InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Being Watched ❯ Being Watched: Chapter 5 ( Chapter 5 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

I do not own Inuyasha & Co.

Chapter 5

The next morning found them embracing beneath the bed sheet. Inuyasha on his back, and Kagome's body sprawled across him, with her left cheek on his bare chest. His right arm rested across her back, and his left hand draped over the left side of the bed. The sun peeked through the side of the blinds and curtains, right across his face. His eyes squinted open, golden irises shining through his lashes. He took in a deep breath and yawned. He looked down his nose to find her still asleep. He moved his left hand over and slipped it under hers to see that her small palm and almost the entire length of her slim fingers fit into the palm of his hand. He held her hand, and rubbed the back of it with his thumb.

She inhaled sharply and turned her face to his. Her eyes opened slightly and looked into his. They stayed looking into each other's eyes silently for a few moments.

"Morning." Inuyasha said softly with a smile.

"Morning. She replied.

"You hungry?" She moaned and nodded, snuggling into his skin. "Want eggs again? Or do you want to go out?"

She moaned again and brought her right leg higher onto his torso, holding him to her warm body. "I don't want to get dressed."

He shifted a little, and smiled. "Breakfast in bed then?" She nodded. He lifted her arm from him.

Later that morning, they grabbed their bags, engaged the new locks on his door, and left to catch the train to the Ryokan. Once on the train, Inuyasha lifted their bags up on the rack and then sat together in a two-seat row, facing forward. During the trip, Kagome's head remained nestled on Inuyasha's right peck, as he left her the window seat, to protect her. Her eyes were closed, and a smile continuously graced her relaxed face. He watched her off and on. Her face looked beautiful in her utopian state. He was doing it; he was falling in love once again.

He smiled at the thought that he was finally letting go of his past, and Kagome was just what he needed. Kikyo didn't compare to Kagome in any way. She was beautiful, sure, but her personality was night to Kagome's day. Kikyo was a little rough around the edges, and was quite the priestess in those days. During her existence, demons and spirits were the norm, and the main enemies in the land. She was the main protector of the Shikon jewel, and the only priestess worthy of protecting such a precious commodity. When he first met her, she'd shot some arrows at him, pinning him to a nearby tree. She never scared him, but he knew he had no chance against her might. Even though she was a mere human, she was stronger than most, and wielded her powers effortlessly against any demon of any size and strength.

As the train raced down the tracks, the train was jostled a bit when it switched tracks. His eyes diverted from Kagome's face to the window to see that they had hit the halfway mark, and were finally leaving the city. With nothing ahead of them but forests and rivers, he lifted Kagome's face to look her in the eyes.

"What is it?" she asked.

"You have no idea how beautiful this place is we're going. I have a lot of things I want to show you, and a lot to tell you about my past. Kagome, I've asked you on this trip to get to know me a little better, and to show you who I am, where I'm from, and what I'd seen all these years. If we're meant to be, you'll love what you're about to see." He said with a smile. She returned the smile, and snuggled into his chest once again.

He watched the scenery pensively as he thought, 'I'm going home.'

A couple hours later, they arrived at their destination and vacated the train. They started walking south from the train station in Kyoto. He lifted his backpack onto his back, and held her right shoulder as he led her down a dirt road surrounded by forest on both sides.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"We're going to a little Ryokan tucked out of the way from the road. It's secluded, so we'll be quite safe."

"Safe from what?"

"Safe from anyone trying to find you. Also, once we check in at the Ryokan, I have a few secret places to show you. It won't take long, I promise." He looked her in the eye and winked as he smiled.

The couple continued walking for another ten minutes until the sign covered by vines appeared on the right side of the trail. They entered the grounds, and walked into the wooden structure. The Ryokan looked to be centuries old. It was well-taken care of, and so quiet.

A large sign spelling out serenity graced the archway above the front desk.

Inuyasha checked them in, and they then walked off to the right, down the hall to their suite. He slid the shoji door open and stepped in. The room was decently sized, and a beautiful parting screen sat off in the corner. The closet housed their futon mattress, pillows and sheets. Kagome set her bag down and walked across the room to the shoji and slid it open to a gorgeous view of a private hot spring pool surrounded by bamboo and other flowering plants. She gasped in awe. Inuyasha stepped up beside her and turned her to face him. He held her softly and asked, "What do you think?"

She looked at him with starry eyes. "Oh my, Inu... I-"

"You what?" He asked as he started to kiss her neck.

Chills shot down her spine and her body began to react to his lips on her skin. He held her closer and continued to kiss and suckle her skin. "Is it more than you expected?" he asked against her skin.

"Yes." She barely spoke as his lips then found her mouth, and they kissed uncontrollably for a few minutes.

Once they came up for air, he then knelt to the ground with his back to her. "Get on." She looked at him oddly. He looked over his shoulder. "Trust me, just get on. I want to take you somewhere." She stepped up to his back. He wrapped his arms around her legs, and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He rose from the ground, gaining a chuckle out of her at the height.

Suddenly, she screamed as he leapt from the window, landing on the ground past the hot spring. He took off in a blinding run. She yelped and gasped all the way as he continued running fast, jumping up into the trees. He leapt from branch to branch, holding tightly onto her legs the whole way. She quickly lost her bearings, but completely enjoyed the view his traveling provided her.

"Almost there!" he shouted. She whooped and hollered excitedly as he continued a little way more. Suddenly, they leapt down from a rather craggy looking tree, and he knelt down, letting go of her legs. She stepped aside and he stood before her looking outward at the clearing.

It was completely quiet in the clearing, surrounded by the tall trees. "Inuyasha, where are we?" He turned to face her, his face was serious, determined, and pained.

"This place, this clearing, is where I first met Kikyo." She looked around, turning to see every detail. "It looked the same as it does now. Nothing's changed since then; amazing."

"Tell me, what happened that day?" She sat down before him. He looked up and walked past her. She turned to see him walking up to a tree.

He touched the bark. "This tree was the tree her arrows pinned me to when I first encountered her. She was a strong priestess, and unafraid of even me. Only she was ever able to stop me in my tracks. I guess you could say that I loved that fact about her. She was the only woman I allowed to best me in anything, and she often fought me if needed."

He turned to face her. "I'd heard about the Shikon jewel's abilities, and sought out the priestess protecting it. I knew nothing about her, and rushed in foolishly. At first I thought she would surely kill me. She could have, but chose not to. I had no clue as to why, but soon learned that she spared me because we wanted the same thing; release from her own hell."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"She wanted a normal life—to fall in love, have children, and a family. Me, I wanted to become a full spirit, but most of all, I hated being alone, and ridiculed. I wanted respect I couldn't have. When we finally expressed ourselves and opened up our hearts, we learned we needed each other."

"Then what happened?"

"We fell in love. We planned to wish on the jewel—for me to become human, and her to become my wife."

"Wait, how did you decide to set aside your desire to become a full spirit?"

"I realized she could never be with a true spirit, being the priestess she was--she'd kill me. Not only that, but I would be respected, understood, and accepted. It was a worthy trade-off."

"But, you already had her respect, right? Why did she ask you to change?"

"She didn't ask me, I made that decision. I wanted to be with her completely. I didn't want to hurt her. I didn't want to ruin her reputation. I wanted to die with her, not outlive her like I have."

"So, what happened?"

"Well, some bandit got in the way, and killed her before we could meet to wish upon the jewel and free ourselves. She nursed that bandit after a bad fire. He wanted her as well, so he handed his body and soul over to a hoard of demons and became a half demon of hell. He was a shape-shifter, and was able to disguise himself in any way he wished. He destroyed what we had by pitting us against each other. He attacked each of us in the other's form to make us believe one had betrayed the other, and then she died of the wounds he'd inflicted on her while fighting me. Needless to say, the villagers acquired the jewel after I ran off on my own again. The jewel disappeared soon after. It was reported that it was handed down to a secluded village somewhere, but no location was ever given. I couldn't trust another living soul for a long time. Then, I met this monk who'd apparently been searching for the same enemy.

"We joined forces and searched for this demon, who named himself Naraku. At first, I knew nothing about him. It was the monk who cleared everything up. His name was Miroku. During our travels and searching, we ran into a demon slayer who was fighting a large demon, a bear to be exact. During her fight, something happened. Somehow, the bear had acquired the jewel, and had grown ten times its original size. As the demon slayer was fighting the bear, her weapon shattered the jewel, and the pieces scattered throughout the countryside.

"Oh, my..."

"We then embarked on a journey to gather up the pieces of the jewel. Long story short, Naraku and I became stronger and stronger on the journey, and fought. In the end, I killed him, the jewel was then placed in a safe place, and I walked off into the sunset."

"Really? That's it?"

"No. That's the short version. The longer version lasted at least five years."

"And you lived the rest of your life up until now alone?" He nodded. "Oh, Inu. I couldn't imagine what all is in your mind, reliving all this." She looked around once again.

"Yeah, well. I'm past it all, and I'm doing better nowadays. So, there's another place to show you." He knelt with his back before her, she climbed on, and they were off once again.

This time, they stopped at the nearest beach. He knelt and she stepped away, eyeing the beautiful scenery. She turned to him a moment later and asked, "What happened here?"

He stepped up beside her and looked out at the water. "It was here I professed my love to Kikyo."

She eyed him for a few moments as thoughts ran through his head. "I'm so sorry, Inu."

"Don't be. She fought with me 'til the end. She was there up until just before I killed Naraku."

"Wait, I thought you said she died from her injuries from Naraku."

He looked at her. "She did, but a witch named Urasue resurrected her fifty years later."

"Why? How?"

"She resurrected her into a body made of clay and her own ashes from her gravesite. She called down her soul and re-animated her body. She helped us find the shards. She fought Naraku the best way she knew how, but was killed in the end by his miasma. Her clay body couldn't handle the corrosion, and being the only strong priestess in the area, no one could save her. She held on with her wounds for as long as she could, living on the souls of women who had passed on, but ultimately succumbed in the end.

"I'm so sorry, Inu."

He looked down at the sand. "She was strong, but not strong enough. During that journey, I realized what the jewel could do to me, and that there is more to me than I ever thought possible."

"What do you mean?"

"I learned I could never achieve my goal, no matter what I did, or how hard I tried to control it. While using the jewel, I became a cold blooded demon, Kagome." She gasped. "My appearance changed, my blood grew hot, and I was overcome with the desire to kill, even those I considered my close comrades." He looked upon her. "I tried to kill Kikyo."

"Oh, Inu..."

"That was when I decided I wanted nothing with the jewel, but to destroy it. Many sought it, and prized the shards and what they were capable of while using them, but only we knew what the jewel truly was. A ball of corruption, no matter how chaste the heart of the holder."

"So, what happened to the jewel after that?"

"Kikyo made the correct wish before she died. She wished the jewel to disappear from this world. After her wish was granted, she passed on. It took the very last vestiges of her soul to make the wish. Ultimately, it was her that made killing Naraku possible. When the jewel no longer existed, neither did the one thing that held him together. I was then able to use Tetsusaiga to destroy him."

“What's Tetsusaiga?"

He turned to look on her. "My sword." He knelt before her again. They took off one last time, and he took her to a mansion surrounded by bamboo, and vines.

He let her down and said, "This is my family's home. Well, my half-brother's home to be more precise." She followed him into the mansion, down the hall and into a wide room that reminded her of a dojo. Off in the corner was a case embedded into the wall. He slid the door open and grabbed an old sword in a beat-up scabbard. He drew the sword, which looked as misused as the sheath. He whipped it around like it weighed nothing for a few moments.

He looked at her with a mischievous look on his face and asked, "Wanna see something crazy?" She shrugged.

He held the sword before him in both hands and a bright light surrounded the blade and spanned out as the sword transformed. Once the light dissipated, she gasped in shock. The sword had completely transformed into an oversized blade, and the tsuba became a tuft of bushy, white fur.

She walked up to him and touched the blade. "It's real!"

"Yep. This is the sword handed down to me by my late father. This is the weapon that destroyed Naraku."

"I believe you." She looked upon his form. Holding his sword, he looked epic. He looked confident, and ready for a fight. "It's beautiful."

"Yeah. This is the first time I've held the sword in centuries. I think it missed me."

He laid the glistening blade in his left hand and looked upon it with a soft smile. "Even though those times were the most turbulent I've ever had, I do miss having a reason to hold Tetsusaiga."

Kagome walked to his side and put her hand on his shoulder. "I wish I could have been there. It must have been amazing to see you wield it."

He looked to her. "Want to see what I can do?" She smiled and nodded. "Follow me."

He led her out into the forest, a short distance away from the mansion. "Stay back."

She stepped behind him as he held the sword in his hands, in a basic stantz. He lifted the sword over his head, the tip nearly reaching three to five feet behind him, and swung it down while yelling, "Kaze no Kizu!"

A bright light and turbulent wind flew out from the blade, and careened forward, decimating the trees and grass before them, nearly paving a new path through the forest. Kagome covered her eyes from the debris, as Inuyasha stood and smiled at the destruction. Once the dust had settled, Kagome looked at the three immense, claw-like scars he'd placed on the ground, and couldn't believe her eyes.

"You okay?" He asked, and she snapped out of her trance.

She guffawed and laughed in shock. Inuyasha then showed her another technique, dealing more destruction.

She enjoyed watching him show off his abilities. To her, he finally came alive. This was the true Inuyasha, the man she fell in love with. A capable protector who was willing to go to any lengths to keep her safe. This is the man Kikyo fell in love with—Inuyasha, the warrior. It all began to fall into place. She needed him as much as he needed her.

The forest was his element, and his true world. She noticed he was more relaxed, more unhinged, and more himself.

After a few laughs, and his arsenal was revealed, she asked, "So, Inuyasha, I have a question."

"What's that?" He asked as they made their way back into the mansion.

"Where have all the demons and spirits gone?"

He didn't answer for a few moments. When he placed the sword back on the stand in the cabinet he replied, "They're all in hiding."

"Hiding? How? Where?"

He turned and faced her with a serious look in his eyes. "They are no longer able to be out in the open. Most of the spirits are forest and animal spirits. These days, however, they are no longer believed in or understood. Ever since Buddhism was abolished and other religions took over, demon slayers all died out, and they no longer had enemies to fight with, save for themselves. Now, they hide, biding their time for more turbulent times."

"I see. So, without the monks, and priestesses, they have no reason to fear?"

"Basically. They come out to torment tourists every now and then, but other than that, they value their lives now more than they did then since they have no reason to fight."

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"You know, are there others like you who are hiding in society like you are?"

"Some are, but they scatter themselves to keep their identities safe." He replied as they stepped out from the mansion and back into the forest.

"Has anyone ever found out? I mean, anyone other than me?"

Inuyasha stopped and turned to her. "No. You are the first since Kikyo."

"I see. Have you run into any of the demons/spirits you knew back then?"

"No, and I'm glad of it. That's not something I need right now. These are times of peace, and I would rather it last than end in blood. I think I've shed and smelled enough of it."

"I have a tough question to ask. Did you ever kill any humans?"

He stopped and grabbed her shoulders in anger. "I am NOT answering that question. Kagome, never ask me that again, you hear me? That is not a question to ask so lightly." He then knelt before her as before. "I'm taking you back to the Ryokan. Get on, the history lesson is over."

Later, after they arrived back at the Ryokan, he left her there, telling her to enjoy the hot spring for a bit and that he'd be back soon. He slid the shoji closed and walked off quietly.

She undressed and then stepped out into the hot spring. She leaned against the wooden wall and sighed. The afternoon was wild, amazing and unlike anything she'd ever experienced before. His world is full of nature, rugged, and simple. He was unlike anyone she'd ever met before, and learning about his past was exciting.

Deep down she wished she'd been saved by him during those times. She longed for a simpler life than the one she was living now. She felt like an outcast, and also felt weak beside him. She wished she held a place in his past as well. She almost felt jealous of Kikyo, Miroku and everyone he fought with. They got to know him back then, when he was young, wild and quite the warrior.

Now, he draws on a computer and writes stories. His life seemed to be more of a contradiction. She figured that, since he was a warrior long ago, that he'd be involved in the military or something, not a storyteller/artist. He had laid down his sword for a peaceful and uneventful life.

As the hot spring relieved the tension in her shoulders, from holding on to him for dear life, she closed her eyes and succumbed to the scents of the flowers surrounding the spring. Birds chirped, water fell from a small water spout nearby, which tickled her ears and relaxed her spirits.

"I could so get used to this," she said as she let go and quieted her mind in a form of meditation.