InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Bleed and Breathe ❯ Celebration and Forgiveness ( Chapter 9 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: aikidogirl 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Suspense / Supernatural / Romance / Drama / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 10.26.2006 | Pages: 5 | Words: 7.3K | Visits: 462 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Suspense / Supernatural / Romance / Drama / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 10.26.2006 | Pages: 5 | Words: 7.3K | Visits: 462 | Status: Work In Progress
Hehe, hi! Um, I know it has been forever since I updated, and I am very sorry. Very, terribly, horribly sorry. Please do not pummel me. Between one job, looking for a second and normal home life I have had no time. But I am very grateful for those who have stuck around to see what happens next and even more grateful for those that review (Hint-Hint). Anyways, I own nothing, which sucks…
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Celebrati on and Forgiveness
The aura around Kagome flickered and then vanished. She looked up from the pile of ash at her feet with shy and nervous eyes at her friends. “Heh heh, hi guys! Long time no see huh?”
Sango and Miroku both looked at her, tears threatening to fall from both of their eyes. Sango was the first to speak. “Ka…Kagome? Is it really you?”
Kagome was slowly closing the distance between them, her eyes never leaving Sango’s. “Yes, Sango, it is really me.” She stopped about a foot in front of her friend, waiting for her to make the first move. She couldn’t tell if Sango was going to cry and run, cry and faint, or cry and smack the holy hell out of her. Both of them were crying already, so that was out of the way. Kagome braced herself as Sango lunged at her, but instead of a beating Sango wrapped her arms around Kagome’s neck, almost choking her. Kagome hugged her back, the embrace threatening to squeeze the life out of them. Lost sisters were reunited, and there was no one else there but the two of them. Miroku cleared his throat for some attention from the two women he adored most in the world. They looked at him and saw that he was crying as well, and they pulled them into the embrace with them.
Sesshomaru continued to stare at the display of human emotion before him. ‘I will never understand these humans, nor do I want to. Emotions are controlling and a display of weakness. It is pathetic.’ He scoffed at them before returning to his normal emotionless expression. Kagome’s back was facing him, and for some reason he couldn’t help but admire her backside. Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he growled as he noticed a stray hand making its way towards her rear. Kagome was more than oblivious, still wrapped in her friend’s arms. Sesshomaru stared making his way towards them, even though his mind was telling his body not to. This was something he had never experienced before; he wanted to rip the hand off the monks arm. He was walking slowly, knowing full well that the monk would accomplish his mission, but that it wasn’t his place to get involved. The stray hand latched onto Kagome’s rear, but both women shot up in surprise. Sesshomaru stopped where he was and watched what was developing in front of him.
“Hentai!” and a loud smack could be heard echoing throughout the clearing. Both girls smacked him at the same time, making his face look like a fish as it smooshed together. Sesshomaru halfway smirked as the monk met the ground and both of his hand twitched. The hand prints on his face would be there most of the day he supposed. His smirk disappeared however, when the two girls stared laughing and helped him up off the ground. They were both still crying but now they were tears of mirth. Confusion reigned through Sesshomaru, ‘There is no way she could have liked that. She smacked him and now she is laughing?’
Sango visibly tensed and reached for her weapon. Kagome looked at her and the where Sango was looking. “Oh kami, Sango no!” She had completely forgotten about Sesshomaru in all of the excitement.
“Kagome! What the hell is HE doing here? And why are you stopping me?
Sesshomaru was growling now, seeing the exterminator looking for another fight. Miroku sensed the impending danger to his woman and stepped in front of her, his prayer beads ready to be ripped off at the slightest move of the TaiYoukai.
Kagome ran into the middle of the impending fight. “Whoa whoa guys! Sesshomaru-sama is on our side. He is the one that brought me here.” She was now right in front of Sesshomaru, close enough that if she stepped backwards she would be touching his chest. Her arms were out to the sides, trying to get her friends to back down.
“Are you trying to protect me miko?” Sesshomaru looked down at her over his nose. Her temper rose.
“No you jerk. I don’t want you to kill my friends. Why the hell would I want to protect you?” The confrontation between them was kept low enough for only them to hear.
“What! Kagome have you lost your freakin mind? He has tried to kill us in the past.”
“I could kill you now exterminator.” Sesshomaru cracked his knuckles.
Kagome turned and gave him a death glare that stopped him in his tracks, which was unexpected. He glared back but she stood her ground, completely unafraid. “That is enough!” She turned back to the other two. “All of you!” Her aura was flaring around her giving them a taste of what they would experience if the foolishness did not stop. “If you don’t knock it off I will purify all of you.” Everyone knew it was an idle threat, but they didn’t want to push it and be hurt either. As they let their guards down Kagome relaxed as well, even though the ‘I will end your life’ glares didn’t stop. “Thank you. Sesshomaru-sama is an ally. He saved my life and brought me back here.”
Sango marched over to Kagome which made Sesshomaru stiffen up. “I expect the whole story of where the hell you have been for the past four months and what the hell has happened to you in that time. Understood?”
“Hai Sango.”
Kagome smiled as she watched her friend walk over to Sesshomaru. She stopped short of the demon lord before bowing low. “Thank you Sesshomaru-sama, for taking care of Kagome and returning her to us. I am sure there will be a celebration over her return, it would be an honor if you would join us.”
“Hn.” was her response, but it was a response none the less. Sango bowed again before backing up and turning to walk away. She interlocked her arm with Kagome and pulled her to walk away.
“Thank you Sango, that was nice.” Kagome said as they walked away, looking back at Sesshomaru with a grin. He began to follow them to the village at a more leisurely pace, but close enough to keep his eyes on the monk’s idle hands.
“Hey, guys. Just a thought, but where is the jewel? Kikyo didn’t have it on her.”
“Kikyo thought it best to leave it in the shrine in the village. She saw no point in carrying it all the time unless we were traveling, which didn’t happen much. I think the true reason was because she was slowly tainting it, so she wanted to keep it away from her.” Miroku said as they walked through the woods. The monk would not take his eyes off of Kagome which was becoming rather unnerving to the youkai behind him. Kagome heard Sesshomaru give a low growl.
“Miroku you pervert! Stop staring at me! Don’t make ask Sango to smack you again; your cheeks have yet to recover from the last time.” Kagome giggled when Miroku looked at Sango who was rubbing her hands together evilly smiling at him.
Audibly gulping Miroku put his hands up in an attempt to save himself. “I apologize Kagome-sama. Its just that you have changed, a lot. It is hard to take it all in. I assure you that I did not mean anything like what you think I did. There is a great deal to catch up on and I am sure Kaede would like to see you too.”
“Sounds great! Hey do you guys still have my backpack?”
“Yes, we had Kaede hide it so Kikyo wouldn’t destroy it. I think it still has all of your stuff in it too.”
“Great. Well let’s hurry, I am starving!” Sesshomaru snorted from behind her at her last comment. Her temper flared and she was in his face before he could even react.
“Shut it you! Ill have you know it takes a great deal of energy for me to do what I just did. And I know you haven’t forgotten the fact that I am human and need to eat, you pompous, self-absorbed, bastard! Miroku and Sango’s jaws dropped to the ground. They looked at each other and then back at the others.
Sesshomaru growled at her, making her cower ever so slightly. “Watch who you are talking to miko. I do recall the fact that you are human and can die rather easily.” he cracked his knuckles. Kagome gulped but didn’t back down from the staring contest that was going on.
“You brought me back to life, if you would let all the time and effort spent on me go to waste then so be it.” Not taking her eyes off of his for a second she brought her arms out to her side. She was offering herself to him to kill, defiance in her eyes. He snarled and grabbed her by the throat. Sango and Miroku moved forward to come to her aid. Sesshomaru brought her close to him.
“Are you challenging me miko? Do you truly wish to try me on this?” Kagome said nothing as she continued to stare into his eyes that were now tinged with red at the side. “You do not know what it means to challenge this Sesshomaru.” He released her from his grip as she fell to the ground. “We will finish this later.” He walked away as her friends approached.
“Kami Kagome! Are you ok? Do you want us to go after him?” Sango asked, concern evident in her voice.
“No Sango I am fine. See, already healing.” Kagome lifted her neck to show her friend that she was fine. “I deserved that anyways. I don’t know why but he knows how to piss me off you know? He wouldn’t ever hurt me though, not seriously anyways.”
“You don’t know that Kagome. Sesshomaru is ruthless, a cold hearted killer. You are just a ningen, powerful, but a ningen nonetheless.” ‘I wonder if she knows what she was doing by challenging him like that?’
“I know Sango, but he saved me and trained me. According to him I ‘belong’ to him since he saved my life. If he wanted me dead he would have left me dead or killed me before.”
“Hmm. Well let’s head back so you can get cleaned up and eat.” Sango helped Kagome up and they all walked back into the village. “I don’t see how you are still alive personally, but perhaps it will all make sense after hearing about what’s been going on.”
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Running through the forest and striking down trees was not helping his mood. He needed to kill something. ‘How dare she talk to me like that. Does she forget who I am?’
‘You did not forcefully remind her. You did not even scare her you know that right.’
‘I will be forceful later. I do not want to deal with the other ningens when it is between the miko and I.’
‘Oh please. Admit it, you are growing fond of her. You allow her to speak the way she does to you. You did not hurt the hanyou because she asked you not to. You even let her challenge you like that. You know what that means.’
‘Shut up.’
‘You have accepted her. You liked her challenge.’
‘Shut up!’
“GGRRRRAAAAAA!” yelling he annihilated a defenseless tree. Breathing in heavily he looked around for something to kill. There was no way he was beginning to accept this human. It couldn’t be. If his youkai accepted her then… ‘Ah, look. Big, giant bear. Kill. Kill. Kill.’
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The friends walked to the village in silence. They were all still in shock over the days events, but the silence wasn’t uncomfortable. Every now and then one of them would smile at a memory coming to the front of their minds, but that was it. It was just good for all of them to be back together again. As they walked into the village Kaede stood up from tending to some herbs. She saw a young woman running towards her yelling her name.
‘Is that…Kagome?’ Her question was answered when the woman grabbed her in a tight embrace.
“Oh Kaede, how have you been? I have missed you!”
“Kagome? Is it really you? How can this be? You died.” Kaede looked at the girl turned woman that was standing before her. Her appearance hadn’t changed, but her aura had. Kaede could slightly feel the enormous amount of power that this woman possessed, though she also knew it was being contained somehow.
“Well, yes, I did die.” Kagome stopped as she saw all the villagers rally around Kaede carrying any sort of weapon they could get their hands on. The women and children hid in the huts as the men shouted “Demon! Demon!” Kagome turned around and saw Sesshomaru dragging a large bear behind him as he walked towards the village. “No! Sesshomaru-sama is an ally.”
Kaede held her hand up to stop the mob from attacking. “Kagome, what do you mean?”
“Sesshomaru-sama is the one who saved me. He brought me back to life and brought me back here.” Kaede looked hard at Kagome and then approached the rather agitated demon lord. She bowed low and the villagers followed her show of respect.
“Sesshomaru-sama, thank you for what you have done for Kagome. We are all grateful of your kindness. We will celebrate her return tonight. It would be an honor if you would attend.” He looked down his nose at the old miko before throwing the bear at the villager’s feet. They immediately took the bear to prepare it for the feast that was to happen later that night. Sesshomaru stood their like a statue and gave indication of moving. Kagome smiled at him. She didn’t know if he would come to the festivities, more than likely he would not. He did, however, provide the main course of the meal. Sesshomaru was different from what they all had believed him to be, and only Kagome was the one to really see this.
“Kagome, is this true?” The old miko was looking at Kagome with questioning eyes.
She smiled at her friend. “Yes, Kaede. It is true. I promise I will tell you everything, but I want to tell everyone together so I don’t have to tell the story fifty times!”
“I understand child. Where is Inuyasha and my sister?”
“Well, Inuyasha kind of ran off a while ago. Your sister, um, I had to uh…”
“I see. Truly Kagome, I am thankful. The lost soul that my sister had become needed to be laid to rest for good. She was not meant to be here any longer.”
“You are not angry with me then?”
“No child, I am not. But Inuyasha on the other hand, I wonder how he is feeling about all of this.”
“I don’t know. I will find him later; I think right now he just needs sometime alone.”
“Aye that he does. He will come around, don’t worry.”
Kagome gave her a sad smile. She didn’t know what Inuyasha was going through right now. He had to be a mix of confusion, sadness, anger, surprise, and who knows what other emotion. Her thoughts were interrupted when Kaede spoke to her once again.
“Kagome child, I think it is time for the shikon to go back to whom it belongs.”
“Yes, I think you are right.”
Everyone, including Sesshomaru walked to the shine where the jewel was being held. As they all waited outside for Kaede to bring it out Sango decided now was a good time to tell Kagome what she had been hiding.
“Kagome?”
“Sango? What’s wrong?”
“I…I don’t know how to tell you this. It’s, it’s Shippo. When you, you know, he just disappeared. We searched for him, but we couldn’t find him. I’m sorry.”
Kagome smiled at her friend. “It’s ok Sango. Shippo has been with me at the castle. After the, incident, he climed into the well with me. He had planned on protecting me until he couldn’t anymore. When Sesshomaru-sama came, he let Shippo come with us. That is where he is now.”
“Oh thank Kami. We were all so worried.” Sango felt like the world had just been lifted off her shoulders. Kaede finally brought the jewel out, and Kagome could see that the jewel had begun to be tainted. There was a faint darkness in the center, and it was swirling around the pink purity trying to take control. Kaede handed Kagome the jewel, but as she did so a pink glow began to emanate from it as if it were being purified. The jewel slowly began to absorb into her hand.
“Kagome what is happening?” Sango shouted to her friend, but she couldn’t hear her. Kagome’s eye’s turned completely white and the pink glow enveloped her. Miroku reached out trying to touch her, but as soon as the glow touched him his hand was slightly burned. Kagome’s body began to rise into the air chest first. Her head, arms, and legs were hanging limply from her body. Nothing could be done but to watch as a bright light flashed from Kagome’s body and then disappeared just as quickly. As soon as the light faded she began to plummet to the ground. Kirara transformed to catch her, but Sesshomaru had already leapt up and caught her in his arm. He landed with the unconscious girl as her friends rushed towards him. Sesshomaru would have none of that and gave a dangerous growl warning them to keep away.
“Is she alive Sesshomaru-sama?” Miroku asked with a shaky voice. Silence was her answer as Sesshomaru looked to Kaede.
“There is a hut over here she may rest in.” Kaede led him into the hut with the others right behind him. He laid her down gently on the mat and the old miko looked her over.
“She is unconscious, but I think she will be fine with some rest.”
“Kaede, look at the shikon.” Miroku said pointing to her chest. A faint glow could still be seen as it faded under her clothing. She pulled back part of the kimono and found that the jewel was embedded in her chest right below the necklace, making it look like one piece of jewelry. It stuck halfway out of her chest showing the missing pieces.
“I don’t know why this has happened, but I don’t think it will hurt her at all. We will just have to see when she wakes up.”
“Out.” It was the first time Sesshomaru had spoken. They all stared at him as he stared at the miko before him. No one moved, causing him to be agitated. “Now.” he growled out. They scattered out of the hut, Miroku dragging a protesting Sango behind him.
“Who the hell does he think he is?” she paced back and forth in front of the hut.
“Let it go Sango…”
“Let it go! How can you say that? What if he hurts her?” She was fuming and it made Miroku take a step back. He could almost swear he saw steam coming out of her ears. He put his hand on her shoulder.
“Sango, he won’t hurt her and you know it. I think there are things happening here that we don’t know about.” Sango looked at him confused. “Come on, I am sure she will be awake in time for the celebration. Perhaps we could assist Kaede in the preparations.”
Sesshomaru was left alone with the young miko, only his thoughts kept him company. Of course they were all about this woman in front of him, but this time the thoughts were not so unwelcome and didn’t agitate him. There was a strand of hair that had been bugging him for a while. It was covering part of her face and the obstruction was annoying. He reached over and moved it, feeling the smooth skin of her face in the process. He could not help but to run the back of his fingers over her face, and she began to stir when he did so. Her eyes opened slowly, and it took her a minute to focus. Finally she looked up at him.
“Sesshomaru? What happened?” Again she had spoken to him familiarly, and again he had said nothing. He didn’t really mind if they were alone and she spoke to him this way, but if others were around he felt it appropriate to be more respectful.
“The jewel absorbed into you. You fainted.” he spoke to her gently and quietly, something she had not experienced from him before.
“Oh. You have been here all this time?”
“Hai.” Nothing else was said. Kagome didn’t know what to say to this new knowledge.
“You should rest a bit more. I will inform your friends you are awake.” He made his way to the door.
“Sesshomaru!” He turned back towards her. “Thank you.” She almost missed the slight nod of his head before he exited the hut. He knew that she was thanking him for more than getting her friends. There was a new feeling inside of him, knowing that she was comfortable with him.
Miroku and Sango were waiting outside the hut with Kirara on Sango’s shoulder. The food was cooking now and they had run out of things to do. They stood up as he exited the hut and looked at him with anticipation. He only paused for a second and didn’t even look their way when doing so.
“She is awake.” and with that he was gone.
Sango bolted into the hut and was at Kagome’s side before the miko could even sit up. Miroku was more reserved and decided to just walk to Kagome.
“Kagome! Are you ok? How are you feeling? Are you hurt at all?” She was searching all over her friend franticly, trying to make sure she was truly ok.
“Sango! Sango! Stop!” Sango abruptly stopped and sat up straight. Kagome gave her a reassuring smile. “I am ok. I promise. I am just really hungry.” Sango looked at her wearily, but said nothing. She helped her stand up slowly. Kagome felt something different and remembered what Sesshomaru had said about the jewel. She pulled down her kimono and found the jewel protruding from her chest. “Well, that is interesting.” running her fingers over the new addition to her body, she saw that there was only a tiny sliver of jewel left to fill. “How many shards are left?”
Miroku was the one to speak this time. “Two. Naraku has them both; one of them is Kohaku’s.”
“What about Kouga’s?”
“When he heard what had happened to you, he just handed them over.”
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I nuyasha growled slightly as a familiar scent reached his nose. Everyone looked at him. “Mangy wolf.” No sooner had he said that then the devil himself raced and skidded to a stop right in front of them.
“Hey dog breath. Where’s my woman? You had better have been taking care of her for me.” Kouga searched the group. He did not find the woman he was looking for, but instead a woman that smelled of dirt and death. Then he noticed that the rest of them had their heads hung and would not look at him. “Hey! Where is my woman? And what the hell is she doing here?” It had only been a week since Kagome’s death, and it was still fresh in their minds.
Kikyo smirked at the wolf. “Kagome had an unfortunate accident. I am here to take her place.”
Kouga immediately turned and grabbed Inuyasha by the throat and slammed him into a tree. “You let her get killed you son of a bitch!” Kouga stared him down but Inuyasha would not look at him, he didn’t even attempt to fight back.
“Kouga stop!” Sango shouted at him. “It wasn’t his fault. Don’t you think it is hard enough for all of us as it is?” Kouga looked at her and let Inuyasha drop to the ground.
“What happened to her?” No one answered and he nodded his head. Bending down he slashed both of his legs open and pulled out the shards he possessed. Tossing them at Inuyasha’s feet, he spoke. “I have no need for these anymore.” He gave the group one last look before turning on his heels and leaving, never once looking back.
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“Poor Kouga.” Kagome said. “You all have been through so much. I’m sorry it took me so long to come back. I just couldn’t let you know yet, I wasn’t ready.”
“We understand Kagome.” Miroku placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
“Yes, you had good reason for not coming back before. We do want a full explanation of what has been going on by the way.” The two women smiled at each other.
“Of course. I think right now I need to eat before my stomach starts explaining its complaints.”
As the three walked out of the hut the surrounding villagers cheered for Kagome. Their plates had already been fixed and were handed to them. There was music and dancing as they walked to a spot by the fire next to Kaede. Sake was flowing while stories were told. Kagome and her friends sat in a tight huddle as she began her story of what had been going on.
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None of them could believe what they had just heard. It was too farfetched.
“Now wait just one damn minute! You mean to tell me he brought you back to life…”
“Yes.”
“Nursed you back to health…”
“Yes.”
“Found people to train you as a miko and a warrior…”
“Yes.”
“And he gave you the duties of Lady of the house…”
“Yes Sango. He did do all these things and more.”
“Yes Kagome, but now he says we can all come with you to the western lands and stay at the castle. Even Inuyasha, whom he hates. All of this just so he doesn’t have to hear you whine? It doesn’t all add up to me.” Miroku looked at her questioningly.
“Look all I know is what he has told me and I am not going to argue with it. He has done more for me than anyone should have, and I will ever to be able to repay him.” Kagome was getting frustrated. They had been over the story twice and now they were questioning Sesshomaru’s motives, like she would know what those were.
“Look Kagome, I realize he has done a lot for you. Do you think that maybe he is using you for his own benefit? He is not the kind of person to just randomly save people and all that without a motive.”
“You guys, I really don’t know what his intentions are. Do I think he is using me? No. I truly don’t. From just being around him I don’t think he is the demon we made him out to be. The people at the castle respect him. Most of them lost everything they had, and he brought them into the castle.”
“Yes but they are his servants.”
“Maybe so, but they are housed, fed and clean. Their children are being taken care of. You know as well as I do that if he was the demon we thought he was he would do that for them. I really think this is exactly where we are all meant to be. I think this is supposed to happen. I for one am not going to argue with it.” Kagome had not mentioned seeing Inu-Taisho when she had died. That meeting was for her only, and she trusted it. “Sango,” she cut her friend off that was about to protest again, “even IF he is using me, it can be a double edged blade. I can use his abilities at fighting just as he can use mine at detecting shards. He is helping me, us, for whatever reason and I respect him for that. Please just trust me.”
“I just don’t want you to get hurt anymore Kagome.”
Kagome smiled at her good natured friend. “I know Sango, but I don’t think I will. I know you can not trust him, but please trust me.” Sango huffed and nodded. “Thanks. I am going to look for Inuyasha; I think it is time that we talked.” Kagome rose from he spot and left. She spotted Sesshomaru against a tree and decided to bring him a plate. As she approached him she noticed his eyes were closed, and she wondered if he might be asleep. She stared at him for a short time wondering what she should do.
“It is impolite to stare.” his sudden interruption of her thoughts caused her to jump in surprise. She could have sworn she saw his lips twitch in amusement before settling back into place.
“I’m sorry. I thought you might be asleep.” she was staring at the ground, obviously embarrassed at being caught.
“I could not sleep here first of all and second I do not need sleep as of right now.” he stared at her with a blank expression.
“Yes, well, um…” she could think of nothing to say, “here, I brought you something to eat incase you were hungry.” She set the plate in front of him, which he looked at before looking back at her, not saying a word. She hated it when he did that. She felt as if he were judging her with his scrutinizing glare. “So, I am going to look for Inuyasha. I think it is time him and I talked.” Nothing. “I guess I will see you later.”
She turned and walked away to find his half brother. He had inwardly smirked at her nervousness at his watchful eyes. He could smell it on her. Her fidgeting gave her away even if her could not smell it. He didn’t turn his head as she walked away, opting instead to just follow her with his eyes. He knew she could feel him watching her still because she sped up her pace towards the well. He could smell his brother in that direction and she could obviously feel him there. He had to admit, she was considerably stronger. She was definitely not the weak little ningen he had brought back to life. Deciding he was not hungry at all he got up to take a walk away from the ningens. He could not, however, direct himself away from following Kagome, and he shortly found himself in a tree able to see and hear everything that was going on.
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Kagome could feel his eyes watching her as she walked away. Why was he doing that? He knew it made her nervous, she could see the slight amusement in his eyes. It is strange, she thought, that she was beginning to read, him. She didn’t know if he intentionally let her or not, but she was able to and that gave her a sense of pride. How many others could say they could do that? Kagome let her thoughts wander yet again to the demon who had rescued her. He was so handsome, almost beautiful. She could not help but be excited in his presence, happy to be around him. She didn’t know what exactly she was beginning to feel for him, but something was definitely developing. It was foolish, she knew. How could someone like him ever feel anything for someone like her? Kagome realized she was nearing Inuyasha and shook the thoughts from her head. She found him leaning against the well and slowly walked up to him.
His ears swiveled at hearing her approach, but he did not move. “Inuyasha?” He bowed his head at the sound of his name. He had missed that voice so much, but he couldn’t talk to her, couldn’t look at her, not after…
“Inuyasha, I…”
“How can you look at me? How can you stand to be here talking to me as if nothing happened?” His voice was broken and full of sorrow.
“You are Inuyasha. No matter what happened I know…”
“You know nothing. I killed you. I stuck my claws through you with no second thought. I let you drop to the ground and watched you die as if you were nothing to me. I dragged you to the well and tossed your body to the bottom and forgot about you. You should hate me! You should…” Inuyasha had stood up to shout at her, to make her think that she mean nothing to him. Kagome knew this wasn’t true and when she knew she could she leapt at him. She threw her arms around him in a tight embrace and cried softly into his shoulder. The feeling of his pain was heartbreaking. She just wanted to comfort him. His body tensed at the sudden movement of her. Slowly the shock wore off and he wrapped his arms around her just as tightly as she was holding him.
“Inuyasha,” she said softly without letting go of him, “I do not hate you. And I know all of that is not true. I know what really happened, and I know that you didn’t forget me. If you had you wouldn’t feel this way.” He let go of her to look at her, to see if she was lying. She looked at him. He wanted to cry; she could see the unshed tears and had to reassure him again. Her hand brushed his cheek and he caught it still looking at her with pleading eyes. “I do not hate you.”
The tears came. They came and he didn’t try to hold them back. Here he was, raw and defenses down. He could finally let it all out. He knew she would leave him or think him weak. She had always accepted him for who he was. He held her again and cried into her hair. He held her as if his life depended on it. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry” He repeated it over and over again, and she just held him. He had so much to let go of. Regret, sorrow, pain, hate of himself, anger; it was all coming out in this one instant and he couldn’t hold himself up any longer. They dropped to the ground onto their knees, never letting go of each other.
Sesshomaru watched from his perch in a nearby tree. ‘Pathetic and weak.’ he thought. But he could not take his eyes away from the scene in front of him. Something was tugging at him.
Inuyasha let go after a long while. He still held onto her hands, afraid that if he let her go she would disappear. “How? How can you forgive me and not hate me?”
It killed her to see him like this. It would take him time to heal and she knew it, but knowing she was alive and didn’t hate him would help. “Because Inuyasha, I know you would never do such a thing to me. You have always protected me. I know that Kikyo was controlling you and you had no choice. I saw the look in your eyes; you didn’t want to do it. You didn’t throw me into the well and you didn’t forget me.”
“You really know what happened?”
“I do. I saw it all. That is how I am able to forgive you. I am so sorry you went through all this and that I didn’t comeback here sooner. I just wasn’t ready yet. I knew that she would just kill me again.”
He looked into her eyes and then leaned into her. He needed her to hold him again. He needed her so badly right now. She was shocked at first at what was happening, but then fully wrapped his arms around him. He inhaled her scent deeply, how he had missed it. It was so comforting to have her there. He had never been this open with her, but he didn’t care right now. All he knew was that she was there and he would never let her go again.
“Inuyasha?”
“Hmm.”
“Are, are you mad at me… you know, for Kikyo?”
He looked at her as if she were crazy. “No. I will miss her; miss what I remember about her that I loved. But that Kikyo was gone fifty years ago. This one was never supposed to be here and I let her kill one of the only people in this world I love.” Her eyes widened at his declaration. “I should have let her go long ago, and for that I am sorry.” She smiled at him, her eyes comforting and understanding. “I have missed you Kagome.”
“I have missed you too Inuyasha.”
“Tell me what happened after…” he paused for a second. “You are so different now, but yet you are still Kagome.”
“Where do I begin?” Kagome told him everything that had happened after her death except for the part about his father. Inuyasha’s mouth became acquainted with the ground a number of times, but he stayed silent through the whole thing. He was even quiet after the story, causing Kagome to worry about his sanity. “Inuyasha? Say something damn it!”
“What do I say? It’s as if he had taken you in, like he cares for you. I mean, I will be the first to admit that I don’t know him, but he is heartless. He is letting ningens and his hanyou brother, that he hates, come to live in his castle. He has to have an ulterior motive.”
“Sango thinks the same thing.” She became quiet.
“What do you think?”
--------------------------
Sesshomaru had stayed through the whole thing. He had heard her speak highly of him, and he was satisfied with that. She seemed to respect him a great deal as well. Ad then he asked it.
“What do you think?”
Sesshomaru’s breath caught in his throat.
“I don’t know what to think. None of it makes any sense, but, I think I trust him. I know I do. There is something about him that I feel I can trust. He saved my life, and I owe it to him. He has never hurt me, only help me.”
‘She trusts me. Is that what I wanted? Yes I think it is. Do I want her close to me? Yes I do. Am I falling for a ningen? …’
“I don’t know about this Kagome.”
“I know, but how’s this? If he hurts me I’ll purify his ass.” Inuyasha actually laughed and that made her smile.
“Ha! That would be a sight. I guess you are right though. We should all just go with it. As long as we are all together again.” Kagome smiled at her friend. He had changed so much. He gave her a sleepy smile.
“You look tired. Let’s go back to the village.”
“Actually, Kagome, can we just stay out here? I haven’t slept since you’ve been gone. The nightmares have been horrible. I always saw your face, felt your blood on my hands. I just, I need you here with me, at least for a while.”
She moved to lean against the well and he curled up resting his head on her shoulder. He looked like a child in her arms, and he was as vulnerable as one. He looked at her questioningly one last time before she laid his head once again on her shoulder. She ran her fingers through his hair as he told her of the things that had been going on. Slowly his words fell to mumbles, and she began to hum softly to him. His breath became slow and even, and she smile to herself. ‘Sleep Inuyasha, I will be here when you wake up.’ She watched him inhale deeply and smile in his slumber. Then her eyes went wide and her own breath caught.
“I love you, Kagome.”
Before she could even begin to think about the words just spoken she heard a rustling in the trees. Cautiously she let her eyes roam and let her aura expand to the edge of the clearing. Finding nothing she let her head rest against his. She was tired as well, and she would ponder on his declaration in the morning. Allowing her eyes to close she drifted off into her own dream world, completely unaware of the rather pissed off youkai that was currently slaughtering defenseless trees.
----------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------
Celebrati on and Forgiveness
The aura around Kagome flickered and then vanished. She looked up from the pile of ash at her feet with shy and nervous eyes at her friends. “Heh heh, hi guys! Long time no see huh?”
Sango and Miroku both looked at her, tears threatening to fall from both of their eyes. Sango was the first to speak. “Ka…Kagome? Is it really you?”
Kagome was slowly closing the distance between them, her eyes never leaving Sango’s. “Yes, Sango, it is really me.” She stopped about a foot in front of her friend, waiting for her to make the first move. She couldn’t tell if Sango was going to cry and run, cry and faint, or cry and smack the holy hell out of her. Both of them were crying already, so that was out of the way. Kagome braced herself as Sango lunged at her, but instead of a beating Sango wrapped her arms around Kagome’s neck, almost choking her. Kagome hugged her back, the embrace threatening to squeeze the life out of them. Lost sisters were reunited, and there was no one else there but the two of them. Miroku cleared his throat for some attention from the two women he adored most in the world. They looked at him and saw that he was crying as well, and they pulled them into the embrace with them.
Sesshomaru continued to stare at the display of human emotion before him. ‘I will never understand these humans, nor do I want to. Emotions are controlling and a display of weakness. It is pathetic.’ He scoffed at them before returning to his normal emotionless expression. Kagome’s back was facing him, and for some reason he couldn’t help but admire her backside. Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he growled as he noticed a stray hand making its way towards her rear. Kagome was more than oblivious, still wrapped in her friend’s arms. Sesshomaru stared making his way towards them, even though his mind was telling his body not to. This was something he had never experienced before; he wanted to rip the hand off the monks arm. He was walking slowly, knowing full well that the monk would accomplish his mission, but that it wasn’t his place to get involved. The stray hand latched onto Kagome’s rear, but both women shot up in surprise. Sesshomaru stopped where he was and watched what was developing in front of him.
“Hentai!” and a loud smack could be heard echoing throughout the clearing. Both girls smacked him at the same time, making his face look like a fish as it smooshed together. Sesshomaru halfway smirked as the monk met the ground and both of his hand twitched. The hand prints on his face would be there most of the day he supposed. His smirk disappeared however, when the two girls stared laughing and helped him up off the ground. They were both still crying but now they were tears of mirth. Confusion reigned through Sesshomaru, ‘There is no way she could have liked that. She smacked him and now she is laughing?’
Sango visibly tensed and reached for her weapon. Kagome looked at her and the where Sango was looking. “Oh kami, Sango no!” She had completely forgotten about Sesshomaru in all of the excitement.
“Kagome! What the hell is HE doing here? And why are you stopping me?
Sesshomaru was growling now, seeing the exterminator looking for another fight. Miroku sensed the impending danger to his woman and stepped in front of her, his prayer beads ready to be ripped off at the slightest move of the TaiYoukai.
Kagome ran into the middle of the impending fight. “Whoa whoa guys! Sesshomaru-sama is on our side. He is the one that brought me here.” She was now right in front of Sesshomaru, close enough that if she stepped backwards she would be touching his chest. Her arms were out to the sides, trying to get her friends to back down.
“Are you trying to protect me miko?” Sesshomaru looked down at her over his nose. Her temper rose.
“No you jerk. I don’t want you to kill my friends. Why the hell would I want to protect you?” The confrontation between them was kept low enough for only them to hear.
“What! Kagome have you lost your freakin mind? He has tried to kill us in the past.”
“I could kill you now exterminator.” Sesshomaru cracked his knuckles.
Kagome turned and gave him a death glare that stopped him in his tracks, which was unexpected. He glared back but she stood her ground, completely unafraid. “That is enough!” She turned back to the other two. “All of you!” Her aura was flaring around her giving them a taste of what they would experience if the foolishness did not stop. “If you don’t knock it off I will purify all of you.” Everyone knew it was an idle threat, but they didn’t want to push it and be hurt either. As they let their guards down Kagome relaxed as well, even though the ‘I will end your life’ glares didn’t stop. “Thank you. Sesshomaru-sama is an ally. He saved my life and brought me back here.”
Sango marched over to Kagome which made Sesshomaru stiffen up. “I expect the whole story of where the hell you have been for the past four months and what the hell has happened to you in that time. Understood?”
“Hai Sango.”
Kagome smiled as she watched her friend walk over to Sesshomaru. She stopped short of the demon lord before bowing low. “Thank you Sesshomaru-sama, for taking care of Kagome and returning her to us. I am sure there will be a celebration over her return, it would be an honor if you would join us.”
“Hn.” was her response, but it was a response none the less. Sango bowed again before backing up and turning to walk away. She interlocked her arm with Kagome and pulled her to walk away.
“Thank you Sango, that was nice.” Kagome said as they walked away, looking back at Sesshomaru with a grin. He began to follow them to the village at a more leisurely pace, but close enough to keep his eyes on the monk’s idle hands.
“Hey, guys. Just a thought, but where is the jewel? Kikyo didn’t have it on her.”
“Kikyo thought it best to leave it in the shrine in the village. She saw no point in carrying it all the time unless we were traveling, which didn’t happen much. I think the true reason was because she was slowly tainting it, so she wanted to keep it away from her.” Miroku said as they walked through the woods. The monk would not take his eyes off of Kagome which was becoming rather unnerving to the youkai behind him. Kagome heard Sesshomaru give a low growl.
“Miroku you pervert! Stop staring at me! Don’t make ask Sango to smack you again; your cheeks have yet to recover from the last time.” Kagome giggled when Miroku looked at Sango who was rubbing her hands together evilly smiling at him.
Audibly gulping Miroku put his hands up in an attempt to save himself. “I apologize Kagome-sama. Its just that you have changed, a lot. It is hard to take it all in. I assure you that I did not mean anything like what you think I did. There is a great deal to catch up on and I am sure Kaede would like to see you too.”
“Sounds great! Hey do you guys still have my backpack?”
“Yes, we had Kaede hide it so Kikyo wouldn’t destroy it. I think it still has all of your stuff in it too.”
“Great. Well let’s hurry, I am starving!” Sesshomaru snorted from behind her at her last comment. Her temper flared and she was in his face before he could even react.
“Shut it you! Ill have you know it takes a great deal of energy for me to do what I just did. And I know you haven’t forgotten the fact that I am human and need to eat, you pompous, self-absorbed, bastard! Miroku and Sango’s jaws dropped to the ground. They looked at each other and then back at the others.
Sesshomaru growled at her, making her cower ever so slightly. “Watch who you are talking to miko. I do recall the fact that you are human and can die rather easily.” he cracked his knuckles. Kagome gulped but didn’t back down from the staring contest that was going on.
“You brought me back to life, if you would let all the time and effort spent on me go to waste then so be it.” Not taking her eyes off of his for a second she brought her arms out to her side. She was offering herself to him to kill, defiance in her eyes. He snarled and grabbed her by the throat. Sango and Miroku moved forward to come to her aid. Sesshomaru brought her close to him.
“Are you challenging me miko? Do you truly wish to try me on this?” Kagome said nothing as she continued to stare into his eyes that were now tinged with red at the side. “You do not know what it means to challenge this Sesshomaru.” He released her from his grip as she fell to the ground. “We will finish this later.” He walked away as her friends approached.
“Kami Kagome! Are you ok? Do you want us to go after him?” Sango asked, concern evident in her voice.
“No Sango I am fine. See, already healing.” Kagome lifted her neck to show her friend that she was fine. “I deserved that anyways. I don’t know why but he knows how to piss me off you know? He wouldn’t ever hurt me though, not seriously anyways.”
“You don’t know that Kagome. Sesshomaru is ruthless, a cold hearted killer. You are just a ningen, powerful, but a ningen nonetheless.” ‘I wonder if she knows what she was doing by challenging him like that?’
“I know Sango, but he saved me and trained me. According to him I ‘belong’ to him since he saved my life. If he wanted me dead he would have left me dead or killed me before.”
“Hmm. Well let’s head back so you can get cleaned up and eat.” Sango helped Kagome up and they all walked back into the village. “I don’t see how you are still alive personally, but perhaps it will all make sense after hearing about what’s been going on.”
------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------
Running through the forest and striking down trees was not helping his mood. He needed to kill something. ‘How dare she talk to me like that. Does she forget who I am?’
‘You did not forcefully remind her. You did not even scare her you know that right.’
‘I will be forceful later. I do not want to deal with the other ningens when it is between the miko and I.’
‘Oh please. Admit it, you are growing fond of her. You allow her to speak the way she does to you. You did not hurt the hanyou because she asked you not to. You even let her challenge you like that. You know what that means.’
‘Shut up.’
‘You have accepted her. You liked her challenge.’
‘Shut up!’
“GGRRRRAAAAAA!” yelling he annihilated a defenseless tree. Breathing in heavily he looked around for something to kill. There was no way he was beginning to accept this human. It couldn’t be. If his youkai accepted her then… ‘Ah, look. Big, giant bear. Kill. Kill. Kill.’
----------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------
The friends walked to the village in silence. They were all still in shock over the days events, but the silence wasn’t uncomfortable. Every now and then one of them would smile at a memory coming to the front of their minds, but that was it. It was just good for all of them to be back together again. As they walked into the village Kaede stood up from tending to some herbs. She saw a young woman running towards her yelling her name.
‘Is that…Kagome?’ Her question was answered when the woman grabbed her in a tight embrace.
“Oh Kaede, how have you been? I have missed you!”
“Kagome? Is it really you? How can this be? You died.” Kaede looked at the girl turned woman that was standing before her. Her appearance hadn’t changed, but her aura had. Kaede could slightly feel the enormous amount of power that this woman possessed, though she also knew it was being contained somehow.
“Well, yes, I did die.” Kagome stopped as she saw all the villagers rally around Kaede carrying any sort of weapon they could get their hands on. The women and children hid in the huts as the men shouted “Demon! Demon!” Kagome turned around and saw Sesshomaru dragging a large bear behind him as he walked towards the village. “No! Sesshomaru-sama is an ally.”
Kaede held her hand up to stop the mob from attacking. “Kagome, what do you mean?”
“Sesshomaru-sama is the one who saved me. He brought me back to life and brought me back here.” Kaede looked hard at Kagome and then approached the rather agitated demon lord. She bowed low and the villagers followed her show of respect.
“Sesshomaru-sama, thank you for what you have done for Kagome. We are all grateful of your kindness. We will celebrate her return tonight. It would be an honor if you would attend.” He looked down his nose at the old miko before throwing the bear at the villager’s feet. They immediately took the bear to prepare it for the feast that was to happen later that night. Sesshomaru stood their like a statue and gave indication of moving. Kagome smiled at him. She didn’t know if he would come to the festivities, more than likely he would not. He did, however, provide the main course of the meal. Sesshomaru was different from what they all had believed him to be, and only Kagome was the one to really see this.
“Kagome, is this true?” The old miko was looking at Kagome with questioning eyes.
She smiled at her friend. “Yes, Kaede. It is true. I promise I will tell you everything, but I want to tell everyone together so I don’t have to tell the story fifty times!”
“I understand child. Where is Inuyasha and my sister?”
“Well, Inuyasha kind of ran off a while ago. Your sister, um, I had to uh…”
“I see. Truly Kagome, I am thankful. The lost soul that my sister had become needed to be laid to rest for good. She was not meant to be here any longer.”
“You are not angry with me then?”
“No child, I am not. But Inuyasha on the other hand, I wonder how he is feeling about all of this.”
“I don’t know. I will find him later; I think right now he just needs sometime alone.”
“Aye that he does. He will come around, don’t worry.”
Kagome gave her a sad smile. She didn’t know what Inuyasha was going through right now. He had to be a mix of confusion, sadness, anger, surprise, and who knows what other emotion. Her thoughts were interrupted when Kaede spoke to her once again.
“Kagome child, I think it is time for the shikon to go back to whom it belongs.”
“Yes, I think you are right.”
Everyone, including Sesshomaru walked to the shine where the jewel was being held. As they all waited outside for Kaede to bring it out Sango decided now was a good time to tell Kagome what she had been hiding.
“Kagome?”
“Sango? What’s wrong?”
“I…I don’t know how to tell you this. It’s, it’s Shippo. When you, you know, he just disappeared. We searched for him, but we couldn’t find him. I’m sorry.”
Kagome smiled at her friend. “It’s ok Sango. Shippo has been with me at the castle. After the, incident, he climed into the well with me. He had planned on protecting me until he couldn’t anymore. When Sesshomaru-sama came, he let Shippo come with us. That is where he is now.”
“Oh thank Kami. We were all so worried.” Sango felt like the world had just been lifted off her shoulders. Kaede finally brought the jewel out, and Kagome could see that the jewel had begun to be tainted. There was a faint darkness in the center, and it was swirling around the pink purity trying to take control. Kaede handed Kagome the jewel, but as she did so a pink glow began to emanate from it as if it were being purified. The jewel slowly began to absorb into her hand.
“Kagome what is happening?” Sango shouted to her friend, but she couldn’t hear her. Kagome’s eye’s turned completely white and the pink glow enveloped her. Miroku reached out trying to touch her, but as soon as the glow touched him his hand was slightly burned. Kagome’s body began to rise into the air chest first. Her head, arms, and legs were hanging limply from her body. Nothing could be done but to watch as a bright light flashed from Kagome’s body and then disappeared just as quickly. As soon as the light faded she began to plummet to the ground. Kirara transformed to catch her, but Sesshomaru had already leapt up and caught her in his arm. He landed with the unconscious girl as her friends rushed towards him. Sesshomaru would have none of that and gave a dangerous growl warning them to keep away.
“Is she alive Sesshomaru-sama?” Miroku asked with a shaky voice. Silence was her answer as Sesshomaru looked to Kaede.
“There is a hut over here she may rest in.” Kaede led him into the hut with the others right behind him. He laid her down gently on the mat and the old miko looked her over.
“She is unconscious, but I think she will be fine with some rest.”
“Kaede, look at the shikon.” Miroku said pointing to her chest. A faint glow could still be seen as it faded under her clothing. She pulled back part of the kimono and found that the jewel was embedded in her chest right below the necklace, making it look like one piece of jewelry. It stuck halfway out of her chest showing the missing pieces.
“I don’t know why this has happened, but I don’t think it will hurt her at all. We will just have to see when she wakes up.”
“Out.” It was the first time Sesshomaru had spoken. They all stared at him as he stared at the miko before him. No one moved, causing him to be agitated. “Now.” he growled out. They scattered out of the hut, Miroku dragging a protesting Sango behind him.
“Who the hell does he think he is?” she paced back and forth in front of the hut.
“Let it go Sango…”
“Let it go! How can you say that? What if he hurts her?” She was fuming and it made Miroku take a step back. He could almost swear he saw steam coming out of her ears. He put his hand on her shoulder.
“Sango, he won’t hurt her and you know it. I think there are things happening here that we don’t know about.” Sango looked at him confused. “Come on, I am sure she will be awake in time for the celebration. Perhaps we could assist Kaede in the preparations.”
Sesshomaru was left alone with the young miko, only his thoughts kept him company. Of course they were all about this woman in front of him, but this time the thoughts were not so unwelcome and didn’t agitate him. There was a strand of hair that had been bugging him for a while. It was covering part of her face and the obstruction was annoying. He reached over and moved it, feeling the smooth skin of her face in the process. He could not help but to run the back of his fingers over her face, and she began to stir when he did so. Her eyes opened slowly, and it took her a minute to focus. Finally she looked up at him.
“Sesshomaru? What happened?” Again she had spoken to him familiarly, and again he had said nothing. He didn’t really mind if they were alone and she spoke to him this way, but if others were around he felt it appropriate to be more respectful.
“The jewel absorbed into you. You fainted.” he spoke to her gently and quietly, something she had not experienced from him before.
“Oh. You have been here all this time?”
“Hai.” Nothing else was said. Kagome didn’t know what to say to this new knowledge.
“You should rest a bit more. I will inform your friends you are awake.” He made his way to the door.
“Sesshomaru!” He turned back towards her. “Thank you.” She almost missed the slight nod of his head before he exited the hut. He knew that she was thanking him for more than getting her friends. There was a new feeling inside of him, knowing that she was comfortable with him.
Miroku and Sango were waiting outside the hut with Kirara on Sango’s shoulder. The food was cooking now and they had run out of things to do. They stood up as he exited the hut and looked at him with anticipation. He only paused for a second and didn’t even look their way when doing so.
“She is awake.” and with that he was gone.
Sango bolted into the hut and was at Kagome’s side before the miko could even sit up. Miroku was more reserved and decided to just walk to Kagome.
“Kagome! Are you ok? How are you feeling? Are you hurt at all?” She was searching all over her friend franticly, trying to make sure she was truly ok.
“Sango! Sango! Stop!” Sango abruptly stopped and sat up straight. Kagome gave her a reassuring smile. “I am ok. I promise. I am just really hungry.” Sango looked at her wearily, but said nothing. She helped her stand up slowly. Kagome felt something different and remembered what Sesshomaru had said about the jewel. She pulled down her kimono and found the jewel protruding from her chest. “Well, that is interesting.” running her fingers over the new addition to her body, she saw that there was only a tiny sliver of jewel left to fill. “How many shards are left?”
Miroku was the one to speak this time. “Two. Naraku has them both; one of them is Kohaku’s.”
“What about Kouga’s?”
“When he heard what had happened to you, he just handed them over.”
---------------Flashback------------------
I nuyasha growled slightly as a familiar scent reached his nose. Everyone looked at him. “Mangy wolf.” No sooner had he said that then the devil himself raced and skidded to a stop right in front of them.
“Hey dog breath. Where’s my woman? You had better have been taking care of her for me.” Kouga searched the group. He did not find the woman he was looking for, but instead a woman that smelled of dirt and death. Then he noticed that the rest of them had their heads hung and would not look at him. “Hey! Where is my woman? And what the hell is she doing here?” It had only been a week since Kagome’s death, and it was still fresh in their minds.
Kikyo smirked at the wolf. “Kagome had an unfortunate accident. I am here to take her place.”
Kouga immediately turned and grabbed Inuyasha by the throat and slammed him into a tree. “You let her get killed you son of a bitch!” Kouga stared him down but Inuyasha would not look at him, he didn’t even attempt to fight back.
“Kouga stop!” Sango shouted at him. “It wasn’t his fault. Don’t you think it is hard enough for all of us as it is?” Kouga looked at her and let Inuyasha drop to the ground.
“What happened to her?” No one answered and he nodded his head. Bending down he slashed both of his legs open and pulled out the shards he possessed. Tossing them at Inuyasha’s feet, he spoke. “I have no need for these anymore.” He gave the group one last look before turning on his heels and leaving, never once looking back.
--------------End flashback---------------
“Poor Kouga.” Kagome said. “You all have been through so much. I’m sorry it took me so long to come back. I just couldn’t let you know yet, I wasn’t ready.”
“We understand Kagome.” Miroku placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
“Yes, you had good reason for not coming back before. We do want a full explanation of what has been going on by the way.” The two women smiled at each other.
“Of course. I think right now I need to eat before my stomach starts explaining its complaints.”
As the three walked out of the hut the surrounding villagers cheered for Kagome. Their plates had already been fixed and were handed to them. There was music and dancing as they walked to a spot by the fire next to Kaede. Sake was flowing while stories were told. Kagome and her friends sat in a tight huddle as she began her story of what had been going on.
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None of them could believe what they had just heard. It was too farfetched.
“Now wait just one damn minute! You mean to tell me he brought you back to life…”
“Yes.”
“Nursed you back to health…”
“Yes.”
“Found people to train you as a miko and a warrior…”
“Yes.”
“And he gave you the duties of Lady of the house…”
“Yes Sango. He did do all these things and more.”
“Yes Kagome, but now he says we can all come with you to the western lands and stay at the castle. Even Inuyasha, whom he hates. All of this just so he doesn’t have to hear you whine? It doesn’t all add up to me.” Miroku looked at her questioningly.
“Look all I know is what he has told me and I am not going to argue with it. He has done more for me than anyone should have, and I will ever to be able to repay him.” Kagome was getting frustrated. They had been over the story twice and now they were questioning Sesshomaru’s motives, like she would know what those were.
“Look Kagome, I realize he has done a lot for you. Do you think that maybe he is using you for his own benefit? He is not the kind of person to just randomly save people and all that without a motive.”
“You guys, I really don’t know what his intentions are. Do I think he is using me? No. I truly don’t. From just being around him I don’t think he is the demon we made him out to be. The people at the castle respect him. Most of them lost everything they had, and he brought them into the castle.”
“Yes but they are his servants.”
“Maybe so, but they are housed, fed and clean. Their children are being taken care of. You know as well as I do that if he was the demon we thought he was he would do that for them. I really think this is exactly where we are all meant to be. I think this is supposed to happen. I for one am not going to argue with it.” Kagome had not mentioned seeing Inu-Taisho when she had died. That meeting was for her only, and she trusted it. “Sango,” she cut her friend off that was about to protest again, “even IF he is using me, it can be a double edged blade. I can use his abilities at fighting just as he can use mine at detecting shards. He is helping me, us, for whatever reason and I respect him for that. Please just trust me.”
“I just don’t want you to get hurt anymore Kagome.”
Kagome smiled at her good natured friend. “I know Sango, but I don’t think I will. I know you can not trust him, but please trust me.” Sango huffed and nodded. “Thanks. I am going to look for Inuyasha; I think it is time that we talked.” Kagome rose from he spot and left. She spotted Sesshomaru against a tree and decided to bring him a plate. As she approached him she noticed his eyes were closed, and she wondered if he might be asleep. She stared at him for a short time wondering what she should do.
“It is impolite to stare.” his sudden interruption of her thoughts caused her to jump in surprise. She could have sworn she saw his lips twitch in amusement before settling back into place.
“I’m sorry. I thought you might be asleep.” she was staring at the ground, obviously embarrassed at being caught.
“I could not sleep here first of all and second I do not need sleep as of right now.” he stared at her with a blank expression.
“Yes, well, um…” she could think of nothing to say, “here, I brought you something to eat incase you were hungry.” She set the plate in front of him, which he looked at before looking back at her, not saying a word. She hated it when he did that. She felt as if he were judging her with his scrutinizing glare. “So, I am going to look for Inuyasha. I think it is time him and I talked.” Nothing. “I guess I will see you later.”
She turned and walked away to find his half brother. He had inwardly smirked at her nervousness at his watchful eyes. He could smell it on her. Her fidgeting gave her away even if her could not smell it. He didn’t turn his head as she walked away, opting instead to just follow her with his eyes. He knew she could feel him watching her still because she sped up her pace towards the well. He could smell his brother in that direction and she could obviously feel him there. He had to admit, she was considerably stronger. She was definitely not the weak little ningen he had brought back to life. Deciding he was not hungry at all he got up to take a walk away from the ningens. He could not, however, direct himself away from following Kagome, and he shortly found himself in a tree able to see and hear everything that was going on.
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Kagome could feel his eyes watching her as she walked away. Why was he doing that? He knew it made her nervous, she could see the slight amusement in his eyes. It is strange, she thought, that she was beginning to read, him. She didn’t know if he intentionally let her or not, but she was able to and that gave her a sense of pride. How many others could say they could do that? Kagome let her thoughts wander yet again to the demon who had rescued her. He was so handsome, almost beautiful. She could not help but be excited in his presence, happy to be around him. She didn’t know what exactly she was beginning to feel for him, but something was definitely developing. It was foolish, she knew. How could someone like him ever feel anything for someone like her? Kagome realized she was nearing Inuyasha and shook the thoughts from her head. She found him leaning against the well and slowly walked up to him.
His ears swiveled at hearing her approach, but he did not move. “Inuyasha?” He bowed his head at the sound of his name. He had missed that voice so much, but he couldn’t talk to her, couldn’t look at her, not after…
“Inuyasha, I…”
“How can you look at me? How can you stand to be here talking to me as if nothing happened?” His voice was broken and full of sorrow.
“You are Inuyasha. No matter what happened I know…”
“You know nothing. I killed you. I stuck my claws through you with no second thought. I let you drop to the ground and watched you die as if you were nothing to me. I dragged you to the well and tossed your body to the bottom and forgot about you. You should hate me! You should…” Inuyasha had stood up to shout at her, to make her think that she mean nothing to him. Kagome knew this wasn’t true and when she knew she could she leapt at him. She threw her arms around him in a tight embrace and cried softly into his shoulder. The feeling of his pain was heartbreaking. She just wanted to comfort him. His body tensed at the sudden movement of her. Slowly the shock wore off and he wrapped his arms around her just as tightly as she was holding him.
“Inuyasha,” she said softly without letting go of him, “I do not hate you. And I know all of that is not true. I know what really happened, and I know that you didn’t forget me. If you had you wouldn’t feel this way.” He let go of her to look at her, to see if she was lying. She looked at him. He wanted to cry; she could see the unshed tears and had to reassure him again. Her hand brushed his cheek and he caught it still looking at her with pleading eyes. “I do not hate you.”
The tears came. They came and he didn’t try to hold them back. Here he was, raw and defenses down. He could finally let it all out. He knew she would leave him or think him weak. She had always accepted him for who he was. He held her again and cried into her hair. He held her as if his life depended on it. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry” He repeated it over and over again, and she just held him. He had so much to let go of. Regret, sorrow, pain, hate of himself, anger; it was all coming out in this one instant and he couldn’t hold himself up any longer. They dropped to the ground onto their knees, never letting go of each other.
Sesshomaru watched from his perch in a nearby tree. ‘Pathetic and weak.’ he thought. But he could not take his eyes away from the scene in front of him. Something was tugging at him.
Inuyasha let go after a long while. He still held onto her hands, afraid that if he let her go she would disappear. “How? How can you forgive me and not hate me?”
It killed her to see him like this. It would take him time to heal and she knew it, but knowing she was alive and didn’t hate him would help. “Because Inuyasha, I know you would never do such a thing to me. You have always protected me. I know that Kikyo was controlling you and you had no choice. I saw the look in your eyes; you didn’t want to do it. You didn’t throw me into the well and you didn’t forget me.”
“You really know what happened?”
“I do. I saw it all. That is how I am able to forgive you. I am so sorry you went through all this and that I didn’t comeback here sooner. I just wasn’t ready yet. I knew that she would just kill me again.”
He looked into her eyes and then leaned into her. He needed her to hold him again. He needed her so badly right now. She was shocked at first at what was happening, but then fully wrapped his arms around him. He inhaled her scent deeply, how he had missed it. It was so comforting to have her there. He had never been this open with her, but he didn’t care right now. All he knew was that she was there and he would never let her go again.
“Inuyasha?”
“Hmm.”
“Are, are you mad at me… you know, for Kikyo?”
He looked at her as if she were crazy. “No. I will miss her; miss what I remember about her that I loved. But that Kikyo was gone fifty years ago. This one was never supposed to be here and I let her kill one of the only people in this world I love.” Her eyes widened at his declaration. “I should have let her go long ago, and for that I am sorry.” She smiled at him, her eyes comforting and understanding. “I have missed you Kagome.”
“I have missed you too Inuyasha.”
“Tell me what happened after…” he paused for a second. “You are so different now, but yet you are still Kagome.”
“Where do I begin?” Kagome told him everything that had happened after her death except for the part about his father. Inuyasha’s mouth became acquainted with the ground a number of times, but he stayed silent through the whole thing. He was even quiet after the story, causing Kagome to worry about his sanity. “Inuyasha? Say something damn it!”
“What do I say? It’s as if he had taken you in, like he cares for you. I mean, I will be the first to admit that I don’t know him, but he is heartless. He is letting ningens and his hanyou brother, that he hates, come to live in his castle. He has to have an ulterior motive.”
“Sango thinks the same thing.” She became quiet.
“What do you think?”
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Sesshomaru had stayed through the whole thing. He had heard her speak highly of him, and he was satisfied with that. She seemed to respect him a great deal as well. Ad then he asked it.
“What do you think?”
Sesshomaru’s breath caught in his throat.
“I don’t know what to think. None of it makes any sense, but, I think I trust him. I know I do. There is something about him that I feel I can trust. He saved my life, and I owe it to him. He has never hurt me, only help me.”
‘She trusts me. Is that what I wanted? Yes I think it is. Do I want her close to me? Yes I do. Am I falling for a ningen? …’
“I don’t know about this Kagome.”
“I know, but how’s this? If he hurts me I’ll purify his ass.” Inuyasha actually laughed and that made her smile.
“Ha! That would be a sight. I guess you are right though. We should all just go with it. As long as we are all together again.” Kagome smiled at her friend. He had changed so much. He gave her a sleepy smile.
“You look tired. Let’s go back to the village.”
“Actually, Kagome, can we just stay out here? I haven’t slept since you’ve been gone. The nightmares have been horrible. I always saw your face, felt your blood on my hands. I just, I need you here with me, at least for a while.”
She moved to lean against the well and he curled up resting his head on her shoulder. He looked like a child in her arms, and he was as vulnerable as one. He looked at her questioningly one last time before she laid his head once again on her shoulder. She ran her fingers through his hair as he told her of the things that had been going on. Slowly his words fell to mumbles, and she began to hum softly to him. His breath became slow and even, and she smile to herself. ‘Sleep Inuyasha, I will be here when you wake up.’ She watched him inhale deeply and smile in his slumber. Then her eyes went wide and her own breath caught.
“I love you, Kagome.”
Before she could even begin to think about the words just spoken she heard a rustling in the trees. Cautiously she let her eyes roam and let her aura expand to the edge of the clearing. Finding nothing she let her head rest against his. She was tired as well, and she would ponder on his declaration in the morning. Allowing her eyes to close she drifted off into her own dream world, completely unaware of the rather pissed off youkai that was currently slaughtering defenseless trees.