InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Love That Trancends Time ❯ Admissions in the night (chap 2) ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter 2

Admissions in the night…

By the time the feast was prepared and the celebrating had begun the moon was high in the sky. Everyone was laughing and talking and having a wonderful time while Kagome slipped away to enjoy some peace and quiet. Her mind was reeling with everything that was happening: Kouga's proposal, Inuyasha, Inuyasha and Kikyo, the death of Naraku, and especially the possible completion of the jewel. She didn't notice the figure that came to stand beside her. "You okay?" he asked.

"Oh!" Kagome let out a startled gasp. "Sorry. Yea, I'm fine, just thinking." Luckily, none of her friends had been too seriously wounded or killed in the battle against Naraku.

"Thinking of what?" Inuyasha was curious as to what her answer would be, having listened to her private conversation just a little while before.

"Just stuff." Kagome shrugged. "Things will be different now that Naraku is gone. The jewel is almost complete." She pulled the jewel from under her shirt again. "I guess my time here is almost over" This last part was added quietly, with a trace of sadness hidden in her voice.

"Hmmph." Inuyasha looked at the jewel. `No! Don't leave me here alone!' Inuyasha could not voice the words running through his head. "So, you're gonna go back?" He hid the sadness in his voice much better than Kagome. `Why would she want to stay with a lowly half breed?' he wondered.

Kagome turned to look at Inuyasha, putting the jewel back under her shirt. "I don't know. I honestly don't know." She really wanted to ask him did he want her to stay but Kagome knew that would probably end the fragile friendship or whatever there was between them. After all, he made no secret of how he felt she compared to Kikyo-she failed miserably in every aspect. No matter how hard she tried, she still failed and yet she still cared greatly for the man in front of her. All of a sudden, Kagome could sense the familiar tingling sensation that alerted her a shard of the shikon jewel was nearby.

"Inuyasha! I sense a jewel shard." Kagome peered into the woods trying to find the source of the feeling.

Inuyasha's senses immediately went on triple alert and his hand went to his side to Tessaiga. "Which way?" he asked looking around.

"There!" Kagome pointed as a white shrouded figure became visible through the trees.

"Kagome, stay here!" Inuyasha quickly took off toward the figure in the trees. He didn't bother to look back to see if Kagome obeyed, he only hoped she couldn't recognize the figure in white and red that was before him.

"Hello, Inuyasha. Are you ready to come with me now? Naraku is dead, we can be together forever." Kikyo watched Inuyasha's face carefully as he did not hesitate to respond.

"Kikyo. I'm sorry about everything. I promised to protect you and I couldn't. You were the first friend I ever had. But no, Kikyo I will not give up my life…" Inuyasha tried again to explain but he was interrupted.

"It's because of her, isn't it?" Kikyo grew angry, gesturing to Kagome who was staying back out of the way, but had come closer to the pair talking. Looking at Inuyasha as he looked back, Kikyo tried another approach "Here, I brought these for you." In her hand were three glowing shards of the shikon jewel.

"Kikyo, why do you have these?" Inuyasha couldn't hide the surprise in his voice.

"I am the true guardian of the jewel. She is just a copy, a poor copy of me." Kikyo reached out and touched Inuyasha's arm. It felt icy to the touch. "If you won't go with me peacefully, I'll just kill the copy and take the rest of the jewel back."

"What will you do with jewel, Kikyo? You don't belong here, you should be at peace, not here hurting." Inuyasha began.

"Hmmmm, what do you care?" Kikyo responded. "You've got your precious copy, and almost the jewel. Are you going to wish to be human for her?" Kikyo managed to move slightly closer to Kagome while keeping Inuyasha occupied.

"I don't have to wish to be human for Kagome." A realization dawned on Inuyasha `she accepts me for who and what I am, she doesn't want me to change for her'. "She accepts me for what I am Kikyo, something you could never do. You never accepted my youkai side, which is why you were so insistent that I turn human for you. Not only would you no longer have the jewel to protect, but you expected me to change for you." Inuyasha watched Kikyo closely. "That's not love. Love is accepting and caring about a person for what they are, not what they could be, like Kagome does me." Inuyasha realized Kikyo was getting closer to Kagome with each step. When he looked over at Kagome, he was amazed to tears running down her cheeks. Before he could ask her why or go to her, Kikyo launched her attack full of hatred and anger, all she was capable of in the shell of body that Ureasue created, on Kagome.

"NOOOOOOOO!" Inuyasha unsheathed Tessaiga and jumped quickly, making a clean slice through the mud and clay body, which fell to the ground and turned to dust not far from Kagome.

A bright flash of light blinded Inuyasha and Kagome, as the soul capturing demons left the body and the most recently taken souls returned to where they came from. Both Kagome and Inuyasha covered their eyes. When the light faded, Inuyasha looked up to see a vision in red and white standing before him. "Thank you, Inuyasha. I am now able to rest in peace." This was not the cold voice of the mud and clay copy that was made, but the voice of the true Kikyo.

"K-k-Kikyo?" Inuyasha stammered.

"Ssshhh. Yes, it's alright now. The copy that was created of me wasn't really me. It was only capable of causing hurt and pain. I will always care about you Inuyasha, but what you said was right. I couldn't accept your youkai blood. It went against everything I was. But, you were a friend to me too. Go now, don't feel guilty, you have someone waiting for you. Her soul is whole again. Know I am at peace, and a part of me is still with you." The vision of Kikyo faded and Inuyasha turned to see Kagome at the edge of clearing, looking at her hands.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha called, as she looked up at him, he walked the distance to her. She opened her hand to reveal the last remaining jewel shards in one hand and the incomplete jewel in the other.

She looked at Inuyasha uneasily. "This is it." Placing the jewel shards

In the hand with the jewel, she felt the remaining pieces fall into place. Opening here hand she revealed the complete shikon jewel. "Well, it's done" she said simply.

"Kagome, why were you crying just before the copy of Kikyo attacked you?" Inuyasha asked, looking seriously at Kagome.

Kagome looked up. `What do I tell him?' she thought. `The truth, or do I make something up?' She swallowed a lump in her throat before she spoke "Uh-h, actually it was because of what you said. To Kikyo."

Inuyasha looked confused for a split second before his face fell. `Even admitting I care for her, she doesn't return those feelings' he thought glumly. `I hoped, I thought she might.'

Seeing Inuyasha get that hurt look on his face Kagome explained "It was like you were almost telling Kikyo you liked me better than her. It made me happy." Kagome looked at Inuyasha's face, but his eyes were hidden under his silver-white bangs. He raised his head.

"You think I liked that mud and clay person better than you? The person I've protected and traveled with for three years? The only person who has ever been nice to me, to like me for me, and not want me to change for them?" Inuyasha couldn't begin to stop these feelings or words now that they had started.

Kagome interrupted "you didn't? Every time she came around you would leave me and go running off to her, for whatever. I even saw you kiss her."

"That was a mistake. " Inuyasha took Kagome's hand and they walked over to a patch of grass and sat down next to each other. Inuyasha sighed "I felt guilty about what Naraku did to Kikyo. Only most of the time I didn't know it was Naraku. I was pinned to that tree for fifty years of my life, thinking she betrayed me, and she died thinking I betrayed her. I promised her I would protect her and I failed to do that. Not only that, I was scared the same thing would happen with you."

"Is that why you tried to push me away?" Kagome asked. "Or were you mean to me all those times, saying all those bad things about me?"

Inuyasha knew this would be coming eventually. "Yes, in part. I wanted to protect you. If I didn't let you get that close to me then it would be easier to do that, right? And some of the times, I wasn't really trying to be mean. Look at me, I'm half demon, half human. I really don't belong to either world. You are the only person to accept me for who -and what-I am. You are the only person besides my mother to show me kindness."

Kagome looked up at Inuyasha, the moonlight reflecting off his face and hair, she smiled wistfully, and tried to keep the tears from falling down her face. "You've always protected me. "

Inuyasha looked over at Kagome in the same moonlight, tears glistening at her eyes. `She really is beautiful' he thought. She wasn't the same fifteen-year old girl who fell through the well. She had grown during her travels, in more ways than one. "Why are you about to cry?" He asked again "just tell me."

Not daring to hope that he might share her feelings Kagome thought for a short time before replying "it's almost like you care about me."

Inuyasha's heart skipped a beat `it's almost like she wants me to care about her!' "I do care about you." Kagome's mouth opened slightly in shock.

"Y-y-you do?" Kagome's voice was unsteady.

"Yes." It took more than Kagome would ever know for Inuyasha to utter that one word. He opened himself up fully, deep inside he was preparing himself for the worst. He looked over at Kagome, her eyes wide, tears streaming down her cheeks, looking at him. Kagome's response was to lean over and throw her arms around Inuyasha, clinging to him tightly. At first, Inuyasha was at a loss, then he did the only thing he could think of, he wrapped his arms around Kagome. "Sssshhh, don't cry" he said gently.

"I'm sorry" Kagome sniffled. "But for so long I thought you hated me and thought I was worthless. I'm glad you're my friend."

Inuyasha picked Kagome up off the ground and seated her comfortably in his lap "I'll always been your friend" Inuyasha said quietly.

Kagome shifted to look up at Inuyasha. He was gazing down at her thoughtfully. Looking into his eyes, Kagome did something she never thought she'd have the nerve to do. Before she lost her nerve, she brought her lips up to Inuyasha's for a quick kiss. She didn't know what to expect his reaction to be, but she didn't expect him to lean down and capture her lips with his in a much deeper kiss. Sighing, Kagome closed her eyes to the sensations swirling within her. Inuyasha braced himself for a slap, and for rejection. He slowly opened his eyes to see the moonlight on Kagome's face, slightly upturned, eyes closed, a dreamy look on her face. Inuyasha thought his heart might burst. All the feelings he had tried to keep locked away-love, admiration, devotion- flooded through. `She didn't slap me, or turn away! Can she actually care about me?' he thought. He looked down again to see Kagome looking up at him. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing" Inuyasha said, sensing Kagome's uneasy feeling. "It's just that, well I can't believe that…"

"That what?" Kagome asked when Inuyasha trailed off the end of his sentence.

"That you could care about a hanyou…"Inuyasha began to respond, but was interrupted.

"That doesn't matter. You are a good person. Everyone, Shippo, Miroku, Sango, me look to you for leadership. You've protected and cared for us. You have been good to us." Kagome ended her thoughts there, not wanting to give away too much of her personal feelings.

Inuyasha smiled. "Miroku and Sango can each hold their own in a fight. As for Shippo, he needs someone to look out for him, and he thinks of you as his adopted mother."

Kagome smiled. "I know, I care for him too. I've grown to care for all of my friends here in this age. It will make leaving hard."

Inuyasha turned serious "then stay here, with us. You can continue to visit your family."

Kagome's heart skipped a beat "do you mean that? Do you really want me to stay?"