koga couldn't remember ever hearing from him before. “You, on the other hand, are the one who appears to have undone all that progress within a matter of minutes.”

 

Miroku took his eyes off Koga at this point to look back at Inuyasha and Kagome and see how they were doing. Inuyasha had put Tetsusaiga back in it's sheath after Miroku, Sango and Kirara arrived, trusting them to keep Koga off his back as he turned all of his attention to calming Kagome. He was currently rubbing her back gently as he whispered soothing words of encouragement in her ear. Kagome had calmed down somewhat, but she was still crying heavily, and didn't seem to be aware of anything aside from Inuyasha.

 

“What the fuck are you talking about Monk, don't turn your back on me!” Koga all but shouted. Miroku was still watching Kagome as Koga yelled, and clearly saw how Kagome jumped at the noise, proving that she was more aware than Miroku had first thought. She started crying louder as she buried herself further into Inuyasha's chest, apparently trying to escape the rest of the world.

 

Miroku ignored Koga's latest outburst as he spoke to Inuyasha. “Inuyasha, maybe you should take Kagome back to the hut.” He said softly hoping he wouldn't upset Kagome more. “She clearly wants you, but all this noise is just upsetting her more and I have the feeling things here are going to get a lot louder before they get quieter.”

 

Inuyasha glanced up at Miroku for a moment before he nodded grimly. Shooting Koga a look that promised a slow death at a more appropriate time, he picked Kagome up bridal style and headed off in the direction of the village.

 

“You ain't taking my woman anywhere mutt!” Koga yelled and started to follow. However, before he went more than two steps, he found himself thrown back several feet by Sango's Hiraikotsu. As he picked himself up off the ground, groaning slightly in pain, Koga spared a minute to wonder how the hell a human woman could have so much strength. He was pretty sure he had bruises to the bone and from just one hit too.

 

“Try to follow them again and I won't hold back.” Sango snapped, and from the look on her face and her ready stance, she wasn't kidding.

 

`Hold back'? Koga wondered in slight alarm. Just how strong is this woman!?! But he quickly pushed the fear away, and focused on his rage instead.

 

“Why the fuck shouldn't I follow them?” Koga demanded. “She's my woman, I should be with her not that mutt!”

 

“Koga, Kagome isn't your woman and she never was.” Miroku said, completely unsympathetic. If anything, he sounded like he was still angry maybe even a little disgusted. “Do you have any idea of the damage you've done?”

 

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Koga demanded again. He wanted answers, and then he wanted Kagome.

 

“Like I said, Inuyasha and her family have spent weeks trying to help her heal.” Miroku said, his voice filled with quiet anger. “He brought her here about a week ago, so that we could try to help her as well. And she has been healing Koga, she's recovered more in the last couple of weeks than some rape victims do in years. She actually been happy at times, do you have any idea what an accomplishment that is so soon after an attack like this? We were really starting to hope that she'd be okay. Then you pull a stunt like this, and throw her back to square one!” Koga was slightly confused by the modern saying Miroku had picked up from Kagome, but he quickly pushed that to the back of his mind.

 

“What the hell did I do that was so awful?” He demanded.

 

“When Kagome was rapped, the men that did it caught her when one of them ran up to her at high speeds, tackled her and knocked her to the ground.” Sango said, having learnt a lot about the attack from Kagome in their talks, as well as much of what she had gone through while trying to recover. “What did you do? You ran up to her at high speeds and tackled her. If that didn't remind her of the attack, I don't know what would. I wouldn't be surprised if you came up behind her as well. She gets scared if someone sneezes behind her and she wasn't expecting it. You've made her so upset she couldn't even speak!” Sango was so angry she was trembling. How dare this dumb wolf act like he'd done nothing wrong, was he blind and deaf as well as stupid?

 

Koga was starting to feel rather guilty by now, but he refused to let it show. “We'll how the fuck was I supposed to know she'd still be so fragile? I mean it's been over a month, isn't she over it by now?”

 

“Have you ever known a woman who had been raped before Koga?” Miroku asked, his voice ominously soft.

 

“Well, no.” Koga admitted. Rape was rare among demons, seeing as in many species the females were as strong if not stronger than the males. It was even rarer among species like wolf demons, who had such a strong clan structure.

 

“Rape is one of the worst things that can happen to a woman.” Miroku continued, using the same dangerous tone of voice. “It hurts the woman not only physically, but emotionally and mentally as well. Many believe that it was somehow their fault, that they have been tainted by the attack. There are woman out there that never recover.”

 

“Never?” Koga repeated, shocked. Sure, he knew that rape was wrong, that Kagome had been hurt badly, but never recover?

 

“There was a young woman a few years older than me back in my old village.” Sango spoke up. She no longer sounded angry, instead her voice carried an almost emotionless quality that was somehow even worse. “She was raped by a man who had come to train under her father. Less than a year later, she killed herself. A young woman who like me was raised from childhood to be a demon slayer. She choose to die rather than live with the memory of the attack. And she was only raped by one man, Kagome was attacked by several. Two managed to actually violate her, and she has to live with the knowledge of that, and the knowledge that if Inuyasha hadn't come she would have been raped by all five. Kagome has gone through all that, and more. She's had to listen to people in her home village try to defend the boys, say they would never do such a thing all because one of them was the son of the head of the village guard. Even some of her own friends, who she has known since childhood, thought that and told her so to her face, as well as the fact that they think rape is the victims' fault. She's had to go through the hell of thinking she might be pregnant with her rapist's child. She's had nightmares ever since the attack, she's still having them. She's had to leave her home village, probably for good, because she no longer feels safe there. She'd recovered more than we'd ever dared to dream she would by this stage. And you dare to ask why she's not over it yet?” Her voice was dripping with disgust as she said the last sentence.

 

Koga didn't know what to say. Kagome had really gone through all that? She'd suffered through all that, and he'd gone and uncaringly made it all worse?

 

“Just get lost Koga.” Sango snapped, the anger back in voice in full force. “Get lost and leave Kagome alone. You've caused enough damage.”

 

Sango had barely finished speaking when Koga took off, overwhelmed with guilt over what he'd done, and what he'd thought. He didn't deserve Kagome. Bt maybe, if Inuyasha could help her through this, maybe he did.

 

###

 

When Miroku, Sango and Kirara arrived back at the hut, Kaede was just leaving carrying her medical kit. Apparently, even after Inuyasha had gotten Kagome back to the hut he couldn't get Kagome to calm down, the scare having been too much for her. Finally, in desperation, he had sent Shippo to fetch Kaede, hoping she could do or think of something to help. In the end, Kaede had advised that in her current state Kagome was not ready to listen to reason, and had suggested that sleep might be the best medicine for the moment. As such she had made a herbal tea to put her to sleep, which she and Inuyasha had given her before putting her into bed. Entering Kagome and Sango's room, they saw that Shippo and Inuyasha were still there watching the younger miko toss and whimper slightly in unsettled dreams.

 

When they told Inuyasha that Koga was gone, the hanyou had just nodded slightly, all of his attention focused on Kagome as he wondered just how much Koga's idiotic stunt would put back Kagome's recovery.

 

 

Author's Note:

 

Fire-Cat = My name for Kirara's species in this series. I don't think any official name was ever given, so that's what I'm calling her. (I would also like to apologise to Kirara fans everywhere for not putting her in the story before now. I don't know what I was thinking)

 

For those Koga fans out there who are worried that I'm going to write him out of the story completely after this chapter, worry no more. While Koga will not be coming back for a while, I can promise that he will come back. I'm too much of a fan of him myself to write him out completely.

 

Oh yeah, by the way, about my spelling. I'm an Australian, and as such I have been using Australian spelling in this story, which is slightly different than the American version. If you use American spelling, and see a word in this story that you think isn't quiet spelled right, please keep this in mind. While I won't deny that I do occasionally make spelling mistakes, I do try to be careful about what I publish.

 

Name translations (there may also be other translations, but these are the ones I found)

 

Jiro (one of Kagome's rapists) - Second born son