InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Broken Fates ❯ A Meeting of Like Minds ( Chapter 16 )

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

Chapter 16: A Meeting of Like Minds

Yasha stared at the kitsune before him, still finding it difficult to reconcile this fully grown youkai to the child that lived in Inuyasha's memories. Uneasily aware that this little meeting could go either way, and not wanting to cause Kagome any more stress, he nodded politely, and smiled.

"So, Shippo. Wow. Uh," he chuckled, a hand going to the back of his head and scratching, "all grown up. You look... good. Life's treated you kindly, it looks like. The name's Yasha, by the way." He blushed a bit at not having said that first.

Shippo's eyes widened. "Holy shit! You sound just like Inuyasha!" His brow furrowed for a moment as he looked the Inuyoukai over. "You look different than he did, kinda, but there's still a resemblance. Wow. This is over the top, you know?"

Yasha grinned ruefully. "So... you know who I am, then?"

"Yeah," he said, slowly. "Lord Sesshoumaru told me about you. He said you're actually worth something, compared to Inuyasha."

"Well, uncle never did get along with his brother - that much I remember." With a dark look towards the stairs and the pained woman that lay in her room at the top of them, he scowled. "Can't say I blame him... Inuyasha was an ass that I really wish I could go back and kick the shit out of." At this, he glanced at the so far silent figure of Aiko, and blushed. "Sorry, Aiko-san, for the language."

She smiled at the two men, breathing a silent sigh of relief that they seemed to be getting along. "I understand, Yasha. Thank you for the apology."

At that, Shippo also blushed, remembering his profanity of a moment ago, and sheepishly added, "Yeah, me too, Aiko-san. I was just caught off-guard."

She chuckled. "Don't think about it again. I'll leave you two to talk - I need to get on dinner. Please, sit down and be comfortable," she said over her shoulder, as she left the room.

Shippo shook his head, sitting down in a chair opposite of the couch that Yasha had been sitting on, and leaned back, getting comfortable. With a thoughtful look at the hanyou, he scented him. "You're more youkai than human."

"My dad's hanyou, my mom's youkai, that's why. I only carry a quarter ningen blood. As weird as that sounds, I'm actually stronger than Inuyasha ever was - the blood of the Inu no Taisho runs strong in me, and with my mother's full youkai blood running through me as well..." he trailed off, shrugging.

"So... how long have you known?" he asked, with a meaningful glance at the ceiling, up towards the room of the young woman they both loved.

"Since I was old enough to know myself. No one ever hid anything - it was handed down from Inuyasha and Kikyou themselves that I'd be born, and just who Kagome was." He smiled, eyes far away for a minute. "Funny enough, I never thought to fight it. Most of the time," he rolled his eyes, "I hate someone telling me something that I supposedly have to do... but with this, it never occurred to me to fight it."

Shippo chuckled. "Well, Inuyasha was kinda that way, too. He hated anyone ever telling him anything." He met Yasha's eyes. "You've been protecting her for years on this side, haven't you?" As Yasha nodded, he finished, "She always talked about how much safer her time was - but we always wondered if it really was. It just didn't set that things could change so much - it might be safer, but how many places do you know that are completely safe?"

A dark, haunted look crossed Yasha's face then, and Shippo frowned, an atavistic shiver tracing his spine. That look...

"Yeah, well you guys were right to worry. Kagome wasn't as safe as she always thought." Eyes flashing with anger and remembered fear, he continued softly, " There was one time... she had no notion that anything dangerous had happened... but..." he looked up and caught Shippo's eye, "there was a guy - an escaped convict. He had headed this way, trying to get into the forest preserves that surround this place - we still own the land around here - but anyway, Kagome was home alone."

Shippo was solemn, getting a good idea of where this was going, and nodded for the hanyou to continue.

Fists clenching, Yasha stared at his hands for a minute. "He snuck up on the house, and when he caught sight of her... the scent of his arousal sent me over the edge." He growled low in his chest, Shippo also growling at the thoughts brought on by what he was hearing. "The guy was a known rapist and murderer - and the bastard targeted my Kagome! Needless to say... she never knew he was even there before I had him gone. That's only one out of many, many instances."

Shippo sighed. "I'm glad you were there... how old was she?" he asked softly.

"Sixteen." He caught the kitsune's eye. They both knew what that meant. That was during the time she'd been with them on the other side of the well.

"Kami," he breathed. "That... that really scares me. And she never knew?"

"Nope. I knew she couldn't catch sight of me at that time - not while she was still with you guys." He sighed, then. "It hurt, you know," he said, barely above a whisper. "Having to watch her cry over and over again because she loved him... and I couldn't even so much as introduce myself to the one woman I was made to be with." He looked away, staring at the wall.

"I hated it."

---cCc---

Unnoticed by either of the two males in the living room, Kagome stood on the stairs, and listened to the conversation. She'd woken from sleep quickly - and headed for the bottom floor of the house immediately. When she realized who the two voices belonged to, she'd frozen in place... and stiffened up even more when she'd heard what Yasha had said.

All those years... I never knew that I was being protected. A shudder went through her as she contemplated what could have happened to her if that man had gotten his hands on her. She remembered that criminal - it had been all over the news that he'd gotten away... and no one had ever found him, despite a massive manhunt.

Now she knew why.

Much as she hated killing, she couldn't really find any pity for the guy - after all, he was responsible for raping and killing quite a few women. He would only have destroyed more lives if he'd gotten away...

Including her own.

With an indrawn breath, she glanced at the young hanyou sitting in her living room, and for the first time, her eyes softened on him.

Maybe... I've been a little mean to him, haven't I? Do I, somewhere deep down, really blame him for what Inuyasha did to me?

Face thoughtful, but sad, she looked at him for a few moments, the slipped back up the stairs, needing the safety of her room. She had a lot to think about.

---cCc---

Shippo looked out the window thoughtfully. "So, your family still owns Inuyasha's forest, eh?"

Yasha nodded, letting out a deep breath, he glanced at the kitsune gratefully for changing the subject.

"Yeah. It's been held since the days of Inuyasha. That's why it's still forest... and why the shrine is here. Inuyasha wasn't about to let anything get in the way of Kagome's future birth and home here."

He snorted. "Seems to me like he waited 'til a little too late to care, but then again, I'm beginning to see that you'd be a much better bet than him for her."

The hanyou blushed, just slightly, and smirked. "Thanks for that..." he glanced at him, then folded his arms across his chest and looked out the window as well. "Keh. I have a question for you. Something I just want you to think about - you don't need to answer right away or anything."

At that, Shippo looked intrigued. "Okay, go for it."

Yasha nodded, then turned his face back to him and met his eyes solemnly. "Kagome's really having a hard time with all of this... and sometimes, even her family becomes overwhelming to her. If she needs a place to run to... can she count on you? Can she run to your place to feel safe?"

Shippo sat back, surprised. He could tell how hard it had been for the hanyou to ask him that, and he was impressed. This guy really cared about Kagome - even over himself. Knowing that he saw Kagome as his mate, he had expected the inu to be completely against her running to anyone else for comfort or protection - it was instinct. But it was obvious that the guy really did love Kagome, and was fighting off all his instincts to do what was best for her.

This was an inu he could respect.

"I don't have to think about it at all. Kagome can come to me anytime she needs to. She treated me like her own son when I was an orphaned kit in a time where that would have meant my death. There is nothing I wouldn't do for her... and Kirara would be just as happy to have her around."

With a relieved sigh, Yasha smiled at him. "I'm glad. I know that she'll be safe with you. Thanks, Shippo."

The kitsune nodded and smiled back.

Great minds think alike, they say, and both of ours are set on protecting Kagome.

We'll both do anything it takes. And that makes him far more worthy than Inuyasha ever was.

---cCc---

Hojo knocked on the door, hoping to catch the Lady of the House - he wanted to talk to her, and see if it was okay for him to start talking to Kagome again.

He waited patiently for the door to open, and when it did, he was glad that he was facing her mother instead of her brother. The boy had never seemed to care for him much, and always tried to turn him away when he could.

"Hello, Higurashi-san. I was hoping that I could visit with Kagome... if she's feeling better, that is."

He pasted on his most earnest expression, and her face clouded a bit, before she sighed, and said, "Let me see if she will see you, young man, but do not stay long. We have guests, and it is almost dinner."

He bowed politely, following her into the living room, where he stopped, noting the guests she'd mentioned. As his eyes adjusted to the light in the room, he blanched in shock.

"You! I... remember you, you're that guy from the festival that time! I thought you were dead."

Yasha glared over at the ningen boy. "Oh, great, not you. And no, I wasn't the guy that you're talking about - he was a... relative, and yes, he's dead, thanks very much."

Hojo's eyes narrowed on him. "Then how do you know who I am?"

"Because you've been bothering Kagome for years and never got the damn message that she doesn't want you... that's how. How oblivious can you get?"

The boy flushed red at that, but before he could speak, the other person in the room grabbed Yasha's elbow and shook his head.

"Who's this, Yasha?"

"This little punk is called Hojo."

Shippo burst out laughing after a minute. "So this is the baka that wouldn't leave Kagome alone... boy, you have no idea of how many times she complained about how clueless you were. She always tried to be nice, but she couldn't seem to get it through your head that she didn't like you that way." He looked the now hotly flushing boy over, and shook his head. "You certainly look clueless, that's for sure."

The room grew silent for a minute, and Kagome came down the steps, obviously reluctant. Hojo glared over at the other two males, then bowed and smiled at Kagome.

"Kagome-chan, could I talk to you," he threw another glare at the two guys, "privately?"

Kagome narrowed her eyes at Hojo, suddenly annoyed. Who told him he could call me so familiarly? Maybe it's time to set him straight once and for all.

She gestured towards the door. "We can step outside, then."

Hojo cast her a startled look... he'd been hoping to be invited up to her bedroom, but followed her suggestion, and walked towards the front door, stepping out, then sliding it shut politely behind her.

He held out his arm and asked, "Would you walk with me?"

Kagome frowned, and stepped back in denial. "Why are you here, Hojo-san?" She hoped that by addressing him formally, he'd begin to get the message.

He let his arm drop, then, suddenly unsure. "Well, I was hoping we could just talk. Your mother told me you lost some friends recently... I'm sorry for the loss."

With a resigned sigh, Kagome nodded to herself. Putting a hand to her head and pinching the bridge of her nose, she tried to keep her irritation from spreading.

"Look, Hojo, I know why you're here. You want to ask me out on a date, right? I'm going to be blunt. I will not date you. Not now, not ever. You're a nice enough guy, Hojo - but you're not for me, okay?" As his face paled, she patted his arm. "No matter how hard you try, my mind's not going to change, so why don't you stop chasing me, and go find a girl that actually wants to date you? I'm not looking for a relationship of any kind right now, anyway... I just got out of a bad one, and I am definitely not looking for more."

She shook her head at his hopeful look, and cut him off before he could start. "No, Hojo. I won't change my mind if you wait 'til I'm over my last relationship. You just aren't my type - and that's not going to change."

Hojo looked at Kagome, feeling crushed. If she won't let me wait for her... then maybe if I try to date someone else, she'll get jealous... I don't have anything to lose, may as well try it. I just can't bear to give up.

Nodding, he bowed politely to her and said, "Forgive me, Higurashi-san. I will take my leave of you now so you can get back to your guests." With that, he turned and walked off.

Kagome watched him go, then breathed a sigh of relief.

Finally. Now maybe he'll leave me alone.

If only taking care of all my problems were that easy.

---cCc---

Inside the house, two men sat and strained their ears, listening to the conversation going on outside.

As Kagome made her little speech, the two looked at each other and grinned.

Yasha popped his knuckles. "Keh. I've always wanted to beat that little punk up, you know? He's such a pain in the ass..."

Shippo snorted, then laughed. "Yeah, well, you should have heard some of the things she used to say about him." Turning, he put his hand on Yasha's back and guided him towards the kitchen, saying, "Yasha, my new friend, let me tell you about some of the names our Kagome used to come up with in reference to the aforementioned pest."

The two were gone by the time the girl came back into the house... and that was perhaps a good thing - because if she'd heard the discussion they were having...

They might have found themselves chased out of the house, and missing dinner.

---cCc---

A/N: And that's another chapter down. Don't worry, there's more Hojo being clueless coming up sooner or later. Anyway, hope everyone enjoys the chapter - I'm not sure I'm totally happy with it, but I just couldn't get into it, so this isn't really my best work. It's not my worst, either, though, LOL!

Amber