InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ As Young Hearts Grow Older ❯ Considerations ( Chapter 10 )

As Young Hearts Grow Older

 

Chapter Ten

 

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and all subsequent characters mentioned in this chapter DO NOT belong to me. They come from the brilliant mind of Rumiko Takahashi.

 

 

There was a dull throbbing in her head that made her want to keep her eyes closed. She let out a gentle moan, not wanting to move at all. She felt a body next to her stir. Kagome's hand went up to her forehead and she slowly, painfully opened her eyes.

 

Inuyasha knelt over her, a concerned look plastered over his features. She tried to sit up, but he placed a hand on her chest, pinning her to the floor. “Don't move yet.”

 

Kagome blushed at him, but nodded her assent. Inuyasha, having seen the dark red she was turning, removed his hand as speedily as he could. He blushed himself and averted his eyes to try and conceal his own embarrassment.

 

Kagome fought the urge to giggle as he awkwardly lumbered to his feet. He scratched the back of his head and pretended look around the room with great interest. Even when he was nervous, he was still gorgeous. He would probably be a model in her era, Kagome mused.

 

“You know what?” she began, the volume of her voice startling to her. Inuyasha turned to meet her gaze and waited for her to continue. She pressed her fingers to her temples in an effort to forcibly make the throbbing cease before she went on. “It's been a very strange day.”

 

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and scoffed. “Don't you think strange is a bit of an understatement, Kagome?”

 

“In the grand scheme of things? No. I mean, falling through a well to another era is life-altering. Falling in love with a hanyou who wanted to kill you from the first moment he met you is almost the definition of insane. Flunking out of school because you're busy saving the past is completely ridiculous. Strange, however, is just about right for this afternoon. There's just no other word for it.”

 

Inuyasha was scowling at her. “The definition of insane, huh? Gee, thanks. I didn't get you anything.”

 

It was Kagome's turn to roll her eyes now. “Oh please! You know what I meant!”

 

She started to sit up, but winced with the obvious effort it took. Inuyasha was at her side in an instant, never stopping to consider that only a moment before he had been displeased with her. He gently propped her up, his arm behind her back to support her if she should begin to feel woozy.

 

Kagome gave him a weak smile. “Thanks. I don't know why I feel so weak all of the sudden.”

 

“Probably because a long-dead priestess tried to suck the energy out of you earlier,” he ground out.

 

“But it just doesn't seem to me like that's what she was trying to do!” Kagome argued. “If she wanted me to be dead, I'd be dead already--especially if she was being honest when she said that the Gods gave her the chance to come back.”

 

“I just don't trust her. I don't trust any of this. More demon attacks on neighboring villages, more problems, and more risk. Not to mention the jewel.”

 

“The jewel?” Kagome asked, genuinely confused.

 

“You don't remember Kikyou giving you the Shikon no Tama before you passed out? You dropped it when you fell,” he reminded her.

 

Kikyou's words rushed to the forefront of Kagome's mind. In an instant, she recalled the events of that afternoon. She knew that she would have to decide if the past was more important to her or if her future and the realm of endless possibilities that it offered were of a greater importance. The road ahead of her, no matter where it lead, would be difficult and, at its end, choices lay waiting.

 

Kagome nodded. “I remember now.” She debated with herself about whether or not she should tell him what Kikyou had told her. She knew that eventually she would have to tell him, but she wanted her decision to be her own.

 

Kagome stared at the floor while she considered the enormity of her position. She wanted to be with Inuyasha. She had always wanted to be with him. Yet, she struggled with the notion of telling him about Kikyou's warning that the well would close. She wanted him to be the hanyou that she fell in love with, not a boy who was trying his hardest to get her to stay with him because she might be gone some day.

 

“Are you even listening to me?” he demanded.

 

Kagome was startled out of her reverie. “Oops! Sorry, I was just thinking. My mind is a little bit scattered right now.”

 

Inuyasha squatted down in front of her on the floor of Kaede's hut and looked at her face intently. “Are you sure you're alright?” His amber eyes flashed with worry.

 

Kagome smiled warmly at him. “Of course I'm sure. I just have a lot of things to think about. Honestly, I'm a little bit worried about what the jewel being here again could mean. I don't think I like where all of this is headed.”

 

Inuyasha nodded and gently pulled Kagome into his arms. A look of surprise washed over her face before she relaxed it against the muscles of his chest. The notion that he cared for her was still new to her and she surmised that it would be a difficult transition to make. She had no idea when she would no longer be taken aback by his show of affection, but she longed for that day to come.

 

The smell of her hair filled his nostrils and he breathed it in deeply. She felt right in his arms and it occurred to him, maybe for the first time, that she always had. He had to fight the urge to squeeze her tighter and never let go. He wanted to protect her, to make sure she was safe. From now on, he vowed inwardly, she would not leave his sight.

 

Kagome thought back to that night in her bedroom and all that they had talked about. The image of his eyes filled with tears flooded her memory and her heart contracted in pain for him. She remembered what he'd said to her that night.

 

Inuyasha was looking into her eyes now. Calm hope blanketed his face. He took her small hand into his clawed one before he spoke. “Kagome, there are some things that I just know. Some things that are just so right I can feel them in the depths of my soul. You were made for me; I know it without a shadow of a doubt. I know I could never again live without you either. I've tried it. I've never felt so hopeless or empty as I do when you're not around.”

 

He paused and took a deep breath, glancing downward. He turned his eyes back to meet hers before he continued. He wanted desperately for her to know how sincere he really was in all that he was saying to her.

 

“I just know,” he continued, “that I can't go on without you. I'll die if I don't have you in my life, Kagome. I'm not a whole person when you're not with me. I know that I made a mistake by letting you go. But, I swear, for the rest of our lives, I'll never make another mistake like that again if you'll just stay with me. Will you stay with me, please?”

 

His voice was thick with emotion and his eyes welled with tears as he spoke his peace. His face contorted with emotion. His last question to her sounded so distressed that Kagome's heart ached for her hanyou. She brushed her fingers against his cheek.

 

“Of course, Inuyasha. Of course, I'll stay with you.”

 

Kagome let out a long sigh and circled her arms around him. She didn't know where her life was headed. She didn't know if she'd get to be with her hanyou or not. One thing she did know, for now at least, was that she would hold him and not let go. She would cherish him because the future was uncertain.

 

oOo

 

Sango sat under a tree and sipped water. She wondered about the events of the afternoon and what they could mean for every one. She hoped that things would still work out for all of her friends. Most of all, like every bride-to-be, she hoped that it wouldn't put a damper on all of her wedding plans.

 

Miroku stood in the distance talking with Kaede and she admired him from afar. There were times when she found herself wondering why she would ever be interested in such a pervert--mostly when he was proposing to other women. Then there were times like today, times when she relied on him to be her support and he willingly accepted the responsibility.

 

Miroku noticed her persistent stare and waved at her, smiling slightly. Sango blushed and waved back at him sheepishly. She felt like a fool for staring at her own fiancé, but sometimes she simply couldn't help herself. His blue eyes were so gorgeous, his body so lean and sexy, and he was absolutely adorable. Even Kagome had agreed that Miroku was an attractive man.

 

There were plenty of things for Sango to be doing, which made even her wonder why she was sitting idly by watching the others. She could at least proactively say that she'd cleaned the dishes from earlier. She needed to start cooking for dinner, but she didn't want to disturb Kagome. So, much like most of the other members of their party, she had decided to take a break as well.

 

Shippou lay next to her, sleeping like the dead. Sango was fairly certain that even a typhoon wouldn't be able to wake him at this point. She had to admit, if any one needed sleep, it was certainly Shippou. When he didn't get enough rest, he was irritable, which often caused him to start fights with a certain unkindly hanyou. Lately, he'd been over-exerting himself just to get attention.

 

“Maybe now that Kagome's back Shippou will calm down,” Sango said, more to herself than any one else.

 

“It's possible,” Miroku mused distractedly from above her.

 

Sango had been paying more attention to her own thoughts than to what Miroku had been doing after all. It was a fact that made her feel both vulnerable and somewhat better. She was taijiya; she should have a grip on her surroundings at all times. Yet, it did make her feel a little less awkward to know that she hadn't been gawking as much as she thought.

 

She smiled warmly up at him and extended an arm for him to pull her up. He took it gingerly and aided her to her feet, not missing an opportunity to kiss her lips when she reached him. His sudden show of affection didn't faze Sango any more. She was beginning to get used to the idea of him wanting her attentions all the time.

 

“You know,” she mumbled, “we really ought to get back to the hut. I need to start cooking for every one. I'm sure that Kagome is awake by now.”

 

Miroku nodded in agreement and released his hold on his lover. Before turning to follow her, he knelt to pick up the sleeping Shippou and carry him back to a safer area. The edge of the woods hadn't been perilous in the past, but with the increased demon attacks in the surrounding areas, Miroku didn't want to take a chance.

 

Shippou stirred slightly as Miroku lifted him into his arms, but never awoke. Miroku was fairly certain that Shippou could be eaten by a bear and sleep through the entire thing. Some day, the fox child would wake up in something's belly and wonder how he ever came to be there.

 

The monk chuckled at his line of thinking while speeding up to catch up to Sango. Kaede had already begun the trek back to the village. They would all arrive at the same time. It was fortuitous that Sango still had to make the dinner preparations because it would give them all time to discuss the events of the morning.

 

The evening sun was beginning to set in the sky, tracing beautiful shadows along the forest floor. It was a sight fit for lovers and Miroku wished he had more time to spend alone with Sango. For a moment, it occurred to him that things might never settle down enough for them to marry and he felt a twinge of desperation.

 

He cast the thought from his mind a put a merry expression on his face. He wasn't going to let his circumstances keep him from the woman that he loved. There was no way that he would ever allow anything to come between them. He just hoped that the rest of the world would make that as easy as possible.