InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Broken Fates ❯ Getting the Gang Back Together ( Chapter 35 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: kanna37 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Psychological / Hentai / Drama | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 11.22.2010 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.3K | Visits: 718 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Psychological / Hentai / Drama | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 11.22.2010 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.3K | Visits: 718 | Status: Work In Progress
Chapter 35: Getting the Gang Back Together
"Hurry up, Yasha!" Kagome yelled up the stairs, beginning to get impatient with his primping.
They were already running behind for the dinner with Miroku and Suki, and Kagome couldn't wait for those two to meet. She had the idea that Miroku might get a huge reminder of just what hiraikotsu had felt like embedded in his head, though Suki no longer had it, she did have a formidably heavy fist.
With a giggle, she ignored Yasha's grouchy reply, and sighed, rolling her eyes wondering if they should have had this first meeting between the hentai and Suki somewhere less public than a restaurant. If she did hit him, they could end up being kicked out.
"Oi!" Heavy feet stomping down the stairs pulled her from her thoughts. "Move it, woman! You were just griping, and now you're staring at the wall with a creepy smile."
She turned a glare on him, then laughed at his chagrined expression. "Remembering a certain kotodama, Yasha?" she asked archly, grinning as he scowled.
"No," he said belligerently. "Those collars are for assholes, and I ain't one, remember? We agreed on that a long time ago."
She chuckled and shook her head, "Come on, Yasha, let's get going. We're already behind thanks to all your girly primping."
He growled sourly at her, though it was mostly for show; he never could stay angry at her for very long, and he really wasn't even angry right this minute, more just annoyed. The day had been irritating - they had spent it registering for the upcoming semester at Tokyo U, and after all the waiting around to speak to a counselor, then all the paperwork, then the picking of classes and finally, touring the campus, all he'd wanted to do was come back to the shrine and relax.
Unfortunately, they had that dinner date with the hentai and his soon-to-be lady, (again), and Kagome, miss energy herself, wouldn't even countenance canceling the date and rescheduling.
"Well, since you won't allow us to cancel and do this a different day, just where are we meeting the hentai and Suki, anyway?" he sighed.
Kagome stared at the door as she slipped her shoes on. "At the restaurant. Why?"
He froze. "Well, shit - that was a bad idea, Kagome, you know Miroku's gonna grope her, and then she's gonna kill him, and we'll get kicked out, and then I won't get to eat anything," he said sarcastically.
She giggled. "I was just thinking the same thing a minute ago, but it's too late now. All we can hope for is a miracle."
Rolling his eyes, he huffed out, "Yah, right, K'gome. This is just great. And I bet, if Miroku actually doesn't do it right off the bat, Shippo'll egg it on. You know, kitsune, prankster, troublemaker? Who's bright idea was it to invite Shippo the first time, anyway?"
She blushed, and looked away as she grabbed her purse and slid the entryway door open. "Hey... I just wanted to get the gang back together, Yasha," her eyes saddened for a moment, "in the only way left to me. It's not like I'll ever have Miroku and Sango back, you know."
Yasha frowned and reached out for her hand, angry at Inuyasha all over again. "Hey," he said softly as she looked up at him enquiringly. "It's okay, Kagome. Whatever makes you happy. If we get kicked out of the place, we'll just go find somewhere else is all, right?"
She sent him a small smile, and nodded, then tugged on his hand. "Sure, Yasha... come on, let's go, or we'll never know if he gropes her or not, because we'll miss it."
He nodded, and returned her smile, squeezing her hand comfortingly.
Anything you want, Kagome... anything at all. I don't really care about anything else that happens in our lives, as long as you're in it, and happy.
That's all.
-cCc-
"Suki!"
The young woman so addressed turned, then smiled as she caught sight of her newest friend, Kagome, followed by her fiance, Yasha, waving at her as they hurried along the sidewalk.
She smiled happily. "Hey, Kagome! You look pretty good - still doing those exercises I gave you?"
Kagome looked away guiltily, and Yasha snorted. "She wouldn't be if I didn't make her, that's for sure," he said, and Kagome cast him a dirty look.
"Traitor," she hissed, and Suki laughed.
"I'm not surprised, Yasha. Most people don't like to do those exercises any longer than they have to, even though they're good for them." She motioned to the doors to the restaurant. "Are we ready to go in?" she asked.
Kagome looked around, then, not seeing Miroku, nodded. "Sure... Watanabe-san will find us inside. I'm ready to sit down - today has been a long day," she sighed.
It was Yasha's turn to shoot his girl a dirty look. "Keh! Says the energizer bunny wanna-be. You've had us running all over today - and your just now tired?"
Suki giggled at that. "Geeze, Yasha - been watching american television, have you?"
He looked sheepish. "Yeah, well, sometimes they actually have some good things on, though it ain't often," he said as he held the door open for the women.
"I bet he's just surfing the channels looking for dirty movies," Kagome said to Suki in an exaggerated whisper she was fully aware that Yasha would hear.
"Oi!" he growled at her, scowling. "I ain't lookin' at no women but you!"
Kagome blushed, and Suki laughed again. "Oh, I love to hang out with you two. I always laugh more then than at any other time." She sighed, her gaze going far away as Kagome watched her with an almost sad smile. "I don't know... I hope you guys don't think me strange, but I feel like I've always known you."
Yasha and Kagome exchanged glances, then looked at Suki. "Yeah... about that. There's something we-" he glanced meaningfully at Kagome, then back to Suki, "-want to talk to you and Watanabe-san after dinner about. It kinda ties into what you just said."
Suki frowned a little, curious, but then nodded. "Okay, that's cool." She looked around, then. "So where's this Watanabe-san you keep talking about, anyway?" she asked.
Just as Kagome was about to answer, a suave voice came from behind, and the trio turned to see Miroku standing behind them, smiling. "Ah, Taisho-san, Higurashi-san," he said, bowing politely. Then he turned to look at a rather dumbstruck Suki, and his face went blank for several moments as he stared at her, almost seeming to be in shock.
And then...
Kagome blinked - she'd never seen someone other than a youkai or hanyou move so fast, and Miroku had a startled Suki's hand in his. "My lady," he breathed. "You are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen!"
Yasha and Kagome almost fell over at what happened next - neither of them had ever considered something like this happening.
Suki reached behind the man standing in front of her holding onto her hand, and groped him.
Miroku grinned, awed, hearts filling his eyes, as the maitre'd moved towards the group and asked them to leave, citing the disturbance to the rest of the establishment as cause. An incredulous Kagome and Yasha turned and walked out silently, followed by Suki and Miroku, who only had eyes for each other, not paying any attention to the shocked looks of all the nearby patrons.
Yasha turned his head and blinked down at his woman. "Keh," he said blankly, "we were wrong about Miroku groping Suki and getting pounded, but right about being kicked out of the restaurant." He shook his head. "Guess Sango's a little different in this life, after all."
Kagome couldn't do anything but nod as they both stopped and turned to look at the other couple, who were still staring at each other. "Uh, hey, guys?" Kagome broke in cautiously. When the two finally turned their heads to stare at her, she asked, "What do we want to do now?"
Suki grinned cheekily, and said, "Come on, I have an idea. Since it's such a beautiful evening, why don't we get some take out, and go sit in the park?"
The rest of the group simply followed along behind the cheerfully determined woman, one quite happily, and the other two rather freaked out.
The night would only be getting longer from there.
-cCc-
Miroku and Suki both stared at Yasha, who was without his concealment spell, for several long moments, leaving a cricket-filled silence echoing rather loudly.
"So... Suki and I-" Miroku moved a finger back and forth between himself and the beautiful woman, "-were once married, I was a monk, she was a taijiya, and, along with your pre-incarnation, Yasha, and Kagome herself, all lived this huge adventure in sengoku jidai?"
Yasha nodded, and Miroku scratched his head, looking thoughtful. "And that thing you kept naming when we met? The one that caused my head to hurt?"
Giggles from Kagome and laughter from Yasha erupted in their circle, and then Kagome spoke up. "Well, hiraikotsu-" she rolled her eyes when the hentai flinched and rubbed his head, "-was Sango's weapon, and when you would get out of hand and start groping people, especially her, she'd knock you over the head with it. It left a huge impression on you, I guess, for you to remember it even in another life."
"Keh," Yasha snorted. "I'm not so surprised that the pervert remembers that, Kagome. Did you ever get hit by that thing?" She shook her head. "Well, it hurt like hell," he said, matter-of-factly.
Brow furrowed, she put her finger to her chin thoughtfully. "When did Inuyasha get hit by hiraikotsu?" she asked.
Yasha flushed, his eyes flicking guiltily towards her, then over to Suki, before Miroku caught the look, and began to laugh. "Inuyasha got caught peeping at Kagome by Sango, didn't he?" he asked, gasping for breath as Yasha flushed even more at Kagome's shocked look.
"You mean, that jerk was peeping on me, and you remember it?" she squeaked, almost outraged.
Yasha growled at that - it had just occurred to him that since he remembered seeing Kagome naked in his last life, Inuyasha had indeed been peeping - and had seen Kagome naked. Suddenly, he was rather pissed.
"Feh! Bastard... he shouldn't have been looking at my girl," he groused. "What sucks about this is that I can't beat the shit out of him for it."
Kagome, although peeved at Inuyasha for the peeping, had to laugh at her fiance's outraged muttering at the fact that he couldn't beat his previous incarnation up for it.
Then something occurred to her, and she frowned. "Hey... Yasha?" she asked slowly. "If you remember him peeping on me... does that mean that you remember seeing Kikyou naked, too? And maybe... other things?"
Yasha's face went first red, then white, then green, and his expression turned sick. "Eww! No way!" he gasped out, gagging. "Why the hell would I want to have memories like that?" A thankful expression crossed his disgusted face. "In fact, I think I need to thank kami for small mercies. If I was stuck with memories like that, I'd be trying to scrub my brain out with soap," he said sourly, as Miroku and Suki laughed, and Kagome beamed, looking relieved.
"Oh, that's good, then!" she chirped cheerfully, and turned to Suki and Miroku. "So... do you remember anything of what we've told you?"
Suki and Miroku both looked a bit troubled, and shook their heads. But...
"I don't know about Miroku, here," Suki shrugged, "but though I don't remember what you've said, it feels... right. Some part of me recognizes what we've heard. I believe you, if that's anything," she said, and smiled lightly when Miroku nodded.
"Hai - what Suki said... me, too."
Kagome clapped her hands together with a bright smile. "Good! I'm glad that you guys don't think us weird," she chuckled as Yasha put up his concealment spell again, "and that you aren't freaked out by what we've told you tonight. I was a bit concerned about that, to tell the truth."
A new voice broke in, then. "Nice, Kagome. You were worried about them freaking out about what you had to say, but then you go and forget about the two most important members of the group," Shippo said, false hurt and laughter in his voice as she whipped around with wide, horrified eyes.
"Oh, my god, Shippo, Kirara, I'm so sorry - after what happened earlier at the restaurant, I just forgot everything else..." she trailed off, blushing.
Yasha leaned back on one arm, stretching idly. "Hey, it's your own fault, Shippo, since you were running so late." He looked over at Kagome. "And you were worried we'd be late."
Miroku and Suki stared wide-eyed at the friendly banter currently going on - until Suki caught sight of Kirara. It was clear that seeing the small kitten had triggered something inside her, because she whispered, "Kirara?" in a tentative voice that contained faded memories and a sense of loss.
Everyone got quiet, then, and watched the reunion between the two with sharp eyes.
Kirara tilted her head to the side and blinked red eyes at the reincarnation of her former mistress, and best friend. She could see Sango shining brightly inside, and knew that at some point, she would definitely awaken to her past life. For that reason, she mewed sweetly, and hopped down from Shippo's shoulder, walking up to the still sitting young woman, crawled right into her lap. Curling up with a wide yawn, she closed her eyes and dozed off peacefully, happy to be with her.
Miroku blinked, then looked sideways at the startled woman. "Uh... that cat has red eyes and two tails. Let me guess - another youkai?"
Shippo sauntered over to them and dropped down to sit next to a fascinated Kagome. "Yup."
"And you are...?" he asked.
Shippo grinned, and dropped his own concealment spell. "Kitsune - I was the kid of the group back then, an orphan when Kagome and Inuyasha came across me, and she took me in." He glanced at the former monk, surprised at how much he looked like his past self. "It's amazing how you look so exactly like that perverted monk. I bet you're a lecher, too, aren't ya?"
Miroku looked offended at that. "I'll have you know that it was not I that got us thrown out of that fine establishment, it was the beautiful lady Suki," he said, very much on his dignity. "She groped my person, without any encouragement on my part."
Shippo blinked, then turned to stare at Suki, who blushed, but laughed under her breath. Then he turned to look at Kagome. "Well, I understand now why you forgot about Kirara and I. I woulda, too. I guess Sango was married to Miroku for too many years, and his bad habits rubbed off on her. That's too bad, really," he finished, rubbing a hand over his chin.
Suki sulked, and Miroku sputtered, while the rest laughed, and Kirara mewed. "It's certainly different, having her be the hentai this time around," Yasha snorted.
Kagome shook her head. "Well, it's not just her, since Miroku is also a lecher this time, too. Any relationship between those two ought to be quite interesting," she laughed.
"Hey! Who said there'd be any relationship between us?" Suki asked hotly.
Everyone stared at her knowingly.
"Oh, you mean you greet all guys that way?" Kagome asked sarcastically.
Suki flushed, and flicked a glance at Miroku, who looked quite interested in her answer. "W-well, no, but..."
Yasha let his head fall back a bit as he stared up into the darkening sky, idly listening to the banter and simply enjoying the peace and happiness he felt with his love by his side, and their friends, as well. It wouldn't take long, he could already tell, for the group to be as close as they had been back then...
Only this time around, it would be better - they were back together... and Kagome wouldn't be lost to them this time. No...
She'd finally be happy, as would the rest of them, because, unlike last time, the most important member of the gang wouldn't be missing, gone from their lives because of fate, or Inuyasha.
He glanced over at her with a soft look in his golden eyes, and smiled.
As long as you're happy, Kagome, I am, too. No matter what.
-cCc-
A/N: And that's pretty much it, guys! There will be an epilogue, hopefully coming soon, and then I can finally label this one completed, and move on to finishing some of my other endeavors... and maybe start a few more, who knows, gods know I have so many plots running around in my head it isn't even funny.
Anyway, sorry it took so long to get this out - I've been fighting serious writer's block, and struggling with all my stories. I can't even tell you how many dang one-shots I've got sitting in my 'various' folder, incomplete - and it isn't like me to have unfinished one-shots.
Ja Ne...
Amber
Converting /tmp/phpA1WztG to /dev/stdout
"Hurry up, Yasha!" Kagome yelled up the stairs, beginning to get impatient with his primping.
They were already running behind for the dinner with Miroku and Suki, and Kagome couldn't wait for those two to meet. She had the idea that Miroku might get a huge reminder of just what hiraikotsu had felt like embedded in his head, though Suki no longer had it, she did have a formidably heavy fist.
With a giggle, she ignored Yasha's grouchy reply, and sighed, rolling her eyes wondering if they should have had this first meeting between the hentai and Suki somewhere less public than a restaurant. If she did hit him, they could end up being kicked out.
"Oi!" Heavy feet stomping down the stairs pulled her from her thoughts. "Move it, woman! You were just griping, and now you're staring at the wall with a creepy smile."
She turned a glare on him, then laughed at his chagrined expression. "Remembering a certain kotodama, Yasha?" she asked archly, grinning as he scowled.
"No," he said belligerently. "Those collars are for assholes, and I ain't one, remember? We agreed on that a long time ago."
She chuckled and shook her head, "Come on, Yasha, let's get going. We're already behind thanks to all your girly primping."
He growled sourly at her, though it was mostly for show; he never could stay angry at her for very long, and he really wasn't even angry right this minute, more just annoyed. The day had been irritating - they had spent it registering for the upcoming semester at Tokyo U, and after all the waiting around to speak to a counselor, then all the paperwork, then the picking of classes and finally, touring the campus, all he'd wanted to do was come back to the shrine and relax.
Unfortunately, they had that dinner date with the hentai and his soon-to-be lady, (again), and Kagome, miss energy herself, wouldn't even countenance canceling the date and rescheduling.
"Well, since you won't allow us to cancel and do this a different day, just where are we meeting the hentai and Suki, anyway?" he sighed.
Kagome stared at the door as she slipped her shoes on. "At the restaurant. Why?"
He froze. "Well, shit - that was a bad idea, Kagome, you know Miroku's gonna grope her, and then she's gonna kill him, and we'll get kicked out, and then I won't get to eat anything," he said sarcastically.
She giggled. "I was just thinking the same thing a minute ago, but it's too late now. All we can hope for is a miracle."
Rolling his eyes, he huffed out, "Yah, right, K'gome. This is just great. And I bet, if Miroku actually doesn't do it right off the bat, Shippo'll egg it on. You know, kitsune, prankster, troublemaker? Who's bright idea was it to invite Shippo the first time, anyway?"
She blushed, and looked away as she grabbed her purse and slid the entryway door open. "Hey... I just wanted to get the gang back together, Yasha," her eyes saddened for a moment, "in the only way left to me. It's not like I'll ever have Miroku and Sango back, you know."
Yasha frowned and reached out for her hand, angry at Inuyasha all over again. "Hey," he said softly as she looked up at him enquiringly. "It's okay, Kagome. Whatever makes you happy. If we get kicked out of the place, we'll just go find somewhere else is all, right?"
She sent him a small smile, and nodded, then tugged on his hand. "Sure, Yasha... come on, let's go, or we'll never know if he gropes her or not, because we'll miss it."
He nodded, and returned her smile, squeezing her hand comfortingly.
Anything you want, Kagome... anything at all. I don't really care about anything else that happens in our lives, as long as you're in it, and happy.
That's all.
-cCc-
"Suki!"
The young woman so addressed turned, then smiled as she caught sight of her newest friend, Kagome, followed by her fiance, Yasha, waving at her as they hurried along the sidewalk.
She smiled happily. "Hey, Kagome! You look pretty good - still doing those exercises I gave you?"
Kagome looked away guiltily, and Yasha snorted. "She wouldn't be if I didn't make her, that's for sure," he said, and Kagome cast him a dirty look.
"Traitor," she hissed, and Suki laughed.
"I'm not surprised, Yasha. Most people don't like to do those exercises any longer than they have to, even though they're good for them." She motioned to the doors to the restaurant. "Are we ready to go in?" she asked.
Kagome looked around, then, not seeing Miroku, nodded. "Sure... Watanabe-san will find us inside. I'm ready to sit down - today has been a long day," she sighed.
It was Yasha's turn to shoot his girl a dirty look. "Keh! Says the energizer bunny wanna-be. You've had us running all over today - and your just now tired?"
Suki giggled at that. "Geeze, Yasha - been watching american television, have you?"
He looked sheepish. "Yeah, well, sometimes they actually have some good things on, though it ain't often," he said as he held the door open for the women.
"I bet he's just surfing the channels looking for dirty movies," Kagome said to Suki in an exaggerated whisper she was fully aware that Yasha would hear.
"Oi!" he growled at her, scowling. "I ain't lookin' at no women but you!"
Kagome blushed, and Suki laughed again. "Oh, I love to hang out with you two. I always laugh more then than at any other time." She sighed, her gaze going far away as Kagome watched her with an almost sad smile. "I don't know... I hope you guys don't think me strange, but I feel like I've always known you."
Yasha and Kagome exchanged glances, then looked at Suki. "Yeah... about that. There's something we-" he glanced meaningfully at Kagome, then back to Suki, "-want to talk to you and Watanabe-san after dinner about. It kinda ties into what you just said."
Suki frowned a little, curious, but then nodded. "Okay, that's cool." She looked around, then. "So where's this Watanabe-san you keep talking about, anyway?" she asked.
Just as Kagome was about to answer, a suave voice came from behind, and the trio turned to see Miroku standing behind them, smiling. "Ah, Taisho-san, Higurashi-san," he said, bowing politely. Then he turned to look at a rather dumbstruck Suki, and his face went blank for several moments as he stared at her, almost seeming to be in shock.
And then...
Kagome blinked - she'd never seen someone other than a youkai or hanyou move so fast, and Miroku had a startled Suki's hand in his. "My lady," he breathed. "You are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen!"
Yasha and Kagome almost fell over at what happened next - neither of them had ever considered something like this happening.
Suki reached behind the man standing in front of her holding onto her hand, and groped him.
Miroku grinned, awed, hearts filling his eyes, as the maitre'd moved towards the group and asked them to leave, citing the disturbance to the rest of the establishment as cause. An incredulous Kagome and Yasha turned and walked out silently, followed by Suki and Miroku, who only had eyes for each other, not paying any attention to the shocked looks of all the nearby patrons.
Yasha turned his head and blinked down at his woman. "Keh," he said blankly, "we were wrong about Miroku groping Suki and getting pounded, but right about being kicked out of the restaurant." He shook his head. "Guess Sango's a little different in this life, after all."
Kagome couldn't do anything but nod as they both stopped and turned to look at the other couple, who were still staring at each other. "Uh, hey, guys?" Kagome broke in cautiously. When the two finally turned their heads to stare at her, she asked, "What do we want to do now?"
Suki grinned cheekily, and said, "Come on, I have an idea. Since it's such a beautiful evening, why don't we get some take out, and go sit in the park?"
The rest of the group simply followed along behind the cheerfully determined woman, one quite happily, and the other two rather freaked out.
The night would only be getting longer from there.
-cCc-
Miroku and Suki both stared at Yasha, who was without his concealment spell, for several long moments, leaving a cricket-filled silence echoing rather loudly.
"So... Suki and I-" Miroku moved a finger back and forth between himself and the beautiful woman, "-were once married, I was a monk, she was a taijiya, and, along with your pre-incarnation, Yasha, and Kagome herself, all lived this huge adventure in sengoku jidai?"
Yasha nodded, and Miroku scratched his head, looking thoughtful. "And that thing you kept naming when we met? The one that caused my head to hurt?"
Giggles from Kagome and laughter from Yasha erupted in their circle, and then Kagome spoke up. "Well, hiraikotsu-" she rolled her eyes when the hentai flinched and rubbed his head, "-was Sango's weapon, and when you would get out of hand and start groping people, especially her, she'd knock you over the head with it. It left a huge impression on you, I guess, for you to remember it even in another life."
"Keh," Yasha snorted. "I'm not so surprised that the pervert remembers that, Kagome. Did you ever get hit by that thing?" She shook her head. "Well, it hurt like hell," he said, matter-of-factly.
Brow furrowed, she put her finger to her chin thoughtfully. "When did Inuyasha get hit by hiraikotsu?" she asked.
Yasha flushed, his eyes flicking guiltily towards her, then over to Suki, before Miroku caught the look, and began to laugh. "Inuyasha got caught peeping at Kagome by Sango, didn't he?" he asked, gasping for breath as Yasha flushed even more at Kagome's shocked look.
"You mean, that jerk was peeping on me, and you remember it?" she squeaked, almost outraged.
Yasha growled at that - it had just occurred to him that since he remembered seeing Kagome naked in his last life, Inuyasha had indeed been peeping - and had seen Kagome naked. Suddenly, he was rather pissed.
"Feh! Bastard... he shouldn't have been looking at my girl," he groused. "What sucks about this is that I can't beat the shit out of him for it."
Kagome, although peeved at Inuyasha for the peeping, had to laugh at her fiance's outraged muttering at the fact that he couldn't beat his previous incarnation up for it.
Then something occurred to her, and she frowned. "Hey... Yasha?" she asked slowly. "If you remember him peeping on me... does that mean that you remember seeing Kikyou naked, too? And maybe... other things?"
Yasha's face went first red, then white, then green, and his expression turned sick. "Eww! No way!" he gasped out, gagging. "Why the hell would I want to have memories like that?" A thankful expression crossed his disgusted face. "In fact, I think I need to thank kami for small mercies. If I was stuck with memories like that, I'd be trying to scrub my brain out with soap," he said sourly, as Miroku and Suki laughed, and Kagome beamed, looking relieved.
"Oh, that's good, then!" she chirped cheerfully, and turned to Suki and Miroku. "So... do you remember anything of what we've told you?"
Suki and Miroku both looked a bit troubled, and shook their heads. But...
"I don't know about Miroku, here," Suki shrugged, "but though I don't remember what you've said, it feels... right. Some part of me recognizes what we've heard. I believe you, if that's anything," she said, and smiled lightly when Miroku nodded.
"Hai - what Suki said... me, too."
Kagome clapped her hands together with a bright smile. "Good! I'm glad that you guys don't think us weird," she chuckled as Yasha put up his concealment spell again, "and that you aren't freaked out by what we've told you tonight. I was a bit concerned about that, to tell the truth."
A new voice broke in, then. "Nice, Kagome. You were worried about them freaking out about what you had to say, but then you go and forget about the two most important members of the group," Shippo said, false hurt and laughter in his voice as she whipped around with wide, horrified eyes.
"Oh, my god, Shippo, Kirara, I'm so sorry - after what happened earlier at the restaurant, I just forgot everything else..." she trailed off, blushing.
Yasha leaned back on one arm, stretching idly. "Hey, it's your own fault, Shippo, since you were running so late." He looked over at Kagome. "And you were worried we'd be late."
Miroku and Suki stared wide-eyed at the friendly banter currently going on - until Suki caught sight of Kirara. It was clear that seeing the small kitten had triggered something inside her, because she whispered, "Kirara?" in a tentative voice that contained faded memories and a sense of loss.
Everyone got quiet, then, and watched the reunion between the two with sharp eyes.
Kirara tilted her head to the side and blinked red eyes at the reincarnation of her former mistress, and best friend. She could see Sango shining brightly inside, and knew that at some point, she would definitely awaken to her past life. For that reason, she mewed sweetly, and hopped down from Shippo's shoulder, walking up to the still sitting young woman, crawled right into her lap. Curling up with a wide yawn, she closed her eyes and dozed off peacefully, happy to be with her.
Miroku blinked, then looked sideways at the startled woman. "Uh... that cat has red eyes and two tails. Let me guess - another youkai?"
Shippo sauntered over to them and dropped down to sit next to a fascinated Kagome. "Yup."
"And you are...?" he asked.
Shippo grinned, and dropped his own concealment spell. "Kitsune - I was the kid of the group back then, an orphan when Kagome and Inuyasha came across me, and she took me in." He glanced at the former monk, surprised at how much he looked like his past self. "It's amazing how you look so exactly like that perverted monk. I bet you're a lecher, too, aren't ya?"
Miroku looked offended at that. "I'll have you know that it was not I that got us thrown out of that fine establishment, it was the beautiful lady Suki," he said, very much on his dignity. "She groped my person, without any encouragement on my part."
Shippo blinked, then turned to stare at Suki, who blushed, but laughed under her breath. Then he turned to look at Kagome. "Well, I understand now why you forgot about Kirara and I. I woulda, too. I guess Sango was married to Miroku for too many years, and his bad habits rubbed off on her. That's too bad, really," he finished, rubbing a hand over his chin.
Suki sulked, and Miroku sputtered, while the rest laughed, and Kirara mewed. "It's certainly different, having her be the hentai this time around," Yasha snorted.
Kagome shook her head. "Well, it's not just her, since Miroku is also a lecher this time, too. Any relationship between those two ought to be quite interesting," she laughed.
"Hey! Who said there'd be any relationship between us?" Suki asked hotly.
Everyone stared at her knowingly.
"Oh, you mean you greet all guys that way?" Kagome asked sarcastically.
Suki flushed, and flicked a glance at Miroku, who looked quite interested in her answer. "W-well, no, but..."
Yasha let his head fall back a bit as he stared up into the darkening sky, idly listening to the banter and simply enjoying the peace and happiness he felt with his love by his side, and their friends, as well. It wouldn't take long, he could already tell, for the group to be as close as they had been back then...
Only this time around, it would be better - they were back together... and Kagome wouldn't be lost to them this time. No...
She'd finally be happy, as would the rest of them, because, unlike last time, the most important member of the gang wouldn't be missing, gone from their lives because of fate, or Inuyasha.
He glanced over at her with a soft look in his golden eyes, and smiled.
As long as you're happy, Kagome, I am, too. No matter what.
-cCc-
A/N: And that's pretty much it, guys! There will be an epilogue, hopefully coming soon, and then I can finally label this one completed, and move on to finishing some of my other endeavors... and maybe start a few more, who knows, gods know I have so many plots running around in my head it isn't even funny.
Anyway, sorry it took so long to get this out - I've been fighting serious writer's block, and struggling with all my stories. I can't even tell you how many dang one-shots I've got sitting in my 'various' folder, incomplete - and it isn't like me to have unfinished one-shots.
Ja Ne...
Amber
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